Hyper Light Drifter

good artstyle. you have to love exploring to enjoy this game. combat is pretty solid, with a few nitpicks.

I love the art style. The environments are beautiful. Exploration is rewarded with upgrade items, mostly tucked away in easy-to-miss exits and ledges you can reach by dashing. No real puzzle solving to speak of. The actual gameplay consists of one enemy gauntlet after another, and IMO the combat isn't interesting enough to make this compelling. I made it about halfway through the third of four major regions in the game within a few hours. In an area littered with an enemy that is a tower that shoots projectiles at you and cannot be killed (as far as I could tell), I decided I'd had enough and put it down.

This game is so amazingly good that I am sad that I didn't buy it like 4 years ago, when I first heard of it

An absolutely incredible piece of media. As someone who gets really annoyed by constant tutorials and handholding in a lot of games, I find the minimal instructions that HLD provides to be really refreshing, and trying to figure out the game's mechanics and secrets on my own was a fun, rewarding, and immersive experience. The combat is decent, simple but engaging, and somehow doesn't get old. My favorite part of the game definitely has to be the music and the sweeping vistas that are literally breathtaking- how does a game do that?? The environmental storytelling is everywhere, but still leaves many things up to your own interpretation; the world could be locked in a metaphorical battle against sickness or a literal one, depending on your view. Basically, this game has affected me in ways that few other games can, and without using a single word. I highly recommend it, although I know that inevitably there are those who have their gripes with it. It's nothing that you can't deal with if you put your mind to it.

neat game, definitley a lot more to it than the first playthrough, but im satisfied w just the 1

I hate to say it, but the map made this game nearly unplayable. You will be lost for hours. And that’s a shame, because the game itself is absolutely beautiful, and the mechanics are fantastic. But the map? It’s just bad. Like, really bad.

Please, please fix it. It’s awful.

When you open the map, it shows your character in a general area rather than your actual location. It also gives you no clue how to get anywhere. It’s not helpful, it’s not intuitive, and it’s barely even related to what you’re actually doing in the game.

There’s a part where you have to collect these geometric shapes—you can see them on the map, but good luck actually reaching them without watching a YouTube tutorial. At that point, the game starts to feel more like a chore than a fun adventure.

I pick up my Steam Deck, wake it up, and I’m immediately reminded: “Oh yeah… I don’t know where to go. I’ve been lost for hours.” And that’s when I put it down again.

I’m honestly mad that I have to give this game up, because everything else about it is so well done. But until they fix the awful map, I can’t recommend it.

Fantastic art and music direction at times, every time I encountered a Titan I was in awe.

The combat isn't too bad, although it can feel a little clunky at times.

-Pros:
Just finished the campaign. First of all, great pixel art, you can take a screen shot of mostly any part of the game and it will look like a good wallpaper/background. The story is definitely trying to be mysterious, it have a "show don't tell" mentality in the way it trying to portray itself, i just understand it simply as: We are trying to defeat the corruption in the world, but is better to put more thought into it if you want to make more sense of it, or just watch a analysis video. The mechanic is simple, but hard enough to keep you engage, everything you do have some weight into it, so you are not that overpowered in the game, even though when you get enough upgrades it will be a lot easier.

-Cons:
You can tell me i have a skill issue problem, and i accept that, but is not in the way that you think. I do think it is the design of the game to be this way, but still, i find it very hard after a while to find the objectives you need to complete to progress, basically, you have to activates these nodes, and you need at least four of em, there are few obvious ones you will find easily, but the few last one will always be hard to find. After the first few hours, i need to watch a youtube walkthough video to understand where i need to go, and what i need to do to progress, which is nice, and i was surprise that you need to look for these small icon in the ground to find the hidden stuff, but i feel like they doesnt tell you this in the game, and the fact that i have to watch a youtube video to help me finish the game dont sit right with me, so i will say that this is a minor hindorence to my enjoyment of the game.

The gorgeous pixel visuals and dreamy soundtrack clicked with me right from the beginning. I knew I’d love this game. It made me feel nostalgic, and the gameplay loop is super satisfying. The ambiguous lore made my exploring experience even better, since I never really knew what to expect.

