‘Superfluxus’ Boldly, But Clunkily, Shoots For The Moon (Review)

In elementary school, I devoured every Choose Your Own Adventure book I could get my hands on. I loved making bold choices and then flipping through the book to see if those brashly made decisions paid off. Sometimes, it didn’t, with adventures coming to a swift (and even deadly) end. But when I was able to make it to the adventure’s intended ending, it was incredibly satisfying. In stopping to think about those books now, at least two decades since I last cracked one open, I was simply responding to options without considering what it meant to make those choices. Those adventures just want to keep the story moving toward any possible conclusion. The choices were about what to do and not why you should do it.

In playing Superfluxus from Seth Bockley and Drew Paryzer as part of Pivot Arts’ 2020 festival, I find the parallels with Choose Your Own Adventure books to be uncanny. The team takes the best elements of those books and breathes new life into them by using the online aspect to their advantage. Yet in using this narrative model, Superfluxus suffers from the same pitfalls where choices can be devoid of personal meaning or attention.

In navigating the Pivot Arts website, I easily find the unassuming orange button to begin Superfluxus among its synopsis and cast and crew credits. In clicking the bland button, I’m redirected to a site with bold glowing white text set against dim stars welcoming me to this workshop experience. During its setup, Superfluxus guides me through how this choose-your-own-adventure and point-and-click hybrid experience works. Similar to the one for My Heart Goes Zoom, this simple and efficient online “lobby” space eases me into Superfluxus as the world around me fades away.

In Superfluxus you play a computer security technician tracking the Prongback, a Lovecraftian-like alien who’s mentally enslaving all humanity. Each person who falls under the Prongback’s power simply slips into a coma-like state, dead to the world around them. It quickly becomes apparent you might be the Prongback’s latest victim, sending you on a psychological/sci-fi/horror/time-travel/family drama/mystery to save humanity.

I’m not trying to be coy about explaining Superfluxus’ story because I simply don’t know how to explain it any better. After playing Superfluxus several times, I still struggle to understand the story at large, as it shifts under my feet with no clear overarching objective to lean on. Initially I’m tasked with defeating the “Prongback.” But that quickly changes with navigating a series of ever-evolving and deepening dynamics between on- and off-camera characters against a complicated and shifting dreamlike landscape. As I progress, could Superfluxus be about saving my sister? Or humanity? Or maybe I should just succumb to the Prongback?

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Superfluxus constantly doubles down on the sci-fi and Lovecraftian elements with providing as little context possible. It feels like the made-up jargon is used solely for the purposes of using made-up jargon, creating a barrier that I give up trying to penetrate. It’s only in the final minutes of Superfluxus’ 90–120 minute playthrough time when some story elements become clearer. Between the shifting narrative complications and thick, confusing lingo, I find myself simply making choices that sound the most interesting rather than the most compelling.

And it doesn’t help that Superfluxus is a little difficult to navigate at certain points. This is most prevalent during the three puzzles in Superfluxus. With each of these puzzles, I understood what I should do but not how I should do it. If it wasn’t for a “Help” function that’s readily available throughout the experience, I fear I’d have been stuck forever attempting to solve these problems.

Yet despite all this I found Superfluxus to be one of the most worthwhile experiences I have done online during the pandemic. Superfluxus elects to go big with each choice, boldly pushing and exploring how immersive experiences could and should work online.

Superfluxus was originally going to be a live-event before the pandemic. It’s an impressive testament to the cast and crew’s ability to transform Superfluxus to an online experience and keep their original premiere date. But what’s awe-inspiring about this pivot online is rather than relying on Zoom like everyone else, they’ve built a robust website from scratch where each design and structural choice only heightens the experience. While clunky, everything does work as intended, with my adventure progressing ever forward. With the lack of Zoom-like chat features and alerts, I’m able to focus on every element and visual that keeps me locked into the world of the experience.

Additionally, Superfluxus’ website is mindful of how an audience member might need to use it. Along with the useful “Help” function, there are “Pause” and “Replay” functions. If I misread text or didn’t quite get what a prompt was asking me, I’d just replay the section again. Or if I’m at home and am constantly being distracted, like Alexis Soloski was in her New York Times review of online theatre experiences, I can just hit “Pause” and come back when I’m ready. Since it’s a self-guided adventure, you can play Superfluxus whenever you have the availability, rather than having to be ready at a specific time. My newfound pre-show stress of making sure I log in or solve any connection problems before online experiences is nowhere to be found in starting Superfluxus. If a major point of creating online immersive work is about accessibility for the audience, Superfluxus is the first experience to actively make the most of this opportunity.

Even with the clunkiness of its execution and story, Superfluxus’ attempt to do something new in the online space is a welcomed breath of fresh air. And since it’s a workshop presentation, I hope that means we’ll see future updates or changes that creators could release on their web site. So while Superfluxus shoots for the moon and ends up getting lost among stars instead, it doesn’t make what it’s accomplished any less incredible.

Superfluxus continues as part of the Pivot Arts festival through July 30. Tickets are pay-what-you-can.

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