Hyper Light Drifter:
This 2D action RPG simply put, is gorgeous! The game has our protagonist exploring a ruined, technologically advanced world full of horrors and wonders alike, with inexplicably aggressive cyborgs and follows the classic, Nintendo, Super Nintendo and Genesis art styles we’ve come to love from our childhood. The developer, Heart Machine has also propped up this classic look with some more modern game mechanics. This game is indeed beautiful, but dark and sad as well, as it places the character in a position of rediscovering a ruined civilization, where in some cases people seem to have up and died as they’ve gone about their daily lives, completely ignorant of the fact that their lives were about to be cut short.
The contrast of dark, shaded backdrops combined with brightly lit objects, attacks, characters and enemies in the forefront really make this game stand out. While the theme seems to give this game a melancholy and calm the feeling that it can be shattered in a moment by large hordes of enemies or massive behemoths of metal provides added contrast to this title. The surprisingly detailed character and enemies really give us something to look at and enjoy while slashing through crowds of them and with unique weapons and mechanics, Hyper Light Drifter looks like it is shaping up to be a surreal experience that most gamers shouldn’t miss out on.
