Reviews: Hyper Light Drifter
Spoiler free review of the game Hyper Light Drifter played on the steam deck OLED.
At Margot Plays, I review games that I have played focused on my experience, which is evolving as I play more games. In general the games’ story will have been completed, on easy mode if applicable and unless stated otherwise played on the steam deck OLED.
About the game
Explore a beautiful, vast and ruined world riddled with dangers and lost technologies.
Margot’s stats
Device: Steam Deck Oled
Difficulty: Easy
Completed: yes
Time: ~8 hours
Summary: This is an atmospheric pixel art game. The initial beginning was confusing and almost frustrating as you really aren’t told anything. But the mechanics are simple enough to work out, that eventually you do start having fun. If you liked Tunic and Death’s Door and maybe like pixel art, like me, you might enjoy this game a lot.
Narrative and Gameplay
Ok to start I need to preface this with the fact that I really enjoyed Tunic. It has a similar vibe and approach to storytelling I would say. The storytelling in Hyper Light Drifter is through its visuals and images, rather than through any text or spoken words. In fact when you meet people to talk to, you often only get to see images of events or a location, rather than any words. I liked this, as it felt like a different way of storytelling to me that I have not really observed in the same way. Tunic does have words and writing but you cannot understand it. Hyper Light Drifter on the hand relies on imagery, and atmosphere for its story telling.
However the game’s refusal to use text or dialogue is not always effective and I can understand why some people may find it frustrating, like they did for Tunic. And to be honest in the beginnging I wasn’t drawn in by the game. I struggled more than with the beginning of Tunic despite it argueably being a more simple game in its game mechanics.
In terms of narrative I am not all that sure. :) I understand that there is some deeper meaning around the character and the world. The worls is depicted as post apocalytpic and you appear to be a bit of maybe an assassin, who does have health issues.
There is a side note to add here about the game and its story and that it is has intention with its story telling and vagueness. You never quite know what is round the corner and if your character will be OK, and this is due to the fact that the developer was using this medium to come to terms with their own heart disease and how it made them feel. Knowing this context, I really understand the journey and the atmosphere, but it may not have been that apparent to me without further reading about the game. But most importantly there is fight in the main character despite their illness.
The overall game loop is based around finding some keys to unlock a central point on the map. You have the option of going in 2 directions to begin with and after completing those areas the other two areas unlock one by one. I did get stuck and could not understand what to do in the first area, until I watched a 3 mins tips video. Once I had that intro I was bought into the game. I think what was missing for me was any sort of feedback, that what I was doing early on was the right thing.
It might be me and my fighting style but I generally enjoyed it. The combat consists of using a sword and gun. I tend to favour the sword as I love a hack and slash mechanic and this game does lean into this. You can unlock some upgrades for the weapons and movement as you progress, but I still mostly used the sword. The other main movement is a dash. The dash felt a bit clumsy to be honest, but then the last game I played with lots of dashing around was Hades and that is buttery smooth. So this may not be a fair assessment.
The enemies are pretty varied per area, with each area being quite distinct in its art and setting. However the bosses were a bit uninspiring to me, or maybe I have just levelled up as a gamer!? I did enjoy the visuals a lot though. (OK, looking back I did play on easy mode so that might be why they were easy :D )
While the game does use a map, I did not really find it all that helpful. The mix of dungeons and locked areas weren’t always clear to me, as these are overlayed and need to be accessed separately. My main bug bear was that the cursor that appears on the map looks like a discovered shard that you are looking for on the map and this really confused me, as I kept thinking there was a dundeon when there wasn’t. Towards the end I had a better idea, but it felt like a map to really learn. I did find myself getting stuck a few times and wandering back and forth.
There was some inconsistency in the area designs in terms of secrets. Suddenly there were secret passages, denoted by an icon on the floor, or even completely invisible floors to walk across huge gaps in the dungeons. I another area you needed to really check the trees and ruins for access. Considering the first two areas don’t really posess such details (that I found or needed to find) I did find myself being more confused in the end game. It didn’t feel exciting to find one of these secrets, more annoying that it was a new thing to consider. The game set certain expectations in the beginning and don’t get me wrong I look for secrets but when there were one I gave up.
While I have critiqued some elements here, I did really enjoy the game and I am sucker for pixel art games, and the pixel art is very much art of highest standards. It really sets the scene and each of the enemies is meticulously created. While there aren’t hundreds, they are each unique and it is really a beautiful and atmospheric game if you have the patience to give it a go beyond the first hour.
Verdict - Recommend, but …
Hyper Light Drifter is a game that demands patience, interpretation, and a tolerance for ambiguity (like Tunic I would say). It’s visually stunning, but its minimal story telling could alienate players who want a clear narrative., or strategic variety in combat. The lack of feedback that you are doing the right thing early on may put you off.
If you're drawn to games that challenge convention and embrace mystery, it might resonate. But if you prefer dialogue and a more guided journey, Hyper Light Drifter may leave you drifting in circles.
Still it was a lovely experience on the steam deck and could make a nice travel game, as it is not demanding on the system and looks great on the OLED screen. Have you played this game? Did you finish it?
Great review! I didn’t realize it’s less than 10 hours long, so it might be time to revisit, especially knowing that someone else thought the beginning was confusing 😂
I had a similar feeling at the beginning of the game. The combat mechanics are easy to understand, but I had issues knowing where to go next (and I love exploration and games that don't hold your hand). I put it down after a few hours the first time but would like to give it a go again. It has incredible atmosphere and art direction!