SuperHyperCube
By Chad Sapieha,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Challenging, repetitive VR puzzler frustrates, falls flat.
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SuperHyperCube
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What’s It About?
You'll need to think quickly in three dimensions to solve puzzles in SUPERHYPERCUBE. The object of the game is simple: Rotate a cluster of cubes so that it fits through a hole in a speedily approaching wall. It sounds easy, but the game's virtual reality element means players must lean, duck, and crane their necks to see past their cube clusters and get an idea of what the hole in the wall looks like. Plus, each successful solve leads to an even more challenging puzzle. Cubes are gradually added to the cluster, and the wall itself eventually begins to rotate. You can make things a little easier on yourself by pressing the boost button as soon as you've solved a puzzle to instantly send your cube cluster through the wall. Doing so lets you use the time you've saved to fill a gauge that slows down, which could come in handy if you can't figure a puzzle out. If you choose not to use the slow-motion ability, you'll eventually earn a bomb that lets you blow up the wall in a puzzle you simply can't solve. Your ultimate goal is to progress as far as you can while increasing your score.
Is It Any Good?
This is a puzzle game with a surprisingly niche audience, with frustrating play and repetitive puzzles. Unless you're able to quickly and easily figure out how to see the two-dimensional silhouettes of three dimensional objects, there's a good chance you won't be able to get much further than a few minutes into SuperHyperCube's endless stream of cube clusters, even after several tries. And even if you do have a knack for this sort of puzzle you'll need to have the proper temperament to find gratification in a repetitive task which, though it grows in complexity, doesn't ever substantially change or evolve. You'll have a pretty good idea what the entire game is like within the first five minutes.
It's also a case of a game that might have been better experienced on a standard TV than in virtual reality. Having a full field of vision in VR allows us to better appreciate the game's admittedly pretty neon world, but doesn't do much more. In fact, the need to move your head so you can look around block clusters to see the wall is actually a bit frustrating, since it eats into time you could have spent manipulating the blocks. You'll likely find yourself wishing for a fixed and slightly elevated camera so you could see both your blocks and the hole at the same time. SuperHyperCube is an interesting idea that just doesn't quite catch hold.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about screen time. Due to its repetitive design, SuperHyperCube is likely to lead to shorter rather than longer play sessions, but why do some games make us want to play for hours on end while others leave us satisfied and happy to move on after only 10 or 15 minutes?
Families also can talk about puzzle-solving. SuperHyperCube requires players to think quickly to determine how a 3D object might look at various angles, but do you prefer solving puzzles on a timer or at your own pace? Why?
Game Details
- Platforms: PlayStation 4 , PlayStation VR
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: Kokoromi
- Release date: October 11, 2016
- Genre: Puzzle
- ESRB rating: E for No Descriptions
- Last updated: November 24, 2019
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