Hyper Light Drifter

Heart Machine · Jul 25, 2019

Teen

About

Echoes of a dark and violent past resonate throughout a savage land, steeped in treasure and blood. Hyper Light Drifter is an action adventure RPG in the vein of the best 16bit classics, with modernized mechanics and designs on a much grander scale.

Trailers & screenshots

Scores by platform

PC

Critic 8.5 (30 critics) · Gamer 9.3

8.7

PlayStation 4

Critic 8.2 (9 critics) · Gamer 9.4

8.4

Xbox One

Critic 8.0 (5 critics) · Gamer 9.1

8.2

Nintendo Switch

Critic 8.6 (16 critics) · No ratings yet

iOS

Critic 8.6 (6 critics) · Gamer 9.5

8.7

Critic reviews

Bluemoongame
Alec Sandar · Aug 13, 2019
8.4
Hyper Light Drifter conquered all platforms it stepped foot on, emerging with overly positive comments and reviews, and high scores. It is a definite step away from the mainstream and a journey into a heart-stopping story sort to say. It is definitely worth the try and highly recommended for all gaming enthusiasts!
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Gamezebo
Glen Fox · Jul 25, 2019
8.0
It might not be perfect, but it is perfectly playable. Overall, we found our time with Hyper Light Drifter on mobile to be a positive experience. The touch controls work and don’t cause any huge issues aside from when you need to heal on iPad and the general performance is decent, even if it doesn’t quite feel as silky smooth as the promised 120 fps on iPad Pro.
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Touch Arcade
Mikhail Madnani · Jul 25, 2019
10
Hyper Light Drifter is still an essential for any fan of pixel art games or action RPGs. I have a few problems with the difficulty spikes when there are too many enemies near you, but still adore this game. If you missed out on it on other platforms for whatever reason, the iOS port is an absolute steal even without the pre-order discount. I’d recommend playing this with a controller but Abylight Studios has done an excellent job with touch controls if you are going to play it on your iPhone.
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148Apps
Campbell Bird · Jul 25, 2019
7.0
I’m glad that Hyper Light Drifter is on mobile, but it doesn’t exactly seem like a great fit. Between the slow ramp up and performance problems, it’s probably best to play this game elsewhere if you can. If you can’t, it’s still possible to enjoy the game on iOS. I did, but I probably would have had more fun with it on console or PC, assuming those versions don’t have similar issues.
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Pure Nintendo
Justin Sharp · Nov 15, 2018
9.5
Hyper Light Drifter is simply a must-play title. The Nintendo Switch version features a few exclusive features so in my mind, it’s the ‘definitive version’ at this point. While I initially had some frame-rate issues (some in single-player mode, while most were in the co-op mode), the 1.2.0 patch on the Nintendo Switch helped out tremendously. I didn’t recall any issues after the patch.
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Nintendo Insider
Simon Burr · Oct 22, 2018
9.0
If you groan every time you see another 2D action-RPG on the Nintendo eShop, don’t be dissuaded by Hyper Light Drifter: Special Edition. While it borrows from the Zelda blueprint and games that have followed, it is packaged so perfectly that it stands above the rest. The depth of its vivid world goes beyond what you see on your screen. There’s more lurking there, and you’ll want to discover it all.
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Gamer reviews

Ava H
Jul 31, 2022 · Switch
9.0
Hyper Light Drifter - Special Edition
I'm not a great gamer, there are many games I find very difficult but this game made me keep trying. There a optional parts I haven't been able to complete but I still love this game so much.
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Peter Torckler
May 21, 2021 · Switch
9.2
One of the first indies I'd played and I loved it at the time. Excited to give it another pass, hopefully it stands up.
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Jeff Morgenroth
Jan 27, 2021 · Xbox One
9.0
One of the more evocative, stylish, and memorable adventure games of the generation. The combat and exploration feels great; the art style is striking and unique; and the storytelling, while obtuse and weird, leave an impression. An essential experience.
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Makara Nou
Aug 10, 2019 · iOS
9.5
Story: This game intends to tell a story without spoon-feeding players. We need to figure out what something means. How we interpret and perceive things can be varying. The game is deep yet indirect. Control: The control is very smooth. The arrangement is on point. Graphic/design: pixel art style, incredibly beautiful Gameplay: Players need to find hidden 'triangle keystones' from all south, west, north and east parts of the map and then unlock the final boss in the central part. The best way to enjoy the game is try to figure things out on your own, including the story and the hidden locations.
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