Written by Victor Sanchez, April 1, 2016 at 3:30 p.m.
Hyper Light Drifter was hype since almost minute one.
The small team behind the game started the campaign for their unique Zelda-inspired sci-fi/fantasy saw their Kickstarter goal reached within hours. By the end of the campaign their goal had been destroyed; Heart Machine had pulled in over 23 times their initial goal, with a grand total of almost $650k. After almost three long years of waiting, the game has finally seen its release.
The initial thing that drew most to the game was its unique art style and color palette and for the most part that feeling is alive and well in the game. Beautiful scenery, unique designs, and well-crafted animations are your constant companion on your journey through the world. The story is only told through text-less and voiceless images, and cut scenes giving you a vague understanding of a tragedy that befell the world the mysterious Drifter (the player character) explores. And while Hyper Light Drifter draws homage to Zelda/sword and sorcery style games, it is more focused on platforming and combat rather than puzzles.
The environment tells this story as well as you traverse ruins and witness the aftermath of an alien devastation. The game is unrestricted in its color palette, which delivers a unique visual experience. While the colors are certainly unique, there a more than a few instances where the overuse of color can make scenery appear confusing and sometimes unpleasant to look at. Despite this, the game world feels lived in and gives you a great sense of exploration.
The game runs at a constant 30 FPS, only serving to aggravate the effect of the sometimes confusing scenery. This may not matter to some, but avid PC action game players will notice the lack of frames. However, the combat remains virtually unaffected by the lack of frames, which can devastate other fast-paced action games. Encounters with enemies are fast paced and difficult with simple controls as to rely more on reaction time rather than proper item usage.
The difficulty of the game increases at a gradual pace; not just the enemies but also the platforming required to get through areas. The difficulty pairs well with a calming and well-made soundtrack, the soothing tones help to keep repeated deaths from aggravating players as they come to grips the fast paced gameplay.
It is highly recommended to play the game with a gamepad.
The tight controls paired with the unique visual style make this game a joy to hack, slash and shoot through. It captures the feel of some light Zelda-style exploration and does it well.
In summary, Hyper Light Drifter is simple, effective, and fun. Check it out if you are fan of old school Zelda games or action roguelikes.