Loved it
The Art Style
The Atmosphere
The Minimal Story Telling
The Difficulty
The Combat
All of it

I didn't like it that much on my first playthrough, but it really grew on me after beating all the boss rushes and NG+.

Hyper Light Drifter is a game that focuses on, more than anything, exploration and observation. The world is beautiful, and the game rewards you for appreciating and noticing the little things. Everything feels pretty designed in a way that you can logically figure out (once you understand what little symbols mean, or what certain objects are - like a flat object on the ground being a broken door to show you a secret room). Really refreshing given that a lot of games are very handholdy. The game's fixed view in a lot of areas will show enemies or items not currently accessible, letting you keep them in mind as you progress and look for the secret way in. This made finding entrances really rewarding, not just for the gearbit (currency) or key.

By the way, you have to figure the map out, which is cool and immersive, but can be annoying at first.

Combat feels really nice. I haven't really noticed the issue with stunlocking that some people refer to, and my advice would be to take engagements really carefully - you have a gun for a reason! Weaving the gun in between sword hits, or learning what the best way to punish a boss with the charged swing was really gratifying. Unlockable upgrades for the drifter are not essential (other than chain dashing, which I think you should start with or be forced to take first) to beating the game. so it really never felt like a grind/mad hunt for gearbits + secrets.

Chain dashing took a lot of effort to get the rhythm of, and I think I understand why the game defaults to you dashing in the mouse direction because it really helps with movement puzzles (won't be too important unless you plan on 100%ing). Otherwise, I would recommend changing it to movement direction because it's a lot more natural to most players.

There's also some really nice sound design. The hit sounds are satisfying and weighty, but more than that the environment feels really alive. Also, sound helps with some secrets - a really nice touch is hearing whistling wind when near the wall of a hollow structure telling you there's a way in close.

My ***one gripe with this game is that there aren't really ways to track where things are in-game. When there are so many secrets, it's nice to not have to make a separate document/folder to keep track of where you've gone. There's a nice site someone made that reads your save for missed gearbits and keys ( link here .

I highly recommend Hyper Light Drifter if you enjoy exploration and are willing to get just a little frustrated at a game, because the payoff is 100% worth it.
And, if you really get stuck, I think there's no shame in looking up a map made by a player :).

***and another is that the north boss (Heirophant) is by far the hardest in the game, but is one you can fight at the start. It's just kind of silly balancing!

Its very fun! although i did have to change the controls because i kept dashing into enemies because the you have to aim where your dashing with your cursor while you also have to point were you wanna shoot or slash your enemy but i thinks its really just a skill issue on my part. But overall its very fun and I love the background art :>

Absolutely stunning game, the pixel-art graphics/scenery alongside the incredibly serene soundtrack does such wonders for the overall tone, mood, and feel of the game. At no point did I ever feel totally stumped, or imposed-upon by any of the puzzles, platforming, storytelling, or even combat - It all feels so natural and very well thought-out. It's very obvious an enormous amount of time, effort, love and care went into this game.

To that end: Even in the most difficult sections (like the Arena); It was totally optional, and the checkpoint system is so forgiving that you never lose more than a few seconds of time, so death doesn't matter.

A beautiful, relaxing, yet dark and also addictive game that feels like an oddly spicy yet refreshingly nice & cold glass of water where you can always take a nice deep breath afterwards (if that makes sense?).

Goated game, definitely one of my favourites if not my favourite. Not that long, but a delightful experience. The game has amazing art and stunning visuals everywhere from the pixel aesthetic to each of the little pixel animations, oh and the ost is phenomenal too because it's composed by disasterpiece. It's a hidden classic that a lot of people will never see nor play, but it's a great experience with a bunch of moments that will just make you say "wow", crunchy and fast paced combat and challenging bosses that are both unique and fun to fight, and a lore that is very deeply encrusted into the game's sound, visual and lore-tablet storytelling which is unfortunately very easy to miss. I think this game personally changed my perspective on indie games and what an amazing title full of passion looks like, along other like FTL: faster than light, hades, hollow knight and others. Maybe it might not be as astonishing to you as it was to me, but i think it hit me in a spot that i can only respond with "masterpiece"

Wow found this accidentally and it is really great. No dialogue and amazing gameplay leaves me wishing for a fancy physical magazine style guide/walkthru like in the day.

this is easily my absolute favorite indie of all time, yet i can't explain why. i've nearly 100% it on the switch outside a few small challenges and i been meaning to return to the pc version just to have a finished save file. buy and experience this game, it doesnt matter on what, PC, Switch, PS, Xbox. just do yourself a favor and play this game somewhere.

