Superhot FPS: time only moves when you move

First-person shooter Superhot adds an extraordinarily clever twist on more traditional first-person shooter gaming.

As independent gaming development grows, so too are game jams — where developers are tasked with designing a game in a short time frame — proliferating. Last month saw 7DFPS, a game jam where the only requirement was to create a first-person shooter within seven days.

Now, we've seen some pretty cool games come out of these jams. Some have gone on to become hugely popular — and one of those is currently in the making. Called Superhot, created by Polish studio Blue Brick, it brings something wickedly fresh and new to the arguably predictable FPS.

It plays out in a very cool, minimally designed white environment, with its only purpose to provide a backdrop to the gameplay. To that end, there are no textures or additional artefacts: it's just you and your enemies, depicted in red, with zero distractions.

The aim, of course, is to take out everyone else on the level. But here's where it gets interesting: when you're not moving, time slows right down to a crawl, which means you have to carefully plan out your moves. And, just as you can dodge a bullet fired at you by stopping, watching its trajectory, then throwing yourself out of the way, your foes likewise have time to dodge your shots — which means you have to calculate your own trajectories accordingly. With only very limited ammunition, you have to make every shot count.

Built as it was in seven days, the game is a little on the short side, with only a few levels that get more difficult as you progress. The team, however, is looking to expand on its premise on Steam Greenlight.

"Think about falling into a ballroom full of enemies," the team said. "Through a glass ceiling. With shatters of glass everywhere and enemies firing at you. As you fall, everything moves fast and suddenly stops when you land. With debris and bullets roaring slowly all around, you plan your dance — killing your foes with style."

It is, without reservation, one of the cleverest interpretations we've seen on the genre. Go play it for free online here (Unity web player required), then head on over to Steam Greenlight and drop it a vote.