Hyper Light Drifter

 PC
User Score
8.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 403 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 315 out of 403
  2. Mixed: 54 out of 403
  3. Negative: 34 out of 403

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  1. Snowstalker55
    Jun 22, 2023
    10
    One of my personal favourite games of all time, Hyper Light Drifter is a masterpiece of a game which never ceases to entertain me, the amazing visual storytelling, the challenging combat and the absolutely beautiful soundtrack all pairs together to make a game which i believe everyone should play at least once.
  2. Kohut
    May 7, 2023
    10
    This is one of the greatest indie games (or just game) ever made
    Amazing soundtrack and visuals, unforgiving difficulty, minimalist storytelling, awesome bosses, and of course: heart
    Masterpiece.
  3. razermix
    Oct 15, 2022
    9
    Недавно заценил игру , понравилась , всё норм (все аспекты игры,сделаны на ура , за исключением деталей ) хотелось бы побольше локаций с видом на большие просторы мира.
  4. EdSantos
    Jul 25, 2022
    10
    É um jogo muito bom, a jogabilidade é muito boa, os inimigos são balanceados, é divertido explorar o mapa, os bosses são difíceis, de um jeito bom, não tenho muito o que falar só que é um jogo incrível.
  5. BaldursThones
    Jun 22, 2022
    8
    The aesthetic and theme of the game are my reasons for loving this game, but it also is backed by some good bosses and secrets.
  6. Yosiris
    May 6, 2022
    9
    +
    Atmosphere
    Style
    Level design
    Mechanics
    Music
    Enjoyable

    -
    Short
    Confusing graphics (sometimes)
    Healing delay
    Not much incentive for exploration
    Ridiculous achievement goals
    Ends with the boss defeat
  7. Dcat
    Oct 31, 2021
    10
    Игра очень хорошая но сюжет на любителя и он по большей части будет понятен только после просмотра ролика на Ютубе.
  8. MarxGT
    Jun 7, 2021
    9
    Hyper Light Drifter is a masterclass in everything it does. Its atmosphere and aesthetics are top notch, with wonderful art direction, sound design and soundtrack. The game itself is phenomenal, taking a minimalist approach to its storytelling, relying on environmental clues, brief cutscenes and a few NPC "dialogue" interactions to give you an idea of the world you are adventuring through.Hyper Light Drifter is a masterclass in everything it does. Its atmosphere and aesthetics are top notch, with wonderful art direction, sound design and soundtrack. The game itself is phenomenal, taking a minimalist approach to its storytelling, relying on environmental clues, brief cutscenes and a few NPC "dialogue" interactions to give you an idea of the world you are adventuring through. The game itself could be considered tough by some, but it is not unfair, giving the player a suitable arsenal to defeat various enemies and bosses. The game gives the player some agency in how they progress, allowing the player to choose which direction they would like to move once reaching the hub area. If you were to take the northern or western routes first, this might account for the "difficulty" of this game. With this non-linear design comes many secrets and challenges down hidden paths. You will most likely not find all of the secrets in your first playthrough, meaning that a the new game+ provides opportunity to find what you may have missed. In Hyper Light Drifter, if your experience is anything like mine, you will be engrossed in the world that the game creates. The combat is crisp, difficulty is tough but fair, the worldbuilding is immaculate and my god that soundtrack adds so much to this game. If you like a top down action game in the 16 bit style, this game will not disappoint.

    My only gripe with the game is in its length and replayability. For a $22 (CAD) game, it is pretty short, with the average first playthrough taking around 12 to 15 hours. While many may not consider a new game+ to be a worthwhile part of the price tag, there are enough new aspects (wont spoil anything here) that a second playthrough NG+ is actually quite enjoyable.

