LogFAQs > #926819835

Hyper Light Drifter (PC) is interesting.

Especially at the beginning, it captures the sense of mystery that came with playing obscure late 80s/early 90s games that you didn't have the manual for. With a bit of adventure book thrown in. With better art direction and gameplay, obviously. I like the map.

The combat is almost exactly what I would want if I were creating a game.

The art direction is gorgeous.

Downsides:

There are no controls for cutscene volume, only for in-game music and sound effects. i thought the game was intentionally trying to destroy my ears until i realized those sliders did nothing.

It kinda sucks that the basic premise is never really explained, so if you view it as a puzzle/adventure book/old game it is way more satisfying.

In that vein, i held off from looking up any guides as long as i possibly could while still having fun, especially at the start. Eventually I had to look up the location of two switches to be able to progress, but by that point i understood the core gameplay loop, i just didn't realize where the one hidden passage i needed was.

The one thing I'd change about the combat and controls in general is that it seems a little too eager to punish button timings. That is, if you press a button to attack or dash just a bit too early, it blocks off some frames where you can't do anything but walk slowly. I guess it's good for rewarding skill, but i'm not sure if it is necessary.

There's obviously a huge amount of optional content i haven't gotten to, but I worry it'll require a lot of looking up guides. I didn't intentionally skip anything, but i still only have 2 out of 20 doodads (or whatever) to enter some doors and I'm not sure how to make progress.
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You did indeed stab me in the back. However, you are only level one, whilst I am level 50. That means I should remain uninjured.