#Hyper light drifter humble bundle full#

Lucky for you, the Drifter has a dashing ability that can be used to dodge enemy attacks, again not unlike the Souls series, but I’d say leaning more on Bloodborne. Don’t let the simplicity fool you though, Hyper Light Drifter pulls no punches in the difficult department and you’ll have to stay on your toes to make it out alive. The enemies come thick and fast, so mastery of the simple mechanics is crucial to success. The gun-play is similar to Hotline Miami, only a little more user friendly on a first time play-through. Each new skill can cost as many as twelve Gearbits and they’re typically hidden in plain sight meaning that exploration is crucial to getting a decent arsenal. You’ll have to earn it though, as you require Gearbits to upgrade. These extra abilities take good combat and make it great, further expanding what is possible in the game world and often changing up your entire strategy. The sword is exactly what you expect, fast and efficient, but later in the game you can unlock some great new abilities like being able to ricochet enemy projectiles for greater crowd control.

There’s your basic sword attacks and a selection of guns at your disposal. It’s deceptively simple but incredibly satisfying. The biggest and tastiest morsel to sink your teeth into is the combat. Thankfully though, the gameplay is so well-constructed and addictive that one play-through won’t be enough to satisfy. Much like Dark Souls, very little of the narrative is spelt out for you, you must journey through the world and see its sights to get a sense of what is really going on and let me tell you, you won’t piece it all together in one play-through. These are all things you’re shown but there’s very little exposition past this. The Drifter also appears to be suffering from some form of ailment which causes them to cough up a lot of blood. The opening cut scene hints at larger forces at play, giant demi-god like creatures and a creeping darkness that threatens to consume all who come into contact with it.

#Hyper light drifter humble bundle full#

You are the Drifter, a lone wanderer in a world that is beautiful on the surface, but full of so much death and despair it’s hard to really see the light from the dark. Things that were never possible in the SNES days are so easily done now and Hyper Light Drifter is a testament to the power of simplicity. The top-down/isometric approach is a nice throwback to the days of yonder, but the high adrenaline twitch combat really helps pull it into the modern age. There’s a great sense of nostalgia that absorbs the player from the word go but enough new tricks thrown in to keep the game feeling fresh and original. Presenting itself as a mid-point between The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Dark Souls, Hyper Light Drifter is the perfect meld of both old and new-school sensibilities.

It has all of the trademarks of the independent scene, but when you look beyond the retro sensibilities on display, you’ll soon discover that Hyper Light Drifter is by far one of the finest games to be released this year. Pixel art aesthetic, retro throw backs, deliberately light on plot and exposition. It should be noted that all games remain yours even if you cancel your subscription making much different than the console monthly services.On the surface, Hyper Light Drifter looks like your typical indie fare. There's also the first three issues of Kevin Eastmen's comic Underwhere which is also a Humble Bundle original. There are two bonus games in the form of the return to classic isometric RPGs with Pillars of Eternity and some surprising sports representation with NBA 2K17. The monthly sub also comes with a few extras. The group of games apparently comes to a value of around $200 USD which isn't too bad for a dozen bucks a month.

The curation of games is quite interesting from established AAA franchises such as Dark Souls to cult indie hits such as Kero Blaster to complete unknowns (at least to me) such as Armello.

2000:1 A Space Felony (exclusive to the Humble Bundle site).

Dark Souls II: Scholar of the First Sin.