    I created my account just to review this game. After having played it again recently after 2 years, I can say with certainty that this game is a masterpiece.    … Expand
  9. gab_izidio
    Feb 5, 2021
    9
    HyperLightDrifter - 9/10 - {highly recommend}
    The game is [Beautiful, Fluid, Challenging, Artistic]
    => Pros: + Good graphics with beautiful art; + Fluid gameplay with skill mechanics and perfect combat; + Variety of enemies with creative and varied design; + Challenging in certain extent; + Unique and different map; + Secrets and the possibility to obtain skins through    HyperLightDrifter - 9/10 - {highly recommend}
    The game is [Beautiful, Fluid, Challenging, Artistic]

    => Pros:
    + Good graphics with beautiful art;
    + Fluid gameplay with skill mechanics and perfect combat;
    + Variety of enemies with creative and varied design;
    + Challenging in certain extent;
    + Unique and different map;
    + Secrets and the possibility to obtain skins through exploration;

    => Cons:
    - Its history is not very explained to the player in the course of of the game, and many points remain open;
    - There is a tremendous difficulty in obtaining all the keys because their location is secret, and is not on the map, just making you waste time to recheck all the places (several times);
    - The almost impossible achievement of giving 800 consecutive dashes in the training area to release a skin;

    => VERDICT:
    The Verdict is that, if you are looking for a challenging game with a very fluid and addictive gameplay, this game is the perfect bet, outside that he is very beautiful and gives the feeling of freedom, however, if you care a lot about history, you will be disappointed, and if you are looking for platinum, I can only wish you luck, but regardless of those factors, it’s worth playing and exterminating all who dare to get in your way, all for healing.    … Expand
  10. doqmeat
    Feb 3, 2021
    10
    lovely game!!!! i love youuuu hyper light drifter ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
  11. epichalcon
    Jan 18, 2021
    8
    All though I didn't understand the story very well, I loved the movement, the visuals and the sound track. I really liked this game and recommend it
  12. Arfon
    Dec 4, 2020
    10
    This game was a really unexpected surprise for me. I didn't knew what to expect, maybe an action game and that's it. But no, this game has some "Metroidvania" feels but in a Top Down View that really felt good to explore the areas of the game. Combat is amazing and you have plenty of variety to experiment on your own. The soundtrack is breathtaking, story is very cryptic and I like it thatThis game was a really unexpected surprise for me. I didn't knew what to expect, maybe an action game and that's it. But no, this game has some "Metroidvania" feels but in a Top Down View that really felt good to explore the areas of the game. Combat is amazing and you have plenty of variety to experiment on your own. The soundtrack is breathtaking, story is very cryptic and I like it that way. I can't stop thinking on how great this game felt the first time I played it. Loved every bit of it!!… Expand
  13. PanMrkvicka
    Aug 18, 2020
    8
    Beatiful loooking game but the gameplay and level design is pretty simple it has great bosses but feels like it could be more than it is. Also **** boss rush.
  14. LordFarquad
    Mar 25, 2020
    8
    Неплохая инди-игра, но она мне не очень понравилась, НО, это не значит, что игра заслуживает плохую оценку. 8 из 10.
  15. Ryuail
    Feb 1, 2020
    8
    Tough as nails, but beautiful in a colorful yet desolate way Hyper Light Drifter manages to pull the wordless narrative off with grace and aplomb.

    Though much of the story is up for interpretation, there is enough going on in each of the four major zones to keep the mind wondering. Details can be lost of those who don't wish to focus on setting though, as the ending will not bother    Tough as nails, but beautiful in a colorful yet desolate way Hyper Light Drifter manages to pull the wordless narrative off with grace and aplomb.

    Though much of the story is up for interpretation, there is enough going on in each of the four major zones to keep the mind wondering. Details can be lost of those who don't wish to focus on setting though, as the ending will not bother tying everything up in a bow.    … Expand
  16. beta_Critic
    Oct 9, 2019
    9
    Great game, I had no expectations. Didn't even know what type of game it was. I booted it up and I haven't been able to put it down. If I may buthcer the analysis; think "Link to the Metroid Souls Past", that is what I got from this game and it was finework indeed.

    The markdown to 9 from 10 is because the controller detection os a bit iffy, and if my controller happens to disconnect I    Great game, I had no expectations. Didn't even know what type of game it was. I booted it up and I haven't been able to put it down. If I may buthcer the analysis; think "Link to the Metroid Souls Past", that is what I got from this game and it was finework indeed.

