Indie 2D action RPG Hyper Light Drifter finally has been released after a long delay. Originally funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign, the action fantasy game was set to come out in 2014 but experienced a two year delay. Finally out as of last week, the game–hyped to recieved fantastic reception–is going over well with reviewers.
A single player only campaign, the game was developed by the team at Heart Machine and is a graphically stunning “RPG in the vein of the best 8-bit and 16-bit classics, with modernized mechanics and designs on a much grander scale.”
While reviews are positive, it is the not Zelda level of adventure and ethereal players were promised. Critics at Kotaku praised the game for its combat system, and beautiful rendered world–but were not impressed by the confusing navigation system, and similarly confounding story. Polygon simultaneously compliments the game on its physical beauty, stating “It’s rare for screenshots to do a game justice, but any given still image from the game, taken out of context, just looks remarkable. In motion, with all its detailed sprites battling furiously over lovingly crafted battlefields…”
Polygon and Kotaku reviewers found similar issues with the games repetition, and lack of clear explanation. However, Polygon did give the game a favorable all round 8.5 out of 10. Meanwhile, reviewers at Eurogamer heavily identified with HLD’s sparse and mysterious narrative.
The game currently holds a 9 out of 10 on Steam games, and can be purchased at 10% off at $17.99. It normally sells for the price of $20 USD, and is playable for a multitude of platforms, including PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation Vita, Wii U, Linux, Microsoft Windows, Ouya, Mac OS.
Player reviews are overly positive, and many are expressing surprise over the quality brought out of this kickstarter game. Perhaps the price makes it more than worth a play? Let us know what you think!