I have a lot to say about this I think.
I think Hyper Light Drifter has some of the best art direction, sound design and gameplay loops in any game I've played (which is a low bar but still it was awesome). Everything is married together in a way that's very dynamic, very impactful, and I'm absolutely in love with the presentation of it.
The gameplay is hard to get right, but when you do get it right, oh my god it cuts like butter and it feels so god damn good. Easy to learn but hard to really master, and while it is punishing, I also think that it really really encourages you to think fast, move fast, and worry about what's right in front of you. It's very good!
Now, for the story. I... I'm conflicted just because I want to give this story praise for telling us everything without a single word being read, but it's also the biggest detractor I have with the game. It's hard to really know what's going on, why everything you do as the Drifter really matters, and what the point of it is in the end. I mean, it's pretty clear that you're trying to save people (no spoilers!) and you get that through the 1 or 3 slide conversations you get with various npc's around the map, but it's really hard to feel the scale because of how ambiguous the opening and closing cutscenes are. There's a large element of time skipping happening, there's a lot of very confusing, if not striking, imagery happening that doesn't make a lot of sense even after finish everything, and there's a lot that feels unanswered at the end.
...but. I also think that all these things are monumental in setting this game a part from everyone else. I know about the main dev's sort of allegorical story he put into the game that mirrors his own struggles with... disease (no spoilers! I'm trying!) and the story really does reflect this: it's bleak, it's hard, and it's not rewarding in the long run. There's a lot of imagery, a lot of emotional moments, that in the end sometimes feels like life, where you just kind of feel like you got over one hill to see the rest of the mountain before you. And I love it! We only see the Drifter's perspective in this world that's already so rich with lore and more to discover, and we play through this world through the Drifter's perspective, in which we're learning things with them! That aura of confusion stays with us throughout the game, broken by reminders of what's at stake at the end anytime we collect 4 modules: a shadowy character stabs us in vicious ways, the 4 main power sources (I think) activate, the gate opens and some unknown power is unleashed that eviscerates what's left of this world.
Do we know what this means? Only because we saw the very vague opening cutscene, but even then our knowledge is limited. All we know is that we have to fix things somehow, and we're running out of time.
It's a great game! I started to go for a completionist run and I'm only missing the three hardest achievements in the game! One day I'll finish those, but until then, I'm excited for what else Heart Machine has in store for us all.
I think Hyper Light Drifter has some of the best art direction, sound design and gameplay loops in any game I've played (which is a low bar but still it was awesome). Everything is married together in a way that's very dynamic, very impactful, and I'm absolutely in love with the presentation of it.
The gameplay is hard to get right, but when you do get it right, oh my god it cuts like butter and it feels so god damn good. Easy to learn but hard to really master, and while it is punishing, I also think that it really really encourages you to think fast, move fast, and worry about what's right in front of you. It's very good!
Now, for the story. I... I'm conflicted just because I want to give this story praise for telling us everything without a single word being read, but it's also the biggest detractor I have with the game. It's hard to really know what's going on, why everything you do as the Drifter really matters, and what the point of it is in the end. I mean, it's pretty clear that you're trying to save people (no spoilers!) and you get that through the 1 or 3 slide conversations you get with various npc's around the map, but it's really hard to feel the scale because of how ambiguous the opening and closing cutscenes are. There's a large element of time skipping happening, there's a lot of very confusing, if not striking, imagery happening that doesn't make a lot of sense even after finish everything, and there's a lot that feels unanswered at the end.
...but. I also think that all these things are monumental in setting this game a part from everyone else. I know about the main dev's sort of allegorical story he put into the game that mirrors his own struggles with... disease (no spoilers! I'm trying!) and the story really does reflect this: it's bleak, it's hard, and it's not rewarding in the long run. There's a lot of imagery, a lot of emotional moments, that in the end sometimes feels like life, where you just kind of feel like you got over one hill to see the rest of the mountain before you. And I love it! We only see the Drifter's perspective in this world that's already so rich with lore and more to discover, and we play through this world through the Drifter's perspective, in which we're learning things with them! That aura of confusion stays with us throughout the game, broken by reminders of what's at stake at the end anytime we collect 4 modules: a shadowy character stabs us in vicious ways, the 4 main power sources (I think) activate, the gate opens and some unknown power is unleashed that eviscerates what's left of this world.
Do we know what this means? Only because we saw the very vague opening cutscene, but even then our knowledge is limited. All we know is that we have to fix things somehow, and we're running out of time.
It's a great game! I started to go for a completionist run and I'm only missing the three hardest achievements in the game! One day I'll finish those, but until then, I'm excited for what else Heart Machine has in store for us all.