Я устал разгадывать эти загадки. Игра прикольная, интересная, но я устал фармить монетки по частям, чтобы получить какой-то баф. Я знаю, что они местами имбалансные, но чувствуется какое-то урезание базовых возможностей.

Карта сделана интересно, геймплей в целом тоже, но что-то тут не так.
Короче, рекомендую, но сам возвращаю, не мое,увы.

I've played for about an hour and I'm super conflicted about it. I'm all for giving no instructions and just figuring the game out as you go, but I feel like the direction that I went right off the bat was definitely the "wrong" one as the difficulty was absurd. I was almost immediately thrown into rooms where enemies are coming for all over the place and randomly keep spawning in when you kill a wave or part of a wave. Very possible that I just need to "get good" but the stun locks are aggravating as hell, and there are NO i-frames, so if you get hit and another projectile is on it's way, you're just screwed. The graphics are awesome, the art style is awesome, the music is great, the combat is just a bit too janky and the initial difficulty is just too much.

Very good aesthetic and art design. Good experience playing.

Game-play is not fluid. Feels jank-y (if that's the right word). One does also feel a bit lost as to what to do. Art-style is alright but not anything amazing. Boost being dependent on mouse direction is really ruddy annoying. Not fun (for me anyways). If you don't agree with me, try not to lambaste me. I do not recommend this. There was also one spot where I literally got stuck in and couldn't move, so there are also bugs, which I sincerely doubt will be fixed, or that any update will be made in general, because the game is old.

I only played to beat the game, did not plan on getting 10+ so hours to get some achievements and just played the game. I will say tho that in terms of game mechanics the dash aspect of it does tend to become a nuisance when fighting bullethell, but besides that I've really enjoyed my 6hours of gameplay a solid 8/10. The story is vague and I don't mind because it carries itself with its beautiful environment, art and soundtrack. If you like play something quick (6 to 10hrs) it is definitely worth the buy especially when its on sale!!

the story is good, i love the visuals and music, game play is not that bad how some people describe it, game is good def 9/10

Too bad, the game looks and sounds nice and has a mystrerious storyline that open up with pictures. Exploration was fun.

Except..the controls and the godawful fighting mechanics just ruined the whole thing. Dash either worked or didn't and every fight is just a big mess of projectiles and enemies trying to swarm you. You dash away and they still hit you through it.

I went and explored all the three areas that were open in the beginning and I had huge issues in all of those.
The game didn't feel fun to play and it was a big problem. Comparing to other games with similar combat like Hades it's night and day how the game actually works.

One of the greatest indie games of all time, super fast smooth combat, genre definitive environmental storytelling, powerful music and atmosphere.

Control mapping is awful. I got stuck like 10 mins just in writting my name in the save because 3 of my buttons were incorrectly mapped by default as "B". I could make a save but i had to use my keyboard which is stupid... I don't want to be forced to use keyboard AND mouse...

The music is very loud in the beginning i had to mute all.

I am sad cuz i had this game wishlisted for years and the aesthetics were amazing to me. Had to refund because it's unplayable for me

A very solid experience all around. If you're unsure about buying this, as long as you enjoy a decent challenge I believe its worth the price tag.

I would prefer if the game didn't blast music into my ears and give me hearing problems within the first five minutes of gameplay, even though I set the music volume to the lowest in the settings.

This is so impressive. It's a game you can navigate with no instruction on game design alone. It's the strongest argument against tutorials I think I've ever seen. Is it the greatest game ever made, not really.

Music isn't that great, the bosses are just okay, and the challenge isn't too great. The strongest parts of the game is the aesthetic and the pure design of the thing. This story is fascinating and thought provoking. Anyone looking for a fun Zelda-inspired experience, this is a good one.

