Classic Comic Fans Will Love Solving the Mystery of ‘Supernova’
I like puzzles. Any sort of brain teaser, really. I thought solving the mystery of Supernova would be a total breeze. I was so wrong.
In the last few years, we’ve seen a lot of “escape room in a box” game styles. They come with a bunch of items covered with hints and clues that slowly unlock the next piece of the puzzle. The leader in this style of game (in my opinion), is Hunt A Killer.
I’ve previously raved about Death at a Dive Bar, which was all about solving a murder mystery. But this time I took on a different genre, one full of classic sci-fi comics.
High Quality Components
First off, Supernova is absolutely stunning to unbox. Supernova comes with a ton of excellent goodies.
There’s a full Supernova action figure, a lunchbox, a decoder disc, campy advert for gags and pranks like they used to have in the old comics, and even a full-color comic book. All of these items fit into the narrative of the game as well as the puzzle-solving aspects.
Beyond the great quality of the components, the game itself is excellent.
Brain Teasing and Puzzley Gameplay
Now that I’ve gotten a few of these style of games under my belt, I thought I had a good handle on the tricks they would use to try to pull one over on me. Boy, was I wrong–in the best kind of way.
I won’t get into any spoilers, but Hunt a Killer does a great job of puzzle-building. In a broad sense, the games have several different puzzles that are all interconnected. You need to solve one piece of one puzzle, then use that to make some progress on another puzzle. Then you take what you learned from that puzzle and go to another, and so on.
At no point while playing through Supernova did I feel stuck, even though I definitely was. It was the fun kind of stuck. The engaging kind of stuck. I never felt lost. Anytime I would finish one trail, I would lay everything out in front of me and suddenly something would click. It’s a game that makes you feel clever every step of the way.
Engaging Story and Narrative
The Hunt A Killer games aren’t just “solve the mystery”. That is the objective, sure. But along the way, a story unfolds and before you know it, you’re invested in the characters. The puzzles of the game drive the twists and turns of the story along the way. You want to keep playing not just to solve the mystery, but to find out what is going on and what happens to the characters. And Supernova even has multiple endings based on the choices you make!
Overall, Supernova is a great experience from beginning to end. If you’re a fan of puzzles, riddles, and brain teasers, do yourself a favor and check out Hunt a Killer, and maybe specifically Supernova. This isn’t even their most difficult game!
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