Hyper Light Drifter exploded on the Kickstarter scene back in September of last year, eventually destroying its goal of $27,000. By the time the campaign ended on October 12, it had amassed an impressive $645,158 from backers. The game looked incredible, and I kicked it the moment I saw it. I was wary, as I have been about games on Kickstarter for some time – it’s more common to be excited about a game and have it arrive, months (sometimes over a year) later, and be a disappointing mess. But after playing Hyper Light Drifter at PAX East, I can say with confidence that this is one game that’s going to live up to how amazing it looks.
Platforms: Mobile, PC (Version Played), PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox One
Publisher: Heart Machine
Developer: Heart Machine
Genre: Legend of Zelda: Indie Darling Edition
Release Date: Fall 2014
ESRB Rating: Rating Pending
Hyper Light Drifter is a 2D action RPG with retro stylings – something like a moodier, more stylistic Link to the Past but with a much different color palette and atmosphere. It has the same loneliness and feeling of wonder as games like Journey and Fez, the latter of which is unsurprising considering that brilliant maniac Rich “Disasterpeace” Vreeland is also doing the score to Hyper Light Drifter. I completely forgot I was surrounded by tens of thousands of people when I took the controller, put on the headphones, and had my first hands-on experience with Hyper Light Drifter.
Playing through the demo was as surreal as a dream. The strangeness of the wordless story creates an instant kinship with the main character: you are both going on this journey together. As I controlled the Drifter through the level, everything felt graceful and looked polished. The most obvious thing to talk about in terms of gameplay is the dash/teleport, which allows you to jump gaps in the environment, climb certain walls, and dodge around like a deadly ballerina in combat. The fluidity of movement, coupled with the timing of both the thrown sword and the sword slash, is a beautiful dance, creating a combat experience like no other. You slash your sword, then dash away; you throw your sword as soon as you enter an area, maneuvering the Drifter and maximizing the damage dealt. There were two separate screens set up at PAX East – one for story mode and one for the combat arena. Playing the combat arena side of the game, the spread gun and bombs were incredibly fun to use as well.
All of these factors add up to a delicate intimacy that few games achieve, and even fewer excel at. I’ll admit I wasn’t great at it initially, and that seeing my Drifter lay on the ground, the rest of the screen turning to black, elicited an emotional response. Having seen so much of him in the last few months, and then finally getting a chance to play as him, made it all the more personal for me. I can imagine I’ll get even more lost in the world once I can take it at my own pace.
Once I finished the demo, I talked to the developers. “You know when you back a Kickstarter and you’re really excited about it, and then you try it, and it’s disappointing?” I asked one of them. His face fell a little. “This game is the total opposite of that.” He laughed, and asked if he could hug me for Kickstarting the game. He then asked to take my picture. “I’m taking pictures of all the backers,” he said. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do with them yet, but I want to do something.”
The level of intimacy here is twofold – there’s the intimacy of the game, which is a beauty in and of itself, but there’s also the intimacy of being a part of the effort through Kickstarter. I’ve backed many games, but haven’t had much of a chance to actually meet many of the developers; events like PAX East give me that chance and turn a fun event into an unforgettable one. It’s one thing to watch a screen and see someone’s dreams come to life; it’s a completely different thing to get a hug and hear “Thank you!” and know that I was part of that dream.
Hyper Light Drifter, and the Heart Machine team, are unique and exquisite. There’s nothing quite like this game. Many developers try to harness the retro feel, try to build from that nostalgic style – but Heart Machine has taken those and evolved them into something new and extraordinary. Hyper Light Drifter is worth more than your time and money – it’s worth the emotional investment it will undoubtedly require.
