Hyper Light Drifter is one of my favorite and most replayed games of all time, so I don't take this comparison lightly. It has satisfying combat, and parrying is your best friend in the game. The dungeons in the game were a blast to play through, and you can supposedly tackle in no particular order. Given the game's crafting system, I imagine I could do a little bit of sequence breaking, which far too few games allow. I'm definitely going to be replaying the game to try that out, if not to also play at a higher difficulty I just unlocked. On the note of items, it's as if the developer bugged my house to listen to my criticisms of Twilight Princess, because the spinning wheel and double hookshots are extremely helpful in the game. I really like the idea of everyone having a limited time to live, including yourself. It facilitates immersion and makes the world feel very dynamic, and that you have a direct impact on it. It's especially useful to get rid of the game's biggest pest, Iris. She interrupts your play frequently to give you tips anyone with a prefrontal cortex likely would have figured out on their own and ALWAYS reminds you that you can craft items whenever you die. While I could no longer increase my chip capacity, the trade-off was worth getting rid of her, in my opinion. The writing in this game isn't particularly compelling, though. I've spoken my piece on Iris, but really none of the characters made me care enough to want to keep them alive. The weapon storekeeper had a very long lifespan, so there was no need to give them meteor dust. When I read that certain folks went unsighted, I just shrugged my shoulders and moved on. Overall, though, I really enjoyed my time with the game and it is probably the best game I've played in 2021. Highly recommended.
After the bad taste in my mouth that Slain left, Hyper Light Drifter has been a great change of venue. Its gameplay is a beautiful blend of Alundra and bullet hell games. The enemy types are incredibly diverse and are given their own intro to give you a good idea of how they work. The level design and the enemy formations force you to strategize differently with each encounter. Its lack of text combined with its stellar soundtrack (Disasterpeace made it, so you really can't go wrong) also give the game an incredible level of theming. The graphics are a beauty to behold as well. I have not yet completed it, but I am already very invested.
