Superhot was released earlier this year on PC, Mac OS X, and Linux as a stylized first-person shooter video game with unique mechanics. Unlike the majority of games in this genre, Superhot doesn’t rely on twitch reflexes but rather on careful planning and bullet dodging. It sounds like a great recipe for a virtual reality title, and sure enough, today the Superhot Team announced that it will bring Superhot to the Oculus Rift by the end of the year.
Superhot first met the Oculus Rift at E3 2014 when the game was demoed on a development kit. At that time, the game was not truly optimized for VR, and the Rift headset acted only as a head-mounted display with motion tracking. However, according to the recent official statement, Superhot for the Oculus Rift will deliver a slightly different experience; one that is more in tune with VR environments. “We’re really trying to capitalize on all of the new design possibilities that Virtual Reality is giving us” said the press release, adding that the level of immersion delivered by the game in VR “is simply crazy”. The development team revealed that they have experimented with holographic type of sounds too, which would make it much easier for players to locate passing bullets judging only by the noise they generate. On the other hand, Superhot is a type of game that requires players to stand still and act only after careful planning. In VR, this technically means that users might be required to stand still while wearing the headset, and this could represent a new challenge in itself.
Superhot will be released later this year on the Oculus Rift, and will utilize the Oculus Touch motion controllers set to hit the market in the second half of the year. Although the HTC Vive was already released with motion controllers included in the package, for now, the developer is focusing solely on bringing Superhot on the Oculus Rift but doesn’t dismiss the possibility that the title could eventually be launched on other platforms too. Fortunately, for those who happen to already own Superhot, the VR version of the game will be offered as a free DLC.