Superhuman

A hands-on guide to playing and mastering Superhuman

Superhuman is a narrative-driven interactive game that blends character progression, daily resource management, and choice-driven outcomes to create a replayable experience centered on building a hero’s abilities and reputation. In this article I’ll walk you through how Superhuman works, share hands-on experiences from my playthroughs, and give practical tips to shape your ideal build. Whether you’re just curious or aiming for an optimized run, this guide covers the core systems, decision points, and tactics that matter most.

Core Systems and Stats in Superhuman

Alright, hero. Time to get past the flashy cinematics and talk about the nuts and bolts that make your journey in Superhuman truly yours. 🦸‍♂️ This isn’t just about looking cool in a cape (though that’s a bonus); it’s about building a unique hero through the game’s deep systems. Your entire Superhuman character progression hinges on three pillars: Power, Skill, and Resolve. Master these, understand the rhythm of your daily activities in Superhuman, and you’ll stop just playing the story—you’ll start writing it. Let’s dive in.

How Power, Skill, and Resolve Work 🏋️‍♂️🧠💖

Think of Power, Skill, and Resolve as the DNA of your character. Every action you take, every choice you make, filters through one of these three core Superhuman stats. They’re more than just numbers; they’re the lens through which you see and interact with the world. Raising them doesn’t just make you stronger—it changes what you can perceive and accomplish.

• Power is your raw, physical might. It governs direct confrontation, feats of strength, and your ability to endure physical punishment. A high Power stat means you can smash through walls, overpower brutes in a grapple, or intimidate someone just by flexing. It’s the stat for those who believe the most straightforward solution is often the best one. 💥

• Skill is your finesse, precision, and technical know-how. This stat affects your accuracy with ranged abilities, your success at stealth maneuvers, hacking into secure systems, and even picking locks or disarming traps. A Skill-focused hero solves problems with elegance and efficiency, often avoiding a messy fight altogether. 🎯

• Resolve is your mental fortitude, willpower, and empathy. It determines your resistance to psychic attacks, fear effects, and manipulation. Crucially, it also unlocks deeper, more persuasive dialogue options, allows you to calm volatile situations, and lets you push your body beyond its normal limits through sheer determination. It’s the stat of leaders and diplomats. ✨

Your Superhuman training choices will directly raise these stats. But it’s not just about grinding numbers. Each point invested reshapes your potential. Here’s a quick reference to see how they stack up:

Pro Tip: Don’t try to be perfect at everything! Specializing in two stats early on is far more effective than spreading yourself thin. A balanced hero is often a mediocre one when the pressure is on.

Daily Activities and Resource Flow 📅⚡

Your life as a burgeoning hero is a constant balancing act, played out day by day. The daily activities in Superhuman are your engine for character progression, but they’re fueled by three key resources: Action Points (AP), Stamina, and Reputation.

Each “day” in the game gives you a set number of Action Points (AP). You spend these to do, well, anything meaningful:
* Training: The core of improving your Superhuman stats. Hit the gym for Power, the shooting range for Skill, or the quiet room for Resolve.
* Patrol: Heading out into the city to find trouble (or let it find you). This consumes AP and Stamina but is the primary way to earn Reputation and experience major story beats.
* Rest: Crucial. This recovers your Stamina. Pushing yourself while exhausted leads to penalties and can even cause injuries that lock out activities for several days.
* Special Events: These pop up on the calendar—a city gala, a press conference, a meeting with a mysterious contact. They’re often free AP-wise but present unique opportunities and choices.

Stamina is your physical and mental fuel. Every patrol and most training sessions drain it. Let it hit zero, and you’re benched. Reputation is your social currency. Earn it by successfully completing patrol events and public missions. High Reputation can open up new special events, get citizens to help you, or make certain enemies think twice before fighting.

Here’s a typical, tough choice you might face:
You have 3 AP left. A major story threat is looming tomorrow. You could:
1. Use 2 AP for a heavy Power training session (+2 Power, -40% Stamina).
2. Use 1 AP to rest (+60% Stamina, but no stat gain).
3. Use 2 AP to research the threat at the library (might unlock a critical Skill or Resolve check in tomorrow’s encounter).

There is no “right” answer—only the answer that fits the hero you’re building. This is the heart of strategic Superhuman character progression.

Why Stats Matter for Story and Outcomes 🌳🔀

This is where Superhuman truly shines. Your Superhuman stats are not siloed in combat; they are the key that unlocks entire narrative pathways. How stats affect story is the game’s secret superpower.

Every major (and many minor) interactions have stat checks lurking beneath the surface. These aren’t just pass/fail gates; they are fundamentally different ways for a scene to unfold.

Let me give you a personal example. Early in my playthrough, I was tracking a villain who had holed up in a fortified warehouse with hostages. My first instinct, with my decent Power stat, was to kick the door down. The game presented that option right at the top. But I had spent the previous few in-game days making different Superhuman training choices. Instead of the gym, I’d visited the library to research the villain’s tech (raising Skill) and attended a community outreach event (raising Resolve).

So, when I approached the warehouse, two new options appeared:
* (Skill 15) “You recognize the brand of security system on the roof. There’s a maintenance hatch on the western side with a known bypass code.”
* (Resolve 12) “Listen to the voices inside. One of the hostages is trying to reason with them. You can amplify your voice to join the conversation, attempting to de-escalate.”

I chose the Resolve path. What followed was a tense, five-minute dialogue mini-game instead of a fight. By successfully persuading one of the lesser henchmen, I caused a distraction that allowed the hostages to flee, and the main villain surrendered without a single punch thrown. My high Power, Skill, and Resolve stats didn’t just give me more options; they gave me better ones for the story I wanted to tell—a story of a hero who used their mind first.

The trade-offs are real and meaningful:
* High Power might let you rip a vault door off its hinges, but you’ll never see the delicate Skill option to rewire the electronic lock, which could have left an alarm silent.
* Maxing Skill could allow you to hack a villain’s entire network from the shadows, but you may lack the Resolve needed to withstand the psychic backlash from their core AI, forcing a different approach.
* Focusing on Resolve lets you talk down a rampaging mutant, but if you fail, you might lack the raw Power needed to subdue them non-lethally, leading to a tragic outcome.

Your Superhuman training choices literally write the script. Want to be the brooding powerhouse who solves every problem with their fists? Invest in Power. Want to be the brilliant tactician who outthinks every opponent? Skill is your path. Want to be the inspirational heart of the city, turning enemies into allies? Resolve will get you there. The game doesn’t judge your path; it reflects it back at you in every conversation and confrontation.

So, as you plan your days, remember: you’re not just managing resources and stats. You’re choosing what kind of hero you are, one decision at a time. Build deliberately, embrace the strengths (and weaknesses) of your build, and watch as the world of Superhuman changes around the unique legend you’re creating. 🚀

Superhuman rewards deliberate choices, consistent progression, and curiosity. By understanding how Power, Skill, and Resolve shape outcomes, planning a focused build, and learning to adapt during events, you can shape runs that reflect the playstyle you enjoy most. Try one focused archetype for a run, then pivot on a second run to test new dialogue and event outcomes; share your favorite strategies with the community to refine your approach.