Hyper Light Drifter captivated me with its gorgeous pixel-art style and chaotic yet manageable world. The map may feel overwhelming, but progression flows naturally. Enemies and bosses are well-balanced, delivering a challenging but rewarding experience. Unfortunately, the lack of cloud save on Steam was disappointing, I started on PC and couldn’t continue on Steam Deck. Still.
Despite that, it was a wonderful experience. The achievements were and will be a torture, but it’s 100% recommended.

Hyper Light Drifter has gorgeous pixel art, atmospheric soundtrack and great visual story telling. At first, I was confused about gameplay mechanics and the game objective itself, but as I progressed I grew to love the combat and exploration. The only thing that annoyed me was chain dash puzzles cause I have epic skill issues with the chain dash.

Overall, it’s a beautiful, challenging, and emotionally engaging experience.

good vibes and good visuals cannot save a badly designed game with confusing navigation and disastrous maps

The graphics and music and environmental design and storytelling are really good. This game's intro is one of my favorite pieces of media ever. In-game, the combination of dash and sword and gun mechanics are really fun to play with. It's one of the best singleplayer adventure games I've played.

However, playing on controller is a pretty big nerf compared to keyboard+mouse which I found kind of unfortunate. Doesn't stop you from completion (I did it) but I wish there was support for dual stick input. Also, the difficulty spikes pretty significantly in some places, and I found the lack of instructions for critical mechanics was not executed as well as it could have been (imo this only really works if the mechanics have a very strong element of existing intuition, like the items in Animal Well).

I want to like this game. I really do. The environments are beautiful, the soundtrack is lovely haunting, and it's clear there was a lot of love put into the game. However, there are so many things that just...aren't good.

The combat is okay. It's nothing special, but once you get the hang of it, it's fun and solid. While the different guns were cool, the starting pistol was just so much better than every other option that I kept it equipped almost my whole playthrough. The story, if there was one, seemed pretty standard: something destroyed the world, and you've gotta un-destroy it. I say "if there was a story" because there are no words in this game, and everything story-adjacent was just impressions. Still, I'm sure most of that is just coming from my own lack of insight.

Now onto the bad stuff. First, the map. It's utterly useless when above ground, and doesn't really make sense below. You also can't place pins or anything else that might improve it somewhat. Second, when you die, you don't go to a clear, set location, like a save point. It's usually the last room, but not always. Keep in mind also that you may die a lot. While this wasn't a very difficult game, [third] there is no indication for which attacks deal one damage and which deal two. Fourth, and also contributing to the death count, you get stunlocked quite often in this game. It's so frustrating to die in the middle of a combo, with ammo and health packs and a dash available, just because the game decided "fuck you". Incidentally, you're never taught that you can be stunned. I would say "fifth", but this is minor: all of the animations outside of combat take a little too long. Finally (off the top of my head at least), WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH CHAIN DASHING??!?!?!?! I'm not even going to get into how inconsistent it is, since this review is already way too long.

So, like I said, I really want to like Hyper Light Drifter, but i just can't.

Definitely fun to play, wasn't too difficult, and wasn't too easy either, felt right that it wasn't too hard to get a grasp of, the only thing I had to say was that it was hard to understand the story especially for newcomers if they only had pictures to go off of.

Beautiful game with one of the best soundtracks ever, as well as great environmental storytelling. There is almost no text in the game (every piece of lore is written in hieroglyphs that have to be deciphered, every character talks in pictures), so it can be difficult to understand at times. Also the gameplay suffers from a little repetitiveness. Still a great time though

10 of 10. Played well on Steam Deck. One of those great indie games that make question why AAA games can't come up with better mechanics.

Love the dialogue-free visual storytrelling. I think pixelart never looked this good. One of the best soundtracks of all time imo. Combined with the mystery aspect it creates a mesmerising atmosphere.

I've played this game on every platform I've owned, but never got around to completing my Steam copy. It's a timeless classic, and must play for anyone who loves environmental storytelling, great art direction, and solid vibes. I've heard the follow-up (Hyper Light Breaker) isn't shaping up to be a worthy successor, and that's a damned shame, as this game is right up there with other classic indie darlings like Bastion, Braid, Hollow Knight, etc.

