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Thursday, March 28, 2013

Review: Super Hexagon

Developer: Terry Cavanaugh

Terry Cavanaugh is a mad genius. I'm convinced of this, and you can't talk me out of it.

First came VVVVVV, his love letter to the Commodore 64, with an awesome gravity-shifting mechanic, amped-up difficulty level and tremendous music. Now, we have Super Hexagon, his vertigo-inducing, mezmerizing, insanely difficult and insanely simple action game.
In Super Hexagon, you control a little triangle that moves around the perimeter of a hexagon. You can only move left or right, and have to do so quickly in order to avoid getting hit by obstacles that come at you. Meanwhile, a slamming soundtrack plays in the background, the hexagon pulses and spins to the music, and you either fall into a trance or get disoriented and seasick.

Super Hexagon starts out incredibly difficult and doesn't let up. After a brief five-second training session, you're thrown into the fire and have to survive. On your first attempt, you'll probably make it about five seconds or less before dying. I've been playing for a week now, and I can survive on the easiest difficulty for about 30-40 seconds on average. On the hardest difficulty, I can last about 10 seconds if I'm lucky.

This game is not for everyone. There are some that will be put off by the intense difficulty level, and others who will be put off by the dizzying and constantly-shifting patterns. However, if Super Hexagon sounds interesting to you, I have a suggestion: Use headphones to get the full effect. Also, don't play it right before you try and go to sleep. You'll be too wired.

Final Rating: B+

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