Okay, I’ll admit it right out of the gate: this one took me a few tries. When I first played it, I was immediately struck by the unsettling neon day-glo aesthetic and tricky, responsive combat system, the incredible visual storytelling and oblique, ambiguous narrative. Then, after about an hour and a half playing, the aesthetic gave me a headache, the combat was kicking me around town and I just wanted an anchor to help me figure out what the hell was going on. Nevertheless, first impressions are everything or so they say, so I persevered. Around five to six hours later I emerged, triumphant and brandishing precisely one Playstation trophy for my troubles (well, two if you count the chain dash one, but I don’t). So, here is the million-dollar question: is Hyper Light Drifter good? The answer: well, it’s subjective. So let’s answer the five hundred thousand-dollar question instead: did I like it?
Normally I’d start off with the plot here, but I’ll come clean: I’ve finished the game and I have no idea what the story is. As far as I can tell, you are awoken after some time asleep to deal with an ancient evil that threatens the world and takes the form of a Lovecraftian nightmare invading your dreams. Your nameless character suffers a debilitating disorder which causes them to periodically cough up blood and pass out, during which time they are visited by horrific visions of said nightmare destroying them in numerous gruesome ways. Your quest, then, is to…erm…activate some pillars. Or something. The setup is relatively clear, but the storytelling from that point on is obscure and difficult to penetrate. That’s not to say it’s bad; Dark Souls, with which this game shares a considerable amount of its DNA, uses the same technique, and I’m always saying video games should be telling their stories using the strengths of the medium rather than borrowing from other media conventions (down with the cutscene!). In this regard, this game is a resounding success; the environment is eerie, off-putting and melancholy, with small hints and subtle clues dotted around the landscape giving a very distant idea of what might have happened to this world. That said, the story in Hyper Light Drifter might just be a little too dense. Don’t expect to get everything (or indeed anything) on your first time through.
Luckily, no understanding of the story is needed to enjoy the game, and now it’s time to talk gameplay. Narratively, HLD might share some starting platters with Dark Souls, but the meat of the gameplay is a sort of cross between the 2D Legend of Zelda iterations and Bloodborne. Combat is based largely around learning enemy tells and figuring out when to dodge and attack, and as the difficulty ramps up you’ll be severely punished for button-mashing, so precision is the order of the day. Your arsenal consists of a sword and several different kinds of gun, each with its own firing pattern. The gun can be reloaded by attacking either enemies or smashable objects, so it’s basically a game of in-out; attack with your sword long enough to build some ammunition, then back off and finish the job with your trusty sidearm. When you’re not fighting, there are some rudimentary button puzzles and “platforming” (your dash takes the role of a jump for these sequences), which are satisfying enough but don’t really break any mould or strike out in too significant a way. Exploration is the true name of the game while combat isn’t going on, and this can be by turns intensely rewarding and hideously frustrating. I was stuck in one location for days before stumbling across an incongruous, slightly hidden path which turned out to contain the rest of the map. Take your time, leave no stone unturned and do not rush, and you’ll enjoy your experience with Hyper Light Drifter, but if you’re expecting something with the overwhelmingly clear visual language of Zelda you’ll be disappointed.
In the final analysis, Hyper Light Drifter is a game which won me over from an initially unsure starting point. Stunning visual storytelling (those giants), a fluid and rewarding combat system and a length which doesn’t overstay its welcome combine to overcome some slight pacing issues and a story that might be too clever for its own good.
Clever Game Pun Reviews 