I started the game on PC before, but playing with a controller enables the best intuition).

The movement mechanics are smooth and intuitive (though it is probably important to note that I played this on a Switch. The pixel art is clean and not painful on the eyes the way 8-bit can sometimes be. The Drifter’s struggle to stay strong and keep going is a metaphor for Preston’s health journey.īeautiful motivation behind the game aside, the game itself is stunning. The Drifter’s unspecified terminal illness is a mirror of Preston’s congenital heart disease.

Preston had also set to work on the game with the dream that it would tell a story personal to him. This is the beginning sequence of Hyper Light Drifter, a game meant to combine the best elements of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Diablo per lead developer Alex Preston’s goals. You try to break away, but a diamond of light shines before you, reinvigorating the shadows and drowning you. You enter and are engulfed by even more darkness. Buildings burst from the red sea, and a grand gate opens before you. Another glitch and you are back in the red field with a slender, black dog by your side. Up a flight of stairs, wide-eyed behemoths greet you. Its shadowy tendrils reach towards you, and you have no choice but to dash away. You spin around and slice the creature in half with your sword, but to no avail. You keel over as a coughing fit wracks you. A glitch and suddenly you appear, helmet low over your face, red cape draped calmly over your shoulders. A white beam erupts from the diamond, bringing about destruction and despair. The camera focuses on a diamond that slowly fills with light, and suddenly the world is awash in an ominous red light. A large bird-like spotlight shoots into the sky. The camera tilts down and you are greeted with a world-view. As soon as you confirm, you are plunged into a starry darkness with a resounding, melodic ring. The final boss of the eastern region flings explosive ammo at the Drifter.

Hyper light drifter walkthrough eas