You’re drifting off to sleep at around 3 a.m., the last thing you hear is an ad for Dr. Pierce’s Somnasculpt dream therapy program. By the time you open your eyes again, you’re dreaming and within the beginning stages of the experiment.
As “Superliminal,” released in late 2019, comes to Xbox Live Game Pass this September, it’s time to take a look back at the mind-bending, dream logic based game.
“Superliminal” is a game where you, as the player, are dropped into a dream state where you are allowed to alter how you perceive things. For instance, you can walk up to a chess piece on a table, pick it up, spin around and now, because there isn’t a table in front of you, the chess piece has room to grow. You’re able to manipulate an objects size just by how you pick it up and where you pick it up from.
The player is tasked with using items they can pick up and resize to move throughout the experiment. These mechanics are taught well in the tutorial level, and moving throughout the game is quite easy overall.
Every time a player starts a level, they’ll wake up to an alarm in their room at the experiment facility and will have to proceed from there. Sometimes you’ll just proceed out of the room to complete a level, and other times, you’ll have to solve lurking mysteries before you can move on.
Once a player enters a level, they will have to discover what items can be manipulated and use them to pass through various doors, or sometimes lack thereof, to find the elevator that typically ends the level. Other times you may not be looking for an elevator or be in control at all.
There are nine beautifully designed stages with surprises around every turn, and even more off-limits areas to be found and explored. These levels take place in varied in-door locations that range from a factory like facility to a nicely decorated hotel hospital-like facility. This is also a game to enjoy with headphones, as everything sounds fantastic. The music, the sound effects, the voice overs; everything just sounds crisp and perfect.
I sat down and played this game in one sitting on my 32 inch ultra-wide monitor, and let me tell you, if you have the option to play that way, do it. The experience was so immersive and attention grabbing; I just couldn’t get up.
Each and every level contains so many secrets, and every once in a while, when you stumble upon a stereo, you’ll get a somewhat bone-chilling message from the doctor because they “can’t locate you.” There’s also a lot of beautiful artwork to be discovered throughout the game.
While this isn’t a very long game, if you have a few hours, $20 and a laptop made in the last five years, please, pick up this game and open your mind to the “Superliminal.”