The evolution of the first person shooter has taken some interesting turns. Most FPS games these days heavily rely on a multiplayer component with a few recent high profile releases abandoning the idea of campaign modes altogether. One recent FPS that bucked this trend is SUPERHOT, which won hearts and minds by stretching a common feature of action games into an intriguing single player game of its own. Now, Board & Dice has an card game currently on Kickstarter called SUPERHOT The Card Game that not only feels like the source material but has an interesting spin on deckbuilding mechanics.
The original computer game runs on a fascinating idea; what if an FPS was in Bullet Time all the time? A lot of action games these days have a limited pool of slow-motion time to make the player feel like a cinematic action hero. Time only moves in SUPERHOT when the player does and turns each of the stages into a combat puzzle that needs to be solved with flying fists, razor-sharp katanas, and well-timed bullets. The game looks like an early version of The Matrix with a hacker story that surrounds the levels that adds to the mystique.
Image courtesy of Board & CardThe Card Game nails the feel of the video game with the colors, polygonal art and a deckbuilder puzzle to be solved through play. Cards play one way when they are in the Obstacle Line and another way when coming out of the player’s hand. The player starts with a simple deck of cards that pull cards from the Obstacle Line. Bullet cards cycle into the Obstacle Deck as turns progress to mimic the feel of the game’s impending doom as dozens of bullets zip through the air. The player wins the game when they accomplish three sets of goals listed on goal cards. There are many more ways to lose; if a player ever has four bullet cards in hand, if all the bullet cards are in play, if there are no more cards to draw from the Obstacle Deck, or if there are no more cards to draw from the Player Deck. The game uses the same basic mechanics of many deckbuilders but forces players to balance achieving goals with keeping the flow of cards going from the Player Deck to the Obstacle Deck and back again.
The Kickstarter keeps backer levels basic. Backers can get the basic game, a minifigure of one of the video game’s evil polygonal humans, a set with the game, the minifigure and a play mat or a set of six decks for everyone in a gaming group. The stretch goals for the Kickstarter include extra cards in the deck, many of which will be exclusive to backers. Solo rules and play through videos are currently available to view on the site. Other modes, like two-player competitive, two-player cooperative and a three player melee, will be released with the full game. Fans of the video game and tabletop gamers looking for a fun solitaire microgame are encouraged to check out the Kickstarter before it is over on February 22nd.
What is your favorite SUPERHOT moment? Tell us in the comments!
Featured Image Credit: SUPERHOT Team
Blog Image Credit: Board & Dice (Kickstarter)
Rob Wieland is an author, game designer and professional nerd. He writes about kaiju, Jedi, gangsters, elves, Vulcans and sometimes all of them at the same time. His blog is here, his Twitter is here and his meat body can be found in scenic Milwaukee, WI.