Super Hexagon [Review by Uzzbuzz]Super Hexagon is an arcade style minimalistic game evolved from the flash game Hexagon in which players use the arrow keys to move their cursor around a hexagon to get out of the way of the incoming obstacles. Be warned beforehand that this game is addicting, but a super rewarding experience as well. Once you get over the initial frustrations of trying to survive for more than a few seconds, you’re almost guaranteed to grow in skill constantly.
Mechanics/Gameplay - The mechanics of this are super simple, well executed, and fun. It is an arcade style game, so there shouldn’t be any complex expectations of controls. The main and only mechanic is to survive the barrage of obstacle sets for as long as you can, with sixty seconds labeled as the threshold to claim you’ve essentially mastered the level. Using the arrows keys as mentioned in the intro, players have to use their reflexes to keep themselves alive as the walls close in on them, with only a few, or sometimes even just one route of escape. The mechanics are equally smooth in comparison to the flash game, but one noticeable improvement is how hitting the sides of walls does not kill you. This plays an important role in upping the fun factor while decreasing the frustration factor. Looks like this developer really listens to the fanbase. 8/10
Fun Factor - Many hours were spent on this game, practicing away. Many fun hours. Some of them filled with rage, especially with the last level, but overall it was a fun experience and the rage only fuels the fire to continue until you at least beat a record. Really not much else I can say here but obviously I recommend it. 8.5/10
Graphics/Animation - Probably best not to play this if you have problems with lots of flashing colors. The graphics are simple hexagonal creations but it all fits into the fast paced theme of the game perfectly. Animations are smooth, and entirely focused on the world around the player as the player itself is but a mere little triangle. The game does try to throw you off balance a little bit by introducing some 3d animations in there, which is a step up from the flash version. All that the new levels really introduce in terms of visuals are a new color scheme and that’s it, or a reskin as I like to call them. Graphics suit the game and the fast-paced gameplay, but are nothing spectacular. 6.5/10
Music/Sound - How do you go wrong with such a strong techno style. Maybe I’m a teensy bit biased, but I’ll accept that. This game has one of the best soundtracks I’ve ever heard for an indie game. Chipzel, the artist behind the music, is truly talented and the game is worth buying for the soundtrack support alone. Don’t get me wrong though, almost every aspect of the game makes it worth buying. The only thing preventing me from giving this category a perfect score is the fact that you will hear the game over and line voice clips over and over and over again until you explode. This is the music AND sound effects category, after all. Overall though I can’t complain because the music just kicks you right back into the game and has a huge tie-in to the replay factor. Plus, it’s beautiful. Maybe you should just buy the game already. 9.5/10
Replayability - For such a simple and inexpensive game, it sure does have it’s fair share of replayability. It’s a bit of a tricky one to judge though, because some of you may ragequit within 10 minutes and never touch the game again. Even still, I’d say the experience is worth the dollar or two you paid for it. For many others, Super Hexagon will provide countless hours of playing and playing until a new record is attained or a mode completed. The addiction power this game can have is extraordinarily high, so perhaps it is a good idea to save it for the weekend. Or don’t. I know I didn’t. 7.5/10
Level Design - Now although the graphical aspects do not change much from level to level, the different sets of obstacles do. Each of the three modes (and their respective hyper modifiers) has distinct obstacles to avoid that test your reflexes like they may have not been tested before. Once you finally master one set, the next one presents a new possible set of arrangements to be killed by. Just wait until you get to Hyper Hexagonest.
What is even more interesting about how the game evolves as you survive is that once you pass the sixty second mark, the game changes pace right away into a new set of obstacles from another mode, or even one that is unique to the beyond zone of the game. It’ll constantly change every consecutive sixty seconds of survival in order to keep you on your toes (or fingers) until you slip up and lose. 6/10
Achievements - Well this is a shame. The achievements aren’t bad per se, I just really do not have a lot to talk about here. There are six achievements in Super Hexagon, each corresponding to reaching the sixty second mark on each mode. Seems easy enough, but of course, it will take some serious practice. Good luck! Unfortunately I cannot give this category a very high score. Yes, it covers the bases of the game perfectly, which is taken into account, but there’s just no thought and variety put into these. There’s not much else that can be done with a game like this, but I did enjoy getting these achievements.
Perhaps possible ideas for something to add a slight bit of diversity would be to get 120 seconds on any mode/hyper mode, or for dying really fast, losing on the same obstacle many times, and so on. Even a unique obstacle death counter could be interesting. I do really like achievements… 5/10 It passes.
Pros:
+ Awesome Soundtrack
+ Addictive, simple gameplay
+ Easy to improve at, yet still difficult to succeed at
+ Compete with friends’ hiscores!
Cons:
- A bit repetitive
- Seizure warning?
- Voice effects can get really annoying
Overall Score: 7.3/10
3.5