Our time to be a Drifter has nearly come!
[dropcap size=small]W[/dropcap]ith just over 24,000 backers, and an impressive $645,158 pledged so far, the 2D action RPG Hyper Light Drifter has well and truly been another Kickstarter success story.
Indie developers Heart Machine gave backers and admirers alike a rather lovely gift this week, when they finally announced a release date – 31 March on Mac and PC, with an expected Xbox One and PS4 release sometime later this year.
The release date has definitely been a long-time coming. Since its beginnings on Kickstarter dating back to 2013, it had an original goal of releasing in the summer of 2014. Fast-forward three years later, and the game still isn’t in our midst.
The confirmed date is very welcome news indeed, and the upside to the delay is that we’re sure to get more content from the various stretch goal extras achieved in the meantime.
If you’ve not come across Heart Machine’s RPG before, its certainly been getting people’s attention for all the right reasons. Hyper Light Drifter has already gained a reputation for being stylistically appealing, with challenging game-play, smooth combat mechanics, and engaging enemy foes.
The game puts you in the shoes of a mysterious lone Drifter. You can expect to explore dungeons, collect loot, and try to survive the harsh landscapes with its various barrage of enemies.
The Drifter has a sword and gun in his arsenal, and can use a multitude of skills in combat, such as ‘Sheild-push,’ and ‘missile deflect/cut’ – both of which of you can see in the below combat video released back in 2013.
Harking back to an 8-bit/16-bit style with a modernised twist, the colourful landscapes, sprites, and locations give this promising indie game an eye-grabbing edge, and nostalgic charm.
Heart Machine promises you will:
Explore a beautiful, vast and ruined world riddled with unknown dangers and lost technologies. Inspired by nightmares and dreams alike.
From everything we’ve seen so far, the influence of dreams and nightmares is what truly sets it apart. The colourful backdrops accompanied by a wistful – and sometimes solemn – soundtrack, enhances the dream-like feel the game evokes. This feel is interwoven with nightmarish enemies and desolate locales, which truly does resonate a strong atmospheric mood that will surely enrich the game-play experience.
Hyper Light Drifter looks spectacular, with so much going for it. It’s not at all surprising that it has already won over so many before its release, and we’ll finally be able to try it out for ourselves this year! Hurrah!
Be sure to check out the brand new trailer that came along with the release date below for a taste of the gorgeous sombre music, its colourful landscapes, and more combat visuals:
You can find out even more about the game and all its achieved on its Kickstarer page and official website.