    The markdown to 9 from 10 is because the controller detection os a bit iffy, and if my controller happens to disconnect I need to use the keyboard to go into the settings to change the settings to check for the ps4 controller, and only then does it start working again.    … Expand
  17. HSuke
    Aug 31, 2019
    10
    This game is incredibly precise and well-designed. It's a difficult game, but in like in Hollow Knight and Dark Souls, you'll practice and get gud. I didn't find it as punishing as those other 2 games, and it's much, much shorter. One thing I do really like about its design is that there are visual hints for the location of all hidden items, unlike in games where there is absolutely noThis game is incredibly precise and well-designed. It's a difficult game, but in like in Hollow Knight and Dark Souls, you'll practice and get gud. I didn't find it as punishing as those other 2 games, and it's much, much shorter. One thing I do really like about its design is that there are visual hints for the location of all hidden items, unlike in games where there is absolutely no clue that there's a breakable wall in a specific spot.… Expand
  18. spielratz
    Aug 25, 2019
    9
    Great take on Zelda.
    Less puzzles, more focus on fighting than in Zelda. Fights can be quite hard. Original art style. An inspired and fun game.
  19. polvorin
    Apr 25, 2019
    8
    okey this game is a beautiful game- love the soundtrack, love the art.. but only one thing the bosses are easy i guess or the difficulty curve are good... i can not wait for buy it on the switch
  20. CRAZYF1R3
    Feb 4, 2019
    10
    This game is just amazing, like really amazing. In my opinion - best game of all time. Stunning atmosphere, great design, best ost that I ever heard and hard gameplay, but not too hard to actually play.
  21. amralchalati
    Jul 3, 2018
    10
    The visual and music are superb in this game. while the story hints and the ending is greatly emotional and amazing.
  22. eded9999
    May 21, 2018
    8
    Very nice game, nice pixel art and addictive gameplay, but a little short..
  23. cci81337
    May 11, 2018
    10
    [h1] Hyper Light Drifter – красочное приключение от студии Heart Machine

    Игра собирала деньги на Kickstarter’e и после успешно собранной суммы вышла на просторы магазина Steam. Многим игра действительно понравилась и поэтому у Hyper Light Drifter более 5 тысяч положительных отзывов в Steam. Hyper Light Drifter в цифровом магазине стоит 12.59$. Так же игра была замечена во многих    [h1] Hyper Light Drifter – красочное приключение от студии Heart Machine

    Игра собирала деньги на Kickstarter’e и после успешно собранной суммы вышла на просторы магазина Steam. Многим игра действительно понравилась и поэтому у Hyper Light Drifter более 5 тысяч положительных отзывов в Steam. Hyper Light Drifter в цифровом магазине стоит 12.59$. Так же игра была замечена во многих номинациях, даже таких как лучшая инди-игра 2016 года, но из-за долгостроя, такого как Firewatch пройти в финал так и не смогла. Но, не смотря на это, обзор от BigBadWhale на Hyper Light Drifter всё же выйдет! Вот кстати и он.

    Вердикт: Погружение глубже чем Марианская впадина.

    Обзор был составлен Ci8, членом группы Ключ к игре предоставил издатель, но это не влияет на моё мнение и оценку.    … Expand
  24. MzMazzaire
    Dec 15, 2017
    10
    One of the best, most challenging and beautiful indie games ever made in the recent years. It challenge may seem unforgiving at first, but if you're a veteran of many other difficult games like Dark Souls, then you'll love Hyper Light Drifter to death.
  25. vegemonsta
    Nov 5, 2017
    8
    There's no doubt that HLD is a great game. Heart Machine knows how to make a great metroidvania. To make it easy to understand, I'm simply going to break down the major aspects of the game and score them individually based on its effectiveness.

    Graphics: 8/10 + Great world design. The four areas of the game look unique. + Varied enemy design. Each area has their own plethora of    There's no doubt that HLD is a great game. Heart Machine knows how to make a great metroidvania. To make it easy to understand, I'm simply going to break down the major aspects of the game and score them individually based on its effectiveness.

