Super Hexagon Review

Super Hexagon is a trip, man. Whoa. With all the pulsating rhythms and addictive short-form gameplay, this is a fun survival title. The goal is simple: spin a triangle around the center of a board while new paths, based off of various geometric shapes, spin in and try to trap the player.

Developer Terry Cavanagh is probably best known for VVVVVV, a brilliant gravity-flipping platformer, along with many other smaller projects, and Super Hexagon is an expanded take on Hexagon. originally made for Pirate Cart V. The original is a Flash game that can be tried out onlind; the iOS version features enhnaced visuals and new difficulty modes.

Super Hexagon doesn’t lie when it says its difficulties for Hexagon, Hexagoner, and Hexagonest modes are Hard, Harder, and Hardest. Well, it actually kind of does, because then there’s Hardester, which is Hexagon on Hyper Mode which is faster and harder…ester. I haven’t even come close to unlocking the Hyper modes for Hexagoner and Hexagonest because I am only human.

The game is rather dizzying, as the geometric shapes spin and shrink in from off the screen, and the board is constantly spinning around and around. It’s easy to get entranced, and I fear that Terry Cavanagh has released the game in order to subconsciously convince us to send him more money or commit vile acts for him. Or not. Still, I play one round, usually fail pretty quickly, then I jump back in for more and more. It’s such a simple game, spinning around constantly, but it’s got plenty of hook to it.

The controls work really well, just requiring each thumb to spin around either counter-clockwise or clockwise. Even with the board constantly spinning, I found it simple enough to keep track of where I was going. The game is a little more forgiving than the original Hexagon was as well. The game recommends wearing headphones, and while they’re only for the high-octane chiptune soundtrack by Chipzel, it’s really good for the several second snippets that I keep hearing!

Super Hexagon doesn’t have a whole lot to it with its survival gameplay, but it’s still plenty of fun and I found myself coming back. Fans of Terry Cavanagh’s work and even those unfamiliar with him should definitely check this out.