Perhaps Hyper Light Drifter wasn’t released at the right time. 2016 was a year where indie games were carving out their own space in the industry, with titles like Firewatch, The Witness, Inside, Cuphead, Enter the Gungeon, Darkest Dungeon, and even (relatively) massive titles coming out. Stardew Valley. If I think about it now, I would say 2016 was the year of indie games! A few years ago, there were equally beloved titles like Her Story, Undertale, Downwell, Soma, Octodad, and Shovel Knight.
The big common denominator you’ll quickly notice here is that, unlike many indie games these days, all of the games mentioned here are much more unique experiences. Stardew Valley obviously has co-op play, but everything else is generally designed to be played alone. This is a stark contrast to the proliferation of smaller live service titles, roguelikes, and other attempts at games designed to be played forever.
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If you look back at all of these games, especially Hyper Light Drifter, they’re about 10 years old. It feels like the amazing sequel, Hyper Light Breaker, shows how much can change in 10 years. What really sold Drifter when it was a Kickstarter was its combination of modern pixel art, evocative synth soundtrack, and intriguing world. The final game built on these three characteristics, giving us a game with a narrative that we had to figure out for ourselves.
The real focus is on combat and world-building, and is a break from the state the gaming industry is currently in. If you log onto Steam every day, you’ll see tons of developers trying to become the next big thing, but very few of them are. Independent experience. Multiplayer is now massive, live services are virtual in many cases (although they rarely work), and there are so many roguelikes these days. I can’t blame anyone for the last problem. When things get really tough and people don’t have a lot of money right now, you want to design something that can be played indefinitely. Otherwise, you might lose. On sale. Only bigger name indie teams (who may not even be indie anymore) can afford to make single player, JRPG or Zelda inspired titles.
As a result, I can’t blame Heart Machine for deciding to turn the world built in Drifter into a roguelike. I’m guessing it will include some live service elements to keep players coming back after Early Access ends. Right now it’s hard to figure out if it was the right call. Early access means early, with only the core loop currently available. Drifter’s challenging combat is pretty well done in 3D, but I’m sure there will be some improvements with a few updates.
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There are also similarities with the upcoming FromSoftware title Elden Ring: Nightreign. The game is a roguelike that uses procedurally generated maps to take on fearsome bosses, so Heart Machine is in good company. But ironically, Nightreign also highlights how different the industry is from a decade ago.
Does it make me sad? Yeah, a little bit. There are still developers making games like Drifter and all the other indie games I mentioned at the beginning. Even though there are more than ever before, that doesn’t mean they are fewer. That too is part of the problem. These days, there’s no place for them in a sea of ​​games where the chances of survival are higher thanks to replayability, not to mention how difficult discoverability is.
It’s no wonder the industry has changed so much over the past decade. I think it took Breaker to make me realize how different things are now. I’m not necessarily trying to pass judgment here. Mainly, I wish you the best with Heart Machine. Because once the early access issues are resolved, there could be something pretty special there.
