In between playing the epic-sized games by big studios, I like to mess around with the small, indie ones. I have to say that while the big games are certainly more impressive both in terms of scope and production values, I usually find the small games to be more memorable due to how different and unique they tend to be. This tiny game is a case in point. I doubt that most people are going to play it for more than a handful of hours but it’s such a fun few hours different from anything else you might have played that it’s likely to stick in your mind for a long while.
Superflight is an extremely simple game that does one thing only: have the player fly around in a wingsuit. The controls are so simple that there’s no need to explain anything and I love how everything is so streamlined. The only thing you do here is fly around an endless succession of procedurally generated maps. Since this is a wingsuit and not powered flight, you are gliding and must manage your altitude. Diving will cause you to speed up for a bit but overall you always lose energy over time. Flying close to terrain gives you points and you probably gain more if you do it while being fast. Flying through tunnels is best of all but take care not to crash. Portals scattered throughout teleport you to new maps and running into one is worth a fair amount of points as well. That’s it for the rules.
I found it to be fairly nerve-wracking at first but you get the hang of it really quickly. It’s actually not that hard to keep flying indefinitely if you stick to the edges of the central landmass so in that sense it’s up to you to choose the level of risk you’re comfortable with. It’s quite boring to play that way however and even if you end up crashing a lot, it’s much more fun to weave through tunnels and around pillars. I like that the achievements aren’t too difficult to get, indicating that the developers don’t expect you to spend too much time on this. It’s just about the perfect game to relax with in short bursts at a time.
The graphics are of course blocky and very simple but work very nicely given the speeds you’re usually going. Each world has a different aesthetic too and it’s rather fun to see what the random generator comes up with. I dislike however that each map is distinct and finite. Even if you don’t hit a portal, you’re automatically transitioned to a new map if you reach the edge of the current one, usually by dropping too low. It would have been so much cooler if the terrain could be generated on the fly and infinite, slowly changing over time. As it works currently, some of the maps aren’t much fun to work with, being a huge, solid central mass with few crevices or tunnels to navigate. Anyway, it’s cheap, easy to get into and lots of fun, so try it out.
