The painstakingly rendered pixel art and wonderful animation makes the world feel alive, whether it's the gigantic, lumbering golems or a serene fountain. But it features a level of detail and polish that makes it stand out as something that wouldn't have been possible two decades ago.
#Hyper light drifter sprite art upgrade
You run around the world fighting enemies, while collecting new weapons and gear to upgrade your abilities, and uncovering secrets that allow you to venture even further into the world. Set to launch in mid-2014, Hyper Light Drifter is a 2D action game that harkens back to classics from the 8- and 16-bit eras. "Beautiful animation and design add life to a world." "I needed to show as wide an audience as possible what I had been dreaming about for years," Preston explains. An animator by trade, it wasn't until the beginning of this year that he finally started turning that dream into a reality with Hyper Light Drifter. The combat would be fast and tactical, and the enemies intelligent and plentiful.
Players would take on the role of a mysterious drifter, venturing through a dark world exploring massive forests and ancient ruins. “It plays like the best parts of A Link to the Past and Diablo, evolved: lightning fast combat, more mobility, an array of tactical options, more numerous and intelligent enemies, and a larger world with a twisted past to do it all in.Since he was a kid, Alex Preston has been imagining an experience that would blend the best moments from Diablo and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past into one game. Hyper Light Drifter wears its inspirations on its sleeve, as Preston is quick to point out. “Something dark and fantastic, with giant forests to navigate, huge floating structures to explore, deep crumbling ruins to loot, massive throngs of enemies to rend, and behemoths both flesh and mechanical to overcome.” “Visions for this game have been fluttering in my skull for ages,” Preston explains on the official website for Hyper Light Drifter. There’s definitely some autobiographical elements in the story.” He’s coping with his own set of problems, but he’s still managing to live his life and do his job, essentially. Especially in this game, the story revolves around an ailing drifter. “It goes into everything I do, really,” Preston told Rock Paper Shotgun in a 2013 interview. Like many passion projects, Hyper Light Drifter has an unusual origin, Preston’s experience in living with a genetic heart condition. “I want it all to be as beautiful as possible, forging color with the dark and eerie wastes and intimidating landscapes.” “From characters to background elements, everything is lovingly crafted while I hum show-tunes and squint suspiciously at the flickering pixels until they perform as intended. “Miyazaki films have taught me that beautiful animation and design add life to a world,” described Hyper Light Drifter Lead Designer, Alex Preston in the game’s Kickstarter campaign. Hyper Light Drifter is a “2D Action RPG in the vein of the best 8-bit and 16-bit classics, with modernized mechanics and designs on a much grander scale.” When I read a description of the game’s ambitions, I knew it was true love.
The first time I laid eyes on Hyper Light Drifter‘s protagonist, a nameless Drifter, lounging beside a pixel-perfect fire pit, I fell in love. Inspired by nightmares and dreams alike.Įvery so often, a project, whether it’s a book, a film, a videogame, or whatever, crosses my path and I can’t help but stop to stare. Explore a beautiful, vast and ruined world riddled with unknown dangers and lost technologies.