With VR, or indeed any lump of tech that places an emphasis on immersion, it can be all too easy for the perception of players to be swayed by the more rambunctious and visually flamboyant efforts that invariably herald its arrival. It comes as some relief then to discover that SuperHyperCube by Fez developer Polytron plies its trade to the absolute contrary; fashioning a PSVR experience that while conceptually modest, excels as an easily accessible puzzler that also happens to double up as a wonderfully trauma-free introduction to the charms of VR.
SuperHyperCube VR: Fitting shapes into holes
SuperHyperCube’s mechanics are so simple to grasp that just about anybody with a working neck and pair of functioning hands can get stuck into it easily. With just a single game mode, Polytron’s latest effort presents players with a set of three-dimensional blocks that must be twisted and rotated to fit into an identically shaped hole that rushes towards the player by using just three buttons on the DualShock 4 controller. While that’s all you really do in the game, it would be churlish to ignore the subtle wrinkles of complexity that permeate the experience.
Chiefly, each time you successfully fit a block to its matching hole, your mass of blocks increases in complexity and size, requiring you to think much more quickly on the fly how to best rotate the blocks into the correct position before the next, more complex hole arrives (each hole supports a number of different solutions, so there’s often more than one ‘right’ way to get the job done). Ostensibly, you’ll want to get an idea of what shape you need to twist your blocks into and it’s here where the head tracking stuff comes in, since you can peer around your blocks to get an idea of what holes lay beyond. It’s a basic use of PSVR’s head tracking abilities certainly, but it’s undeniably effective and lends itself well to pick up and play for both new and veteran PlayStation players alike.
Making the proceedings a little more complicated are the special ‘boss’ encounters in which the hole rotates in a particular direction after a second or two; forcing the player to frantically improvise on the fly in order to make a perfect fit. To help folks out there are a small handful of power-ups, such as a particularly handy one that freezes time, but otherwise your best weapons are invariably quick reflexes and an equally quick thinking mind; a pair of functions that the well-judged difficulty curve of SuperHyperCube continuously calls upon.
While SuperHyperCube reliably enthrals with its simplistic puzzler beats and entertaining quick burst play sessions, it’s undeniable that the lack of variety in both play and extra-curricular modes could well dissuade those who desire more from the game than simple high-score chasing. It’s notable that such streamlined design also seeps through elsewhere too, because from a technical perspective SuperHyperCube is a stylish, if modest affair with it’s neon hued veneer invoking the look of a Jeff Minter title, rather than a more mainstream or hyper detailed effort. As such, folks expecting something even remotely taxing of the PS4’s visual capabilities might find themselves left wanting.
Final review impressions
Probably the simplest game you’ll play all year, SuperHyperCube is a great, if understated introduction to PSVR. A toweringly effective palette cleanser for the more skull-rattling and discombobulating VR affairs, it’s no stretch to easily envision SuperHyperCube being a regular fixture of my future PSVR gaming sessions.