In retrospect, the timing of Hyper Light Drifter’s release seems almost perfect. When it hit the scene in 2016, indie games were starting to secure their own niche within the gaming industry. That year was packed with some standout indie titles, including Firewatch, The Witness, Inside, Cuphead, Enter the Gungeon, Darkest Dungeon, and even Stardew Valley. It wouldn’t be too far-fetched to call 2016 the year of the indie game, now that I ponder it! The years just prior brought us other beloved hits like Her Story, Undertale, Downwell, Soma, Octodad, and Shovel Knight.
What’s fascinating about these games is their focus on delivering unique, often solo experiences—something you don’t see as often with today’s indie titles. While Stardew Valley does offer a co-op mode, most of the others were crafted with solo play in mind. It’s quite different from the current trend of endlessly replayable roguelikes and small-scale live-service games.
Looking back at these games, and especially Hyper Light Drifter which is now nearly ten years old, I’ve realized just how much has changed when I see its sequel, Hyper Light Breaker. Drifter captured imaginations on Kickstarter with its modern pixel art, ethereal synth soundtrack, and an intriguing world that encouraged players to piece together the narrative themselves. It delivered exactly that, and more.
The heart of Hyper Light Drifter was its combat and world-building, unfettered by the industry’s current tendencies. Nowadays, anyone browsing Steam is bombarded by developers aiming to be the next big sensation, often at the expense of creating self-contained experiences. Multiplayer dominates, live-service models are everywhere (even when they don’t always work efficiently), and roguelikes continue to rise in popularity. Especially now, when money is tight for many gamers, the appeal of designing a game that offers endless replayability is understandable—it’s a safer bet in terms of sales. Larger indie teams (who might not truly be indie anymore) are about the only ones who can risk crafting single-player adventures reminiscent of classic JRPGs or Zelda.
It’s therefore easy to see why Heart Machine might opt to turn the world of Drifter into a roguelike, possibly incorporating live-service elements to keep players engaged beyond its early access phase. Whether that decision pays off remains to be seen. We’re still in the early days, with just the foundational gameplay loop in place, but Drifter’s intense combat seems to have transitioned nicely into 3D. There’s room for refinement, and I’m sure updates will bring improvements.
Interestingly, there are parallels to draw with the forthcoming FromSoftware game, Elden Ring: Nightreign. This roguelike features procedurally generated maps and formidable bosses, putting Heart Machine in good company. Yet, Nightreign also serves as a reminder of how the gaming world has evolved in the past decade.
Am I a little nostalgic for those earlier days? Yes, a bit. Developers are still crafting games like Drifter and the other indie gems I listed, and there’s arguably more of them than ever before. But that’s part of the challenge too. Amidst the vast expanse of infinitely replayable games, the room for singular experiences is shrinking, making discoverability a real hurdle.
It’s only natural that the gaming landscape would undergo such transformations in a decade, but seeing Breaker was a poignant reminder of these changes. I’m not here to pass judgment, though. I sincerely hope Heart Machine finds success with this venture, as there’s potential for something truly remarkable once they’ve ironed out the early access wrinkles.
