Warp Zoned Presents
All Articles: Hyper Light Drifter
Hyper Light Drifter Beta Impressions: How To Do A Beta the Right Way
Who doesn’t love the sweet, slick, retro style of Kickstarter darling Hyper Light Drifter? This 2D action RPG took the indie world by storm last year, ultimately collecting more than $640,000 from backers during its Kickstarter campaign. Watching the videos and seeing the magic unfold as developer Heart Machine met its goal, beat it, and then left it in the dust was a joyful experience. I got a chance to play Hyper Light Drifter at PAX East this year and the staff loved it so much we chose it for our PAXpocalpyse list. And now I’m getting the chance to play it early in my living room thanks to a backers-only beta. The PC beta was originally supposed to be available from October 3rd through the 5th, but after some “internal discussions, the team decided to extend the beta to the 31st. I couldn’t be happier, and I’ll admit – I’ve had a hard time putting it down. (more…)
Hyper Light Drifter “probably” won’t be released until early 2015
Those of you who were hoping to get you hands on Heart Machine’s much-anticipated action RPG Hyper Light Drifter may have to wait at least another few months. During this year’s PAX East, studio head Alex Preston revealed to Destructoid that, while the game was progressing, an early 2015 release date is “probably […] more realistic” than the current late 2014 target.
Speaking about how the company had managed to raise $600,000 for the game on Kickstarter, Preston said, “We’ve seen a lot of backers come out [to PAX East], and it’s been fantastic to meet them, and the reception from everyone else has been pretty damn good.”
Hyper Light Drifter, an homage to 16-bit RPG classics but with modern mechanics, has been described as a fusion of the best bits of franchises like Zelda and Diablo. To find out more about the game, you should check out our own PAX East preview right here.
Posted in Mobile, News, PC, PS4, Vita, Wii U, Xbox One
Tagged Hyper Light Drifter, PAX East 2014
The PAXpocalypse List: The Best of PAX East 2014
PAX East 2014 was a different type of show than in years past. Some big publishers, such as Nintendo, skipped the show completely, while others, like Microsoft, only brought a handful of unreleased games. This shift in the show floor allowed the indies to take center stage, and the majority of our PAX East 2014 PAXpocalypse List reflects this year’s status quo. But that’s not to say the big publishers skipped PAX East 2014 altogether. Towering displays from 2K, Bethesda, and Ubisoft dominated the exhibition hall map, and we definitely had some fun with a few games that will demand your time during this Summer and Fall.
So if we were cut off from the outside and trapped within the walls of PAX East 2014, which games would we return to over and over again? Well… (more…)
Posted in Features, Mobile, PC, PS3, PS4, Top Story, Vita, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Broforce, Catlateral Damage, Evolve, Hyper Light Drifter, Max Gentlemen, PAX East 2014, Refactor, SlashDash, Tabletop Games, Tumblestone, Wolfenstein: The New Order
Hyper Light Drifter Hands-On Preview: Like Playing a Dream
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. (more…)
Posted in Mobile, PC, Previews, PS4, Top Story, Vita, Wii U, Xbox One
Tagged Hyper Light Drifter, PAX East 2014
A new trailer explores the combat and narrative of Hyper Light Drifter
A new trailer for Hyper Light Drifter has been posted to the PlayStation Blog along with more details about the game’s combat system and narrative style.
On the topic of combat, developer Alex Preston had this to say about how enemies will attack The Drifter:
Creating intelligent and tactical scenarios with enemies is key, rather than stacking cannon fodder that waits gleefully in line to get their heads chopped off. Some enemies dodge projectiles, others deflect attacks, some (the poison wolves) attack you and vulnerable enemies as a pack. We even have enemies that command weaker types in order to gain an advantage. Each encounter should feel different, and remain challenging.
And for the narrative, Preston will attempt to tell the story of Hyper Light Drifter using no dialogue:
We are wary of endless blocks of text, poorly designed UI, and explicit handholding, which can often dilute a great experience. These leave a player frustrated, or worse, disinterested. Instead, we want players to uncover the rich mythology along with the Drifter in a more organic way, with a narrative that’s not explicit. We chose to recognize that players are smart.
Dialogue and quests are presented in storyboardlike sequences, which convey a specific mood without the use of text or voiceovers. This also allows us to keep the game as visually lush as possible and break past language barriers.
If you’re interested in one of the most interesting Kickstarter success stories of 2013, the remainder of the PlayStation Blog post is a recommended read. Hyper Light Drifter will be available for PC platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux) by the end of the year with PS4, Vita, Wii U, and Ouya versions coming later.
Hyper Light Drifter will be out by the end of the year
Hyper Light Drifter, the stunning indie game that took Kickstarter by storm last year, will not be coming out in July as estimated. Heart Machine, the developers, made an announcement on Friday, saying they were not going to “rush the project.”
The team had originally planned to make a much smaller game, but the amount of funding they received (they got $645,158, which destroyed their $27,000 goal) means they are making a much larger game. The plan is to have the beta available to backers in June, and to release the game “at the end of the year holiday season.” Steam and PC will be released first, with other platforms (including the PS4, Vita, Wii U, and Ouya) to follow.
Hit the jump for an amazing preview sprite that was also included in the update. (more…)