Super Buff HD Review

Imagine a world where all the buff people in the world turned against the rest of us. In this world, massive Adonises would hunt down humanity to destroy them. However, humanity has a hero who is ready to… skate on them… what? That was my first thought when I heard the premise of Buffcorps Super Buff HD, but I was given the chance to play through this comedic arena shooter. The question is if this is an experience that will bring couch surfers together, or does it need to hit the gym?

Usually, when I write a review, I like to talk about the plot, but Super Buff HD doesn’t have much to offer. Buff people have taken over the world, and it is up to you to stop them. There isn’t anything more really; even the bosses are only given a name at most. In most games, this would be a major hindrance, but honestly, it works here. This is a hectic shooter with comedic elements, and an excessive plot would probably ruin that. There doesn’t need to be a deep story, but sadly, Super Buff HD could have done a bit more to give some character to the world and its bosses. Their design is great, but there’s no real lead-up to what they are or who. 

The gameplay is fast-paced and exciting, revolving around the idea of speed and momentum. It put me in mind of the early Serious Sam Collection games, where you had to keep moving to stay alive. However, this is that design mixed with some Sunset Overdrive. This means there are double jumps and grind rails scattered around the maps. The other part of the movement has to do with the grinding on the enemies, essentially turning them into skateboards. This gives more speed and knocks certain enemies over, and allows the player to wall run. It all flows naturally together, and it is easy to get a really nice combo and, thus, a great final score with little effort. There are, of course, the same issues that often come with first-person platforming, but it is minor and isn’t too much of a hindrance.

Outside of movement, there is, of course, shooting, and this is where Super Buff HD hits a bit of a roadblock. The shooting isn’t bad by any means, and it all works well, but there is a limitation in what is offered to the player. Essentially, there are about four guns, at least that I found in a full playthrough, on offer, and they all work drastically differently with an alt-fire baked in. However, they don’t change up gameplay all that much and offer little beyond more damage or more bullets. It would have been nice to see the alt-fire offering some movement tricks or even more variety. Thankfully, the movement and relative shortness of the levels make this less of an issue than it could have been.

Visually, Super Buff HD isn’t super pretty, but it does have some interesting designs. Initially, the game starts with basic goons, but soon you have giant face helicopters, tanks and even more. The enemies and the bosses all have interesting designs, and they fit into the world that the game is trying to represent. It is blocky, and the guns have the weakest design overall, but it knows what it is, and there are some surprisingly vast levels with multiple routes on offer. However, that does start to change at the midway point, and arguably, the last two levels are some of the least interesting. Another lacking facet is, sadly, the soundtrack. It is initially pretty impressive, and the rock-style music fits with the action on screen, but it slowly gets repetitive. I don’t know if there were different tracks or just one, but I got tired of hearing the guitar riffs over and over again.

Super Buff HD is not a complex game; it doesn’t have a wealth of mechanics that almost feel designed to trip the player up. Instead, it wants you to run around, shoot, and skate without a care. Yes, there is no real plot or character motivations, but there doesn’t need to be. If you are a fan of the old arena shooter and miss the days of literal running and gunning, then this is the game for you. It isn’t very long and can easily be completed in an afternoon, and there is no real replay value, but it offers what it offers, and it does that well. If you want something to while away a few hours or just want to burn some of that energy, then this is for you, but if you need a bit more depth, then maybe give it a miss.