    Graphics: 8/10
    + Great world design. The four areas of the game look unique.
    + Varied enemy design. Each area has their own plethora of enemies which fit into the zone.
    - The map is practically useless. It's a small gripe, but the map is about as useful as the map in LoZ:aLttP. It shows the general location of the player character and important locations. It
    works somewhat, but It would've been more useful for the map to clearly show where the
    player is and where things are. The underground map is especially difficult to understand.
    - The perspective of the game lies somewhere between overhead and third-person. In certain areas of the game where platforming or timing is key, you can easily find yourself
    dying because you weren't looking at the game from the correct perspective. (Are those
    cubes moving up and down, or are they moving forward and backward?!?)

    Gameplay: 8/10
    + The combat is fast paced and easy to understand. You can swing your sword in quick
    succession 3 times. You can perform a dash move in quick succession 3 times (unless you
    get an upgrade).
    + The best aspect of the gameplay is the exploration. There are a lot of collectibles hidden in
    exceptionally clever locations throughout the game world. It's very rewarding when you do
    find something which almost seemed like you shouldn't have been able to find.
    - The game difficulty is unbalanced at times. In one area in particular, you have to fight
    dozens of enemies. The game doesn't work well in this situation. You can fight enemies in
    a fun, difficult and rewarding way in small groups or against singular bosses. However, it
    becomes a grind to push passed arenas filled with enemies which attack in random order.
    Imagine a bullet hell where the bullets just randomly flew around the screen. That's what
    this arena was like.

    Story: 6/10
    - It's hard to really pin down anything good with the overall plot. The game tries to keep
    things mysterious by not telling the player anything in words. All character dialogue is
    shown through images of past events. This does add some element of world building and
    lore, but it would've been much more effective if the dialogue was just normal dialogue text.
    This issue also leeches into the gameplay. You can unlock special outfits which effect your
    abilities, but you can't know what they do unless you Google a guide. The game has ZERO
    text to explain anything. It has similar visual story telling to the Souls games, which is a
    great thing. They just... should've taken a step back. They could've told a much better story
    with real dialogue.

    Sound: 9/10
    + The soundtrack is fantastic. It adds just the right amount of ambiance to every location in
    the game and fits perfectly with the aesthetic.

    Overall the game is very fun. It has just the right amount of content. The game is challenging, but USUALLY fair and rewarding. I have no idea what is going on in the world, but it is fun to explore it and try to figure out what happened. The sad thing is, it would've been so easy to make the world interesting. There are 16 monoliths in the game. Each one has some kind of language written on them. They easily could've gone the Metroid Prime route and added a library which added the lore from those monoliths into an easy to access menu. That alone could bring the story from a 6 to an 8 or 9 if done right.    … Expand
  26. aditya1101
    Oct 5, 2017
    10
    Really great controls and I thought they did a great job of balancing the difficulty of the game with the player's ability to improve and beat bosses after trying many times. But the real gem of this game was it's artstyle, and the way that the art was used to convey the story. It's hard to think of another game where such a rich story was portrayed without the use of any words whatsoever.
  27. BlazingLlama420
    Oct 2, 2017
    10
    I have no Idea where to start due to so many positive things to say about this game

    Hyper Light Drifter is an absolutely amazing game for anyone who wants a good challenge. I will go in depth with details down below. -Art style Simplistic yet effective. The game art is style is nothing too complex or very busy and difficult to see what exactly is going on. The colors are rich and    I have no Idea where to start due to so many positive things to say about this game

    Hyper Light Drifter is an absolutely amazing game for anyone who wants a good challenge. I will go in depth with details down below.

    -Art style
    Simplistic yet effective. The game art is style is nothing too complex or very busy and difficult to see what exactly is going on. The colors are rich and vibrant and really captures the 16 bit look.

    -Controls/Mechanics
    My god, they are absolutely great. Dashing around the world feels very satisfying and the combat is excellent. It’s one of those cases where it is easy to pick up, yet difficult to master. Throughout the game, you will encounter large waves of enemies and having such tight controls really makes you strategize on what techniques for survival will work best. You will never die from the controls acting up on you or the game being completely unfair to you, it is always your fault and learning from those mistakes is makes dying a satisfying learning experience.
    A complaint I have heard a lot about from HLD is the game’s map and how vague it is. Sure it may not be the best map in the world and at first glance you may not find it all that useful and also very confusing. The more you play the game You just have to give yourself some time to get used to it and the overworld shouldn’t be so difficult to navigate through.

