Find Your Light
Since the launch of Braid back in 2008, there’s usually been at least one independently developed game each year that reaches the upper echelons of “unforgettable.” I’d argue that 2015’s showcases were Her Story and Ori and the Blind Forest, which were expertly crafted experiences and some of the best titles to come out of last year. This year, we may have an early adopter to that crown with the rise of Hyper Light Drifter; a game that relies as much on its world’s style as it does its masterclass gameplay, resulting in what is easily one of the most satisfying experiences of the year.
Hyper Light Drifter’s origins unfortunately lie in tragedy. Lead designer Alex Preston has had a chronic heart disease since birth, being forced to deal with pervasive hospitalization and treatment for his condition. As a form of relief, Preston often found himself coming back to art in order to cope with his situations, but as he grew older, his ambitions rose. Preston gradually envisioned the art he produced as its own video game, combining the elements of his childhood favorites Diablo and A Link to the Past. After developing into a competent animator over the years, Preston decided to make his vision become a reality, and formed the aptly titled studio Heart Machine to finally make his passion project come to life.
Enlisting the help of a few experienced developers who had worked on well-recieved titles such as Samurai Gun, the newly established studio took to Kickstarter in order to secure their $27,000 necessary for completion. The project was completely funded within 24 hours, and finished with a grand total well over half a million dollars, allowing the team to expand their release across nearly every platform. Originally slated for a 2014 release, the game saw a multitude of delays due to Preston’s condition and issues regarding their choice of engine, GameMaker. However, it was all worth the wait in the end when the game finally saw the light of day in April of 2016.
Words are not in the forefront at all in Hyper Light Drifter. In fact, I don’t recall anything other than still images and environmental detailing telling the world’s story. You’ll enter a world of complete melancholy, which contrasts with the emphasis the game places on extravagant color, creating a very unique and honestly fitting juxtaposition. You are an entity only known to us as the Drifter, a character suffering from a terminal illness, obviously harkening to Preston himself. After awakening at an unknown location, our protagonist must travel across all portions of this newfound land that surrounds its lone source of civilization, and rid the area of its evil corruption.
All of this is meant to function as an overarching allegory for Preston’s experience under his ongoing medical issues, but perhaps my personal favorite attribute of this is that it also intentionally leaves everything to interpretation. Like I said, Hyper Light Drifter has more still images than actual text, and next to nothing is legitimately concrete from a story perspective as a result. Even the developers themselves have encouraged fan theories to arise based off what they left behind, and even though I personally never get too invested into game lore, it’s nevertheless always awesome to see that kind of passion develop.
At first glance, Hyper Light Drifter appears to share many similarities with classic Zelda titles, specifically A Link to the Past, and that’s not too far from the truth. It applies a similar top-down perspective and the distribution of land is very similar to what you’d see on a Zelda overworld, and the same could be said for the unique enemy design. However, when Zelda placed a larger emphasis on puzzle solving, Hyper Light Drifter relies heavily upon its combat; and it’s spectacular. Similar to games like Dark Souls, it depends upon the actual animations. Dodging and frantically dashing along the map is required in order to merely hit your opponents, because Hyper Light Drifter is fast; very fast. Encounters are still strategic, but nearly every fight will require you to make split-second decisions on your next maneuver. Throw in a gun and other skills into the mix, and you’ve got an immensely satisfying gameplay system. It’s fun, challenging, addictive, and perhaps most important of all, it’s fair. I died numerous times on certain bosses, but each one still remained engaging no matter what happened, and in the end provided some of the absolute best boss fights I’ve seen in games in some time.
That said, the general structure of Hyper Light Drifter may not appeal to everyone. If the combat loop doesn’t strike you immediately then this game will almost definitely not be for you. Enclosed combat arenas occur often, and despite some light RPG upgrading elements that I personally enjoy, they don’t necessarily significantly add to the experience. In fact, it’s important to note in general that this is much closer to a standard action game rather than any sort of role-playing title. There’s some minimal interaction with NPCs and shopkeeping, but the experience doesn’t lean heavily on that material. It’s great that they’ve included these elements, but you could probably get by just fine by leaving them untouched.
Even though I really like Hyper Light Drifter, it has some obvious flaws. For instance, the implemented map is near-unusable. It takes the form of what you’d see in something like A Link to the Past, yet again, but it doesn’t adjust for the player’s exact location like you’d expect. Instead, they just plop you right in the middle of the screen you’re on. As a result, I barely used it, but I will say it was usually fairly easy to get around the interconnected tunnels of dungeons without any help. Another problem was the exploration. As I said earlier, Hyper Light Drifter puts some of what highlights a Zelda title on the backseat in favor of much more intricate combat, but that doesn’t include the exploration; it’s just different between the two. Zelda is usually about using your tools to discover elements you couldn’t see otherwise, when Hyper Light Drifter usually hides its chests around hidden walls. Not that hiding secrets like that is immediately detrimental, but it should be noted that it gets so frequent to the point that you’re going to want to walk around the perimeter of every screen just to assure you haven’t missed anything; that in itself is a bit problematic.
Everything about Hyper Light Drifter’s aesthetic screams homage to the 8 and 16-bit eras of gaming. Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but I truly think this game in particularly provides a sort of style to this formatting that’s refreshing. The art is pixelated, but it uses this retro look to further create a sense of haunting isolation that contrasts well with its colorful world. Accompanying the terrific art direction is a set of ominous and extremely well-composed chiptune music tracks from Disasterpiece, who has a history of creating the soundtracks of other games such as Fez. All of this shines in the game’s highly stylized cut-scenes and other presentational aspects, crafting an artistic showcase that’s simply unrivaled.
Hyper Light Drifter is easily one of my favorite games of the year, but it’s fairly clear to see that it won’t be everyone. Some fans looking a game more akin to its Zelda influence, for example, may be disappointed to see a lot of its adventure elements traded for a larger focus on combat. However, those who stick around will be treated to what I think is one of the most rewarding combat systems I’ve ever played. It’s fast, dynamic, and challenging without entering into ‘unfair’ territory. I finished the game at about ten hours even, so it’s also longer than your typical indie game, while still not overstaying its welcome. Throw in an outstanding visual representation, especially in regards to its developmental backstory, and you’ve got a trek I won’t be forgetting anytime soon. Alex Preston may have conceived Hyper Light Drifter as just another way of expressing himself through art, but I’m sure others will also find their own lights through this gem.
