The retro look is starting to get old. It peaked with Sword & Swocery, and has been going downhill since. Now Heart Machine has come to the rescue with a new retro-inspired title that’s absolutely gorgeous.
Heart Machine announced today that its Kickstarter-funded RPG Hyper Light Drifter would be coming to the PS4 and PS Vita this year. The game is a top-down 2D RPG with a highly stylized look reminiscent of titles like Sword & Sworcery and Fez. It also has a dark, foreboding atmosphere that makes it feel like a 2D Dark Souls.
For those worried about that comparison, don’t be. Hyper Light Drifter promises fast, fluid combat that’s challenging, but never unfair. In the game, players will be using guns, swords and magic to deal with foes as they explore a variety of environments that are all interconnected.
As for the story, the team at Heart Machine want to create a story that’s told without text. Here’s how they plan on doing it:
We are wary of endless blocks of text, poorly designed UI, and explicit handholding, which can often dilute a great experience. These leave a player frustrated, or worse, disinterested. Instead, we want players to uncover the rich mythology along with the Drifter in a more organic way, with a narrative that’s not explicit. We chose to recognize that players are smart.
We keep the systems management as straightforward as possible, with zero visible UI elements that don’t relate to the world itself. This helps to keep the player immersed and focused on the moments and constantly unfolding story in the world, rather than on numbers, bars and maps.
Dialogue and quests are presented in storyboardlike sequences, which convey a specific mood without the use of text or voiceovers. This also allows us to keep the game as visually lush as possible and break past language barriers.
Oh, and it looks absolutely stunning in motion:
Hyper Light Drifter will be out on PS4 and PS Vita later this year.
Image via PlayStation/YouTube