Anyway, if you haven't played it, play it. If you didn't like it, my bad, and I hope you got it on sale. It's not for everyone, but if it hits right, you'll probably never forget your experience.

Gungeon with elements of hades but soulslike game progress. Well executed and just what I needed.

I get that this game came out when they were not that much indie games, but this is not a good game, and I don't understand how it became a classic
There is nothing making me care for the characters, not even the main one, so when the game is doing the same sequence over and over of "Oh no I'm coughing blood" I'm just like "can you move on already, I want to continue playing"
The core gameplay is somewhat acceptable, but full of tiny frustrations that made me want to quit the game so many times, like the marvellous idea of being stunlocked by ennemies. This game is never hard, it's bullshit, and that's not the same thing
I did not 100%, I don't think it would have been hard, just tedious, and I just finished it out of spite
No. Do not buy this game, not in 2025. They are way better games to be played, way more polished.

Top down action adventure RPG, with sword and gun combat. Stunning pixel art, futuristic dystopian vibes. Another one of those games that doesnt have any characters that speak english and forces you to figure out how mechanics, puzzles and progession work for yourself. Controls are tight and all the weapons handle great, plenty of hidden stuff for you to find long after you beat the game.

After finishing the game, I would not recommend this game. It a good practice to read the reviews and not rely on how many positive reviews a game have. If you read the positive and negative review, most of them agree the gameplay is weak. Mediocre at best.

The artstyle and music is the strongest quality of the game. but i feel it not worth your time and energy because how bad the gameplay is.

Fun at times but it ruined with one of the worst maps in gaming history. Not to mention bot respawning with full health is just a stupid mechanic

Challenging Gameplay, Stunning Soundtrack, Beautiful Visuals.

Hyper Light Drifter (HLD) is a perfect example of "show, don't tell." Its environmental storytelling is beautiful, provoking intrigue at every corner of its world, waiting to be explored. It's accompanied by a gorgeously stunning yet surreal soundtrack that left me breathless.

HLD doesn’t hold your hand; rather, it gives you the tools to prepare for the journey ahead. The enemies can be punishing, but strategy and patience are key to your survival. Exploration is handsomely rewarded; however, this game seamlessly turns exploration into moments of shock, wonder, and awe.

Combat in HLD is no joke, you truly feel the weight of losing health. Maintaining awareness of your enemy’s attack patterns is crucial. It’s a balance between using your arsenal and keeping your distance. Beating a boss feels like a triumphant accomplishment, a reward for persistence and hard work.
Find a boss too difficult? Try another direction to gather more Gear-bits and upgrade your weapons and skills in town.

I love this game because of the attention to detail; you can tell it was made with care. Its core message transcends words. It speaks to the soul of our emotions, allowing each person to interpret it differently. We all fight demons, how we fight them depends on what kind of Drifter we are.

Hyper Light Drifter is a diamond in the rough. I’d urge you to try this game at least once in your life.

Beautiful artwork, great soundtrack, fun combat, and a mysterious story made this game very enjoyable for me.

One of my favourite games. The art, music, character, and gameplay is felt deep.

I am on my second playthrough. The story is endearingly esoteric, and the whole game is simply a mood.

The soundtrack is legendary - literally have listened to it hundreds of times since I fall asleep to it constantly.

An evolution of the 2d Zelda formula, with wordless story and fluid combat.

fun game, the visuals and music are really beautiful too.

TL;DR, Single handedly my all time favorite game out of everything I currently own and probably everything I will own.

I first heard about this game way back a year or two after it came out, and even then it had an obsessive grip over me for a short while, even though I did eventually forget about it. Then, years later I rediscover this game while browsing through the store and decide to buy it a day later, and that was certainly the best decision i ever made. I love the art style with its vivid, bright neon colors and geometric shapes. I love the combat and the importance of planning your strikes instead of just button mashing. I love how the story and lore is abstract and for the most part up to player interpretation. I love this game with all my heart, it moved me to my very core.

That said the dash is a little janky but I got used to it.