    -Soundtrack
    It’s not really something that is catchy and you will want to listen to it every now and then, but it does an outstanding job creating the feel of being isolated and lost in its huge world. Disasterpiece’s work of art is truly a masterpiece.

    -Plot
    The way the plot is told is very debatable. Some will like it and some won’t. The plot is told in a way where it only uses still images and no dialogue to display what happened during those events and leaves the player to determine what happened. At first I wasn’t very fond of this style, but it eventually grew on me once I started to piece everything together. It will make more sense to you the more you progress through the game.

    I know this is a really minor thing about the game, but if I were to change one thing about the game, it would be adding a menu to keep track of all of the items you have collected especially gearbits (the currency in the game)

    Do I recommend this game?
    YES, GET IT NOW. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT
    10/10    … Expand
  28. Zoilus
    Aug 17, 2017
    9
    This game is worth your time absolutely. It's fun, engaging, and hard without being frustrating. At its comparatively low price point, you should get this.
  29. everin
    Feb 6, 2017
    8
    TIER 2

    + Amazing environments, character art, animations, and general aesthetic. + Offers a world that is very fun to explore, with tons of nooks and crannies for those who want to look for them. ? No coherent difficulty curve as the player can take things in whatever order they want, including unlocking abilities and weapons that actually have a MASSIVE impact on how the game plays.    TIER 2

    + Amazing environments, character art, animations, and general aesthetic.
    + Offers a world that is very fun to explore, with tons of nooks and crannies for those who want to look for them.
    ? No coherent difficulty curve as the player can take things in whatever order they want, including unlocking abilities and weapons that actually have a MASSIVE impact on how the game plays.
    ? An update to the game makes finding all the secrets generally easier, but with one of the worst maps I've ever seen given to a player, the game has no respect for the player's time if you're interested in 100%'ing it. Exacerbated by such a massive (and at times randomly organized) world, hard to remember where what is.
    - Some of the secrets require a gun you can only unlock in one area of the game, requiring stupid backtracking.
    - The combat generally feels good, but also inconsistent in execution -- some enemies (particularly flying ones to the north of the map) are nothing but annoying.    … Expand
  30. degaboss
    Feb 3, 2017
    10
    This game came like a surprise to me, it has elements from the action rpg genre but used correctly, its a mix between bastion and dark souls, the game doesnt hold your hand or give you extensive tutorials, it doesnt tell you what to do or where to go, you just have to fight your way and explore the beautifully crafted world, the setting, the music, everything pulls you in.

    The entry    This game came like a surprise to me, it has elements from the action rpg genre but used correctly, its a mix between bastion and dark souls, the game doesnt hold your hand or give you extensive tutorials, it doesnt tell you what to do or where to go, you just have to fight your way and explore the beautifully crafted world, the setting, the music, everything pulls you in.

    The entry barrier is the somewhat punishing difficulty of the first area,and the bosses can be very difficult at first, but you need to learn the patterns of the bosses and to some extent the mobs, its a short game but its the perfect length for me, its very rewarding when you beat every boss, highly recommended    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

34
#34 Best PC Game of 2016
51
#51 Most Discussed PC Game of 2016
16
#16 Most Shared PC Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 47 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 43 out of 47
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 47
  3. Negative: 0 out of 47
  1. GameGrin
    May 15, 2017
    90
    Hyper Light Drifter is unique, it highlights the issues of a real person in an abstract way. This game plays very smoothly, and offers stunning visuals and rigid difficulty. Hyper Light Drifter is a lot of fun, and it's beautiful too. It’s a memorable experience, and can keep you interested the whole way through.
    Read full review
  2. Easy Allies
    Dec 1, 2016
    80
    Hyper Light Drifter places high value on your efforts and sense of discovery. The impressionistic storytelling, inexplicit clues, and tough challenges, place the emphasis on your journey as a player. Things are never clearly laid out for you, but in the end, it’s both beautiful and satisfying.
    Read full review
  3. Riot Pixels
    Oct 14, 2016
    75
    A worthy heir to The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. It compensates for its narrative shortcomings with immersive atmosphere, top-notch combat system and flawless pace.
    Read full review
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