Hyper Light Drifter is a very artsy top-down hack & slash game with some metroidvania elements, somewhat inspired by 2D Zelda and Dark Souls, and set in a post-apocalyptic world with some cyberpunk elements. But make no mistake, the main appeal is the trippy visuals and the oppressive ambient soundtrack, the combat can be fun, but the game is not much of a challenge if you play a lot of action games.

The story is extremely vague, the protagonist is a katana wielding masked swordsman roaming the world looking for a cure for his sickness, but beyond that it is all up to interpretation, as the game is entirely wordless, with no dialog or any other text, not unlike games like Journey or INSIDE. It all essentially boils down to a giant metaphor for a heart condition because the lead developer is sick in real life.

The combat is your average Souls inspired "slash twice then dodge". The rhythm is pretty unique though, your walking speed is quite slow but you move very fast when dashing and the first dash upgrade allows you to chain dashes indefinitely. The drifter can also deflect projectiles with his blade, as well as wield a variety of guns, from a basic pistol to a shotgun and various energy weapons. Ammo is in short supply but you restore it by slashing at the enemies giving the formula a certain ebb and flow.

Personally, I had a lot of fun hunting for secrets, because the game has tons and many of them are very sneaky and require thinking outside the box. Things are often obscured by the game's top down perspective and you basically try to break out of bounds to get them. You can find currency for upgrades, keys for optional areas and even alternate outfits that provide a variety of passive buffs.

The game is quite short, with only 4 main areas and 8 bosses. A completionist playthrough will take about 15 hours, and if you don't care about secrets, it will be around half that time. Check out Death's Door if you want a similar game but a bit more modern and less artsy.

Hyper Light Drifter is a very artsy top-down hack & slash game with some metroidvania elements, somewhat inspired by 2D Zelda and Dark Souls, and set in a post-apocalyptic world with some cyberpunk elements. But make no mistake, the main appeal is the trippy visuals and the oppressive ambient soundtrack, the combat can be fun, but the game is not much of a challenge if you play a lot of action games. The story is extremely vague, the protagonist is a katana wielding masked swordsman roaming the world looking for a cure for his sickness, but beyond that it is all up to interpretation, as the game is entirely wordless, with no dialog or any other text, not unlike games like [url=store.steampowered.com/app/638230]Journey[/url] or [url=store.steampowered.com/app/304430]INSIDE[/url]. It all essentially boils down to a giant metaphor for a heart condition because the lead developer is sick in real life. The combat is your average Souls inspired "slash twice then dodge". The rhythm is pretty unique though, your walking speed is quite slow but you move very fast when dashing and the first dash upgrade allows you to chain dashes indefinitely. The drifter can also deflect projectiles with his blade, as well as wield a variety of guns, from a basic pistol to a shotgun and various energy weapons. Ammo is in short supply but you restore it by slashing at the enemies giving the formula a certain ebb and flow. Personally, I had a lot of fun hunting for secrets, because the game has tons and many of them are very sneaky and require thinking outside the box. Things are often obscured by the game's top down perspective and you basically try to break out of bounds to get them. You can find currency for upgrades, keys for optional areas and even alternate outfits that provide a variety of passive buffs. The game is quite short, with only 4 main areas and 8 bosses. A completionist playthrough will take about 15 hours, and if you don't care about secrets, it will be around half that time. Check out [url=store.steampowered.com/app/894020/]Death's Door[/url] if you want a similar game but a bit more modern and less artsy.