Still, you don’t have to be battling heart disease, depression, anxiety or any other tangible hardship to feel an emotional draw to 2016’s best indie darling to date. This inspiring story translates into the genuine passion and love you can feel during every moment of Hyper Light Drifter. Preston’s lifetime battle against heart disease was not only the thematic basis for Hyper Light Drifter, but it also was the clear inspiration for the name of his studio, the aforementioned Heart Machine. Personal analogies aside, the main inspiration of this gorgeous 16-bit action title is the struggle of its creator, Alex Preston. From its perilous difficulty to the sense of powering through being completely lost, all the way to the ethereal soundtrack and ambiguous symbolic language, Hyper Light Drifter allows you to embrace the feeling of overcoming impossible odds. Of course, it also helps that it includes some of the best combat of the year, as well as a downright gorgeous world that even sprite-art haters can enjoy. Hyper Light Drifter, the debut title from Heart Machine, is not directly a game about anxiety or depression, but its narrative and themes are left open for interpretation just enough to allow any player to use the main character as a conduit for their own struggles. So why bring this up in a video game review? Make no mistake, it’s perilously difficult and extremely uncomfortable at times, but there’s a sense of pride and clarity that has emerged as a result. In recent weeks, I’ve decided to actually face those negative feelings head on. Though I’ve attempted to fight my demons in the past, it’s always been a halfhearted journey down the least painful path possible (of course, anyone in the same situation knows that the tougher path is the correct one). As someone who suffers from a combination of crippling panic attacks and bouts of depression, despite a penchant for goofiness and a generally jovial demeanor, the idea of overcoming a major challenge really hits home.
The need to manage resources, keep an eye on the opponents’ moves, and co-operate with team members simultaneously makes the action much more hectic and tactical than it may appear at first.Hyper Light Drifter came into my life at the most perfect time imaginable and there are going to be quite a few of you that feel exactly the same way.
It’s fast and frantic fun, with three different methods of winning a match: Military Victory (kill the opposing Queen three times), Economic Victory (one team’s Drones fill all of their slots with gathered berries), or Snail Victory (a Drone rides the Snail God on the stage all the way to their team’s goal line). One player controls the hive’s Queen, while others take the role of Drones or Warriors. The title, a refined version of the original Killer Queen, sees two teams of four battle it out on a variety of stages. While a lot of pixel art titles take a pure platforming approach (the market has become sadly saturated with such), Killer Queen Black takes a competitive, team-based approach on the concept. However, they complement each other quite splendidly and combine so they can echo the emotional beats hit by the narrative. Technically, Omori isn’t purely a pixel game, as it incorporates other art styles. The indie game touches upon a number of mature themes such as depression and grief, all of which are handled with sensitivity and nuance. A group of children find themselves exploring the dreams of Omori, a boy suffering from serious trauma that he can’t deal with directly. While the visuals might not always make it apparent, Omori is predominantly a psychological horror game. Made in RPGMaker, Omori combines pixel and hand-drawn art to create stunning and imaginative landscapes that are equally as likely to charm or terrify players. Omori has all the makings of an indie pixel games masterpiece, even if the title hasn’t yet managed to reach the same level of exposure as an Undertale or Stardew Valley. In development for Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One.
0 kommentar(er)
