REVIEW: ‘Superfuse’ is Dreary and Beautiful (PC)

Superfuse is a hack-and-slash action game developed by Stitch Heads Entertainment and published by Raw Fury. At surface level, Superfuse challenges the player to focus on exploration and upgrading equipment by fighting hordes of infected zombie-like enemies. Through entertaining yet painstaking progression, players ultimately become their own superhero. There is plenty of fun to be had with Superfuse due to its immersive atmosphere and art style, but it likely is not for players looking for a gripping, innovative new hack-and-slash game.

Superfuse is set on a dying planet where corporate greed has maintained power over the lives of everyone in the universe. Despite the dying environment, the wealthy continue to do nothing but augment themselves with superpowers, becoming the only ones that can protect people from zombie-like monsters known as “The Corruption.” Wishing to continue their lives of greed without intervening in the natural consequences of their corporate nightmare, the wealthy create “Enforcers” in their own image. In Superfuse, players choose which type of enforcer they use to fight against hordes of corrupted monsters.

Players are quickly introduced to the option to choose from three different classes with distinct playstyles: the berserker, elementalist, or technomancer. As a berserker, players will be limited to close-range, slow-paced combat. Equipping different weapons and equipment can aid with the berserker’s movement, but ultimately this class is the most challenging to use.

The elementalist, on the other hand, is already well equipped with powerful short and long-range attacks. Although this class has the smallest amount of health, it presented far fewer challenges than the other classes. It was extremely useful to clear out hordes from a distance without even being detected. The technomancer is unique in that the character will often utilize technology to engage in combat. Though this class can still engage in hand-to-hand combat, it was always more useful to send out minions to start combat for me. Overall, I would recommend the elementalist for players looking for a casual playthrough of the game.

Although each class has its own advantages and disadvantages, Superfuse imposes a “Fuse System” that allows players to tailor their character to a play style that suits them best. Essentially, the Fuse System is a hyper-detailed skill tree that will allow players to focus on specific traits that they want their character to develop.

Though it is a focal point of the game, I found that it made little impact on my ability to progress. I spent much more time exploring environments to find upgrades for my weapons and equipment rather than trying to improve my character’s stats. There were no negative consequences for playing like this other than having an underpowered character, which was easily remedied by using fuses and skill points from time to time.

Gameplay can at times become tedious with a lack of engaging combat and a daunting amount of tasks to achieve to progress. In general, each class has only two types of attacks, and players will often find themselves button-mashing to eliminate hordes and get back to safety.

Superfuse may have been able to remedy the tedium of combat by making new weapons and actions more readily available to the player, but it requires an immense amount of exploration to find new items. Sometimes, items will only present themselves after parts of the environment are destroyed with the use of secret weapons. Additionally, progression is based on whether the player can achieve certain tasks and find hidden items. This takes a lot of time, but exploration is one of the more engaging aspects of the game due to its atmosphere.

Where Superfuse knocks it out of the park is its elaborate and dreary art style. Each level is backed by an ominous soundtrack that perfectly suits the atmosphere of the game. There is a stark contrast between the cartoonish character designs and earnest narrative that works incredibly well. Environments are designed to force players to explore and navigate every inch of the map. Luckily, it is an absolute delight to do so, and there is always something captivating or horrific around every corner. For its art direction alone, Superfuse is worth recommending.

Even in light of the issues that Superfuse may have, it is a fascinating game with care put into its presentation. The environments and animations are engaging and atmospheric, and its story is original and intriguing. The concepts and settings are fully realized and fleshed out, but anyone averse to repetitive exploration may want to skip it. Despite this, Superfuse is still a title that I would highly recommend.

Superfuse is coming to early access on PC on January 31st, 2023.