Have you ever wanted to make your own Superhero? What about a superhero in a world like Invincible or The Boys? This is precisely what developer Stitch Heads and publisher Raw Fury aimed for with their upcoming hack and slash action RPG, Superfuse.
After humanity escaped a dying earth thanks to the corporate elite, those same saviors then turned themselves into god-like creatures. Using that same gift that saved humanity, safety quickly became oppression, and the poor sunk lower—the rich made mortality and humanity into playthings. Then, an alien “Corruption” appeared that rivaled the rich’s rule, leading them to create demigods, also known as Enforcers. Enforcers were given the gift of superpowers in a technological future to fight the Corruption and eventually became the guard dogs of Corporatocracy. In Superfuse, you’ll play as an Enforcer, starting off on a routine mission to stop a Corruption threat.
I saw many cool things about Superfuse in my 30-minute early build preview. So, here are a few things that stood out to me the most. First is the superpowers. In my preview, I played as the Berserker. One of the first points the developers made clear was that this game is all about the player making their characters their own. And it’s evident what they mean. Not only do each of the five Enforcers have their own set of powers, but the ways each can be customized are pretty unique. For instance, the Berserker’s earthquake ability can be customized in just about any way you think it could! This is done with the use of Fuses. In my playthrough, I changed my earthquake ability so it would branch off, bounce between enemies, and create a massive wall of fire. Each modification also changes how much damage that ability does and how much it costs. So, since mine branched off into many smaller earthquakes, it did less damage than one big earthquake, though it covered more area.
But that’s the point of Superfuse—player expression! Even if the developers said I was almost the first person to die to the preview’s boss, it was still fun making these abilities my own. From character looks to ability customization, the developer’s goal was that no two players would have the same Enforcer. So even outrageous builds (like mine) are technically in the meta as long as it’s fun.
This is also helped with the looter-like gameplay that you’d recognize from games like Diablo or Path of Exile. Loot will drop all the time, and loot management is critical by using a similar multi-cell inventory system that focuses on space availability. And the looks of the Enforcers will change depending on the gear equipped as well. What excited me the most, though, was that players will be able to change the color of their gear for even more character customization. So depending on the gear you find, you can create your dream superhero or supervillain enforcer.
Finally, the entire style of Superfuse is “you’re playing a literal comic book.” This was evident from the opening cutscene: moving comic panes and talking heads that look like you’re speaking to a comic book character. Even the world itself is stylized with comic-like art. Stitch Heads, during my session, told me that the lead artist, David Thor Fjalarsson, was a comic book artist for 15 years before joining the dev team, and it really shows.
I could feel the love and care that was put into Superfuse. When talking about other planets that players will be able to visit, I was told that the native people there would change based on the environment. For example, on a lower gravity planet, the people would be lankier, and on a place like Mars, they would look beefier and more god-like. On top of all that, this game will be fully voiced! In the segments I played, the voice acting really helped with immersion and let me enjoy more of this world the dev team has created.
Superfuse is ambitious but has the potential to be a gamechanger for Superhero games. articularly with the emphasis on player expression, there will be no limit on what gamers can come up with. can’t wait to see more as the early preview launches later this year, the different enforcers, explore more planets, and see where exactly Stitch Heads is taking us on their adventure.
Superfuse will be available on Early Access in 2022 on PC.
