Hyper Light Drifter - Xbox Onehttp://www.gameinformer.com/games/hyper_light_drifter/b/xboxone/atom.aspxCommunity Server2014-03-19T00:30:00ZExploring Familiar, Yet Foreign Territory/games/hyper_light_drifter/b/xboxone/archive/2014/03/19/exploring-familiar-yet-foreign-territory-hyper-light-drifter.aspx2014-03-19T05:30:00Z2014-03-19T05:30:00Z<p><img style="max-width:610px;" border="0" src="http://media1.gameinformer.com/filestorage/CommunityServer.Components.SiteFiles/imagefeed/featured/gdc2013/idatxbox/hyperlight/hyperlight0318-610.jpg" alt="" /></p> <p>A few days ago, Heart Machine <a href="http://www.gameinformer.com/games/hyper_light_drifter/b/pc/archive/2014/03/14/developer-covers-key-aspects-hyper-light-drifter.aspx" title="spoke about">spoke about</a> their upcoming game Hyper Light Drifter. I got a chance to play the Kickstarter sensation myself at GDC and experience its blend of old and new.</p> <p>The demo started as the drifter worked his way up a series of steep steps. A humanoid, birdlike creature warns the drifter that danger lies ahead, but I forge on. The game shares the same hard-edged, pixelated look that indie devs can&rsquo;t seem to get enough of, but it&rsquo;s also filled with subtle color gradients and gorgeous lighting effects. Screenshots don&rsquo;t really do the game justice.</p> <p>The drifter&rsquo;s moveset includes a dash, which allows him to quickly move away from danger. It comes in handy, since I&rsquo;m soon beset upon by more bird things &ndash; only these are capable of limited flight. They swoop down and attack, giving me little room to use my own melee attack. I can counter with magic, which in the demo comes in the form of red, crystal shards.&nbsp;</p> <p>I move through a temple area, where I see more enemies. They&rsquo;re engaged in some kind of ritual that involves a series of pillars. The pillars zap me with lightning, and I&rsquo;m forced to contend with them, more swooping birds, and strange bird mages. It&rsquo;s a tough section, but eventually I overtake them, and their fluorescent pink blood stains the ground. Once the area is clear, I make one last ascent, where I see a ruin off in the distance &ndash; with what looks like the remains of a giant who failed his own attempt to reach the top.</p> <p>I&rsquo;m impressed with what Heart Machine has done so far. The combat isn&rsquo;t easy, as I quickly learned the first few times I tried to button-mash my way to victory. Instead, you have to make effective use of the dash and your ranged attacks. Like the devs <a href="http://www.gameinformer.com/games/hyper_light_drifter/b/pc/archive/2014/03/14/developer-covers-key-aspects-hyper-light-drifter.aspx" title="said earlier">said earlier</a>, they wanted to make sure that players would have respect for the enemies. The combat is satisfying, and I&rsquo;m eager to learn more about the fascinating world that I saw. It&rsquo;s far from ordinary, in spite of the superficially familiar trappings.</p><div style="clear:both;"></div><img src="http://www.gameinformer.com/aggbug.aspx?PostID=6697474" width="1" height="1">GIJeffhttp://www.gameinformer.com/members/GIJeff/default.aspx