Hyper Light Drifter: a bitter-sweet symphony

Before getting to the game itself, there are a few things that I want to make clear in order to set this review in the right context. In the last few years, one of the biggest trends in the gaming industry has been (and still is) the incredible rise in number, quality and popularity of indie games. It is quite fair to say that the development of digital distribution platforms such as Steam, Origin and G2A has had a major role in it. It is also fair to say that of the thousands of independently developed games out there, the great majority is heavily lacking in originality, inspiration or quality. Once in a while, though, great games surface from the Indie ocean of mediocrity and make it big. Hyper Light Drifter is definitely one of the good ones and the developers, Heart Machine, should definitely be praised for the job they have done (starting from a Kickstarter campaign). This said, lets get down to business.

The cold analysis

Hyper Light Drifter is a mix between a 2D hack&slash and a platform exploration game. It is set in a non specified time in a fictional world that lays in a “healthy” decadent state: even though is clear that a more evolved, technologically advanced civilisation once inhabited the game world and has now fallen, the vibe coming off the various landscapes is one of life still going on. The controls are very responsive and precise if playing with a controller, a bit more clunky if using the keyboard, but not clunky enough to affect the overall experience. The different areas of the game are well characterised and the same is true for the enemies, all clearly defined and with different behavioural patterns. In terms of length, completing the main story takes between eight and nine hours, while going through every bit of the game in search of secrets and hidden paths (and there are a lot of them, believe me) will take more than thirty hours. In my personal opinion, the replayability of the game is pretty low: there are not many things the player can custom and once the 100% of the game gets discovered there are not many reasons to start over again.

The “feel” of the game

The first thing that came to my mind when I started playing it was: “this is BEAUTIFUL”. Not a beautiful game, but a beautiful set of feelings that I felt while playing. The pixelated graphics are absolutely great, definitely one of the best I have ever seen. There is an attention for the details rendered through a minimalist style and a fantastic use of colours and lights that results in what I feel can really be considered art. The sound is maybe even better than the graphics. Both the game sounds and the soundtrack work together to create a powerful atmosphere that is clearly tailored to what happens in game. Again, I feel I can say that the soundtrack of this game is one of the best I have ever heard and it could go toe to toe with the soundtracks of major movies.

While the style of the game is top notch, its gameplay presents a number of issues. From the very beginning, the player has to completely rely on instinct to progress. No words are spoken, there is no tip-system in place to guide the player first steps. There is no dialogue between characters. The tutorial is almost non-existent and many mechanics of the game have to be picked up along the way, by chance or by trial and error. The minimap, although visually impressive, is not precise enough and offers no marking system, resulting in the encounter of a lot of dead ends and in a lot of back tracking. The difficulty of the game is also an issue: difficulty spikes, often unjustified, make for really frustrating moments as there is the clear feeling that the game did not prepare the player for such changes of pace. These spikes often coincide with the boss fights, there are, again in my opinion, too punitive for the average gamer, especially considering how little the game does to help the player master the mechanics of the game.

To conclude

It only takes a few minutes playing Hyper Light Drifter to see how the developers tried to design a very unconventional game. They definitely did a great job in creating an immersive world that leaves you awed at every change of screen, but I feel that making a sensory masterpiece is not quite the same thing as making a great game. Simply put, I believe that Hyper Light Drifter is the perfect game for the hardcore gamer but definitely not the right game for the average gamer that wants to relax a couple of hours in front of a PC. There is nothing wrong with it, but I think it’s a pity that not everyone will be able to enjoy the gorgeous piece of art that Hyper Light Drifter really is.