I discover a temple nearby, and inside a number of white-tailed creatures take refuge. Whatever the case may be, it was clearly dropped on the bridge that leads to my destination, so I have to find a way around. There’s no indicator of its history outside of my own assumptions. My first thought is this weapon must have belonged to the titans I saw earlier, but it’s just part of the environment. I pass a sword the size of a building collecting moss and foliage from presumed years of abandonment. What appears to be a man near the area’s entrance shows me an image of a large intimidating frog creature, which is then marked on my map as a destination. It doesn’t take long to develop a rhythm and speed allowing me to navigate the terrain quickly. My exploring leads me to a flooded area where I rely on the Drifter’s blink ability to move above the water between platforms. Guards stand by the town’s exits, but do nothing to prevent my departure, so I point the Drifter east.įor more from our time with Hyper Light Drifter, as well as interviews with its creators, head to page two. Anthropomorphic animals and alien creatures mill about, and a few have stands set up to sell items, but I don’t have any money. Leaving the home reveals a town, and a device that heals and serves as a platform for fast-travel. As the screen fills with red pixels, a shadowy creature, perhaps the same one seen in the aforementioned opening, attacks and everything goes black before he wakes in a house surrounded by computer equipment. The Drifter makes his way outside, but the mysterious plague grips him again. Blink has no limit to how much I can use it, and it quickly becomes my main mode of movement, even when there are no obstacles requiring its use. The blink ability quickly proves to be much more than a combat mechanic, as I use it to move across chasms and between platforms. Battles are thoughtful and fast, without getting overwhelming and even the smallest enemy poses a threat. Combat is fluid, and though I have the mobility advantage, the goblin can dole out damage quickly if I don’t stay on my toes. I zip around the combat field as I encounter my first enemy – a small goblin-like creature who takes exactly three hits to dispatch. The Drifter can blink from one position to another. The Drifter is suffering from some kind of sickness, but it does little to debilitate his movement and combat abilities. Thankfully a health pack is nearby, and one of the few tutorials instructs me how to pick it up and use it. When I finally get control of the Drifter, I only take a few steps before he hunches over in pain, coughing as the screen fills with red pixels. It’s unclear if this sequence is a peek at the history or future of this world, or if it’s a dream. A shadowy creature attacks and the scene shifts as he finds himself in front of gigantic humanoid, possibly robotic titans who shatter before him. The Drifter, the player character, is seen standing amid a collection of dead bodies. The result is a narrative led by emotion rather than transparent facts, and gameplay built on discovery instead of tutorial.įrom the beginning, Hyper Light Drifter presents a world of mystery and intrigue. “The main motivation is we want to be subtle and implicit,” Hyper Light Drifter’s creator Alex Preston says, “Being explicit can ruin the mystery, or you can’t make the story quite your own.” Everything in Hyper Light Drifter is explained through animation and imagery, and everything is learned through player intuition and experimentation. You have to test your weapons and upgrades because no tutorial explains their function. The way currency works is not immediately apparent, because there are no numbers. A few lines of text appear during the opening moments to discuss small mechanics, but that’s the last time you see any words. Hyper Light Drifter has no spoken dialogue or written sto ry. The game will be available next week, so we've decided to post our extended feature on the game that appeared in our March 2016 issue of the magazine. Developer Heart Machine announced the release date this morning for its upcoming Hyper Light Drifter.
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