“You’re telling me I can dodge bullets?”  Superhot VR lets you be Neo and that’s a very good thing.

Let’s get this out of the way, Superhot VR is the best virtual reality game we’ve tried and almost single handedly merits the PSVR.

Superhot itself has had a long history. Originally designed as a part of a week long game development competition in 2013, Superhot took the gimmick of bullet time and developed a worthwhile game around it.  Time doesn’t move unless you do.  This ability is enormously helpful as you’re pitted against dozens of gun-wielding, knife-swinging, punch-throwing enemies across levels that could have been lifted directly from John Wick (factories, pool halls, high security bases, etc.).  Surviving these encounters demands you control time to dodge errant bullets, yank pistols floating in the air from a recently fallen enemy, and take fire at any of the other dozen or so enemies charging your way in each level.

On paper this is an interesting, if one-note, experience.  Things get exponentially more fun when you plug in your VR setup.  To be fair, Superhot VR is not Superhot, but a reimagined version of the game designed from the ground up for virtual reality.  And man, when you get going, this is easily the most captivating thing we’ve seen in VR so far.

This is one of the best badass simulators we’ve ever seen.

Sure, there are trade offs when you lose basic controls.  Movement is limited as you warp from  zone to zone instead of any type of WASD function.  The PSVR camera can be wonky and lose you from sight from time to time.  But when it works, this experience is ridiculously fun.  The PS Move controllers function as your hands allowing you to swing punches or grab nearby projectiles to throw at enemies.  You can lean, duck, and other dodge bullets pretty easily from your stationary position — and the game is very generous with your hit box allowing you avoid even wild shotgun blasts.

You’ve really never played anything like this in VR.  Unlike every other PSVR game we’ve seen that tries to immerse you with rich graphics and details, Superhot VR nails the combat and gameplay but leverages a minimalist palette.  Enemies are red, weaponry is black, and everything else is shades of  white and grey.  All of that doesn’t matter though because you end up just having fun.

Yes, this guy tosses a gun to himself between stages. This game is awesome.

Perhaps the biggest problem is the game can be short.  We’ve seen speedrun videos for the entire game clocking in at 9 minutes.  Yes, shorter than some old school NES experiences.  That won’t be your experience though as you should expect to try and fail for 2-3 hours before you reach the end.  Even with that in mind though, this is one of the few PSVR games we actually care to play again and again because this is the closest we’ve ever felt like being in The Matrix (without all the pretension and underground rave orgies).

What works

This is the best use of PSVR and move technology we’ve seen.  It’s short, but makes us salivate about the potential of sequels or other games that recognize the opportunities of VR.

What doesn’t work

It’s length is an issue (but we can’t imagine leaving a VR helmet on for more than hour anyways).  Not much else is wrong with this tight experience.

Overall: Buy it

This is the best VR game out there.  If you have the tech, this is a must buy.  If you’re on the fence, check out some playthrough videos of this as this may make you take the plunge at last.

Yoink