SUPERLIMINAL

More than mind games

- Jess Kinghorn

Making dream logic work in games is a design conundrum. The idea itself is enticing, but how do you design a dreamscape’s unique sense of internal logic so it’s simultaneously otherworldly and yet predictable enough for a player to follow? With Superliminal, part of that conundrum may well have been solved.

In this optical-illusion-infused puzzler, you are a sleep therapy patient. It’s not insomnia that plagues you, but negative emotions like self-doubt. That’s where SomnaSculpt comes in, offering a new perspective through dream-focussed therapy – at least, that’s what the brochure says. Alas, there’s nary a daydream about snogging Keanu Reeves to be found, as what the brochure doesn’t cover is the nightmare you get trapped in: Inception-style freefalling through layers of dreams as you try desperately to wake up.