Don't want to see articles from a certain category? When logged in, go to your User Settings and adjust your feed in the Content Preferences section where you can block tags!
We do often include affiliate links to earn us some pennies. See more here.

Superliminal's timed exclusive period on the Epic Games Store is now up, and it has released on Steam along with Linux support with a port from Ethan Lee. Note: key provided by EvolvePR.

This perspective puzzle game from Pillow Castle is something of a mind-melting trip through a dream world, where you're able to change the size of objects depending on how you're looking at them while holding them. Bring objects closer and they can shrink, do the same from afar and they can grow huge. It gets a little weird but it's such a fantastic idea and it has been a lot of fun to play through.

That's a big can of soda...

While playing Superliminal there's been quite a few times my eyes didn't quite understand what they saw at first, where I let out some audible confused noises. The design of it is simply fantastic to make you question what you're seeing and where you're going. My brain tripped up on the puzzles plenty of times, as did my eyes. There's lots of ways Pillow Castle cleverly used simple environments to trick you, thanks to the perspective feature and they get to be playful with reality here due to the setting. It's not just a case of making objects the right size, it's also about understanding your surroundings and being able to think very differently.

There's times you walk up to a door and it's not actually a door, or a wall that's actually another corridor. I couldn't help but laugh and smile while playing it as it tries to trick you and make you rub your eyes and have take a second look at something amusing. 


The door is a lie.

So not only are you playing with bending the rules of reality and changing the size of various objects, the environment is also playing with your sense of depth too and the result is most of the time pretty great. Lots of what you see just sort-of jumps out at you before you've fully realised something isn't entirely right. You also need to study your environment often, since here perception is reality and you will need to look around and match parts of the environment to be able to then interact with certain needed objects.

Check out the trailer below:

YouTube Thumbnail
YouTube videos require cookies, you must accept their cookies to view. View cookie preferences.
Accept Cookies & Show   Direct Link

It's definitely got some difficulty in certain areas, which will largely depend on your own depth perception and your ability to analyse your surroundings. Due to the game mechanics, you don't have to be overly specific in how you solve a number of the puzzles, especially the size and movement puzzles as you just need to get from A to B while toying with whatever the environment wants you to use. 

So many great little touches too, from the doctor speaking to you via little recordings which were somewhat amusing to the loading screens "glitching" in many different ways.

With the Linux port, it's built with Unity and it uses the Vulkan API by default. Performance has been perfection, although some Linux desktops might see input lag due to an issue with Unity. If that happens for you, try this as a launch option:

-hwcursor

There's also "-force-opengl" available if you really need it but that may cause some graphical issues with z-fighting. 

Apart from that, it's been wonderful.

The Steam release comes with these extra features (on top of Linux/macOS support being new):

  • Remote Play Optimized - Play the game streamed to your TV using Steam Link.
  • Steam Achievements - Achievements that launched alongside the console versions in July are now fully integrated with Steam’s Achievement system.
  • Steam Workshop [beta] - The devs are working on some very experimental features for Steam Workshop. More details will be revealed "soon!".

On top of that, the latest release adds in a Challenge Mode and Developer Commentary.

I don't think I've had as much fun in a puzzle game since the likes of the Portal series, The Talos Principle and Baba is You. It gave me that same kind of feeling that I just wanted to play around with it all more and more as time went on. Absolutely worth picking up.

You can buy Superliminal from GOG and Steam.

Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
24 Likes
About the author -
author picture
I am the owner of GamingOnLinux. After discovering Linux back in the days of Mandrake in 2003, I constantly came back to check on the progress of Linux until Ubuntu appeared on the scene and it helped me to really love it. You can reach me easily by emailing GamingOnLinux directly. Find me on Mastodon.
See more from me
The comments on this article are closed.
9 comments

whizse Nov 5, 2020
View PC info
  • Supporter
Dang that's quick. I just got the notification from Steam that it is available!

Demo was a lot of fun, felt like part Portal, with a little bit of the Stanley Parable mixed in? It's a buy, but probably for next month. Already over budget here.
Ehvis Nov 5, 2020
View PC info
  • Supporter Plus
Wait, -hwcursor could help with that? Need to try that with 7 days! But first I need to try this. :)
wvstolzing Nov 5, 2020
This looks really interesting to me as a fan of Portal (& I also liked The Witness quite a bit; which also has a good number of perspective puzzles.)

-- it's also on GOG, by the way.

EDIT: Another perspective puzzler in development - https://twitter.com/mattstark256/status/1213156890475212800?s=20 - looks really interesting. The developer has posted a couple more updates in the Summer in his twitter feed.


Last edited by wvstolzing on 5 November 2020 at 8:06 pm UTC
Bogomips Nov 5, 2020
My connection is so slow that I don't know if I will be able to play tonight… Back to Poly Bridge 2 ;)

Edit: after around 4 hours of puzzles, the game is really nice! But I'm not sure if it is a good or bad idea to play when really tired ^^


Last edited by Bogomips on 6 November 2020 at 12:26 am UTC
whizse Nov 5, 2020
View PC info
  • Supporter
Quoting: wvstolzingEDIT: Another perspective puzzler in development - https://twitter.com/mattstark256/status/1213156890475212800?s=20 - looks really interesting. The developer has posted a couple more updates in the Summer in his twitter feed.
Oh, thanks for posting this, very cool! Seems to be called Viewfinder?

Speaking of interesting puzzle games, I wonder if Miegakure will ever be released? It's been in development for 11(!) years now. Not DNF bad, but it is getting up there in years.
wvstolzing Nov 5, 2020
Quoting: whizse
Quoting: wvstolzingEDIT: Another perspective puzzler in development - https://twitter.com/mattstark256/status/1213156890475212800?s=20 - looks really interesting. The developer has posted a couple more updates in the Summer in his twitter feed.
Oh, thanks for posting this, very cool! Seems to be called Viewfinder?

Speaking of interesting puzzle games, I wonder if Miegakure will ever be released? It's been in development for 11(!) years now. Not DNF bad, but it is getting up there in years.

Thanks for the link! I was wondering whether the game had a website, because I wasn't able to find a link on the dev's twitter feed. It's very barebones, but something tangible to keep track of.
Philadelphus Nov 6, 2020
Played the demo and enjoyed it, might pick this up with the release sale going on.
flesk Nov 6, 2020
View PC info
  • Contributing Editor
I bought Superliminal yesterday, and thought it was great fun. I haven't played it all the way through yet, but probably will during the weekend. None of the puzzles so far have been particularly difficult, but they don't need to be for me to enjoy it.

Viewfinder also looks interesting. I hope it will get a Linux version.
grigi Nov 19, 2020
Woah, how did I completely miss this? It looks awesome!
While you're here, please consider supporting GamingOnLinux on:

Reward Tiers: Patreon. Plain Donations: PayPal.

This ensures all of our main content remains totally free for everyone! Patreon supporters can also remove all adverts and sponsors! Supporting us helps bring good, fresh content. Without your continued support, we simply could not continue!

You can find even more ways to support us on this dedicated page any time. If you already are, thank you!
The comments on this article are closed.