Hyper Light Drifter combat video shows more pretty pixel animation

Hyper Light Drifter melted my usually unbreakable Kickstarter kaution , and it did so with GIFs. Its beautiful combat and idling animations already offer an uncanny level of charm, character and flair, and I'm looking forward to the day when it becomes a thing that I can play. In the meantime, we're going to have to settle for brief, early glimpses of the action RPG. Such a tease was posted recently by the developers, in the form of a pre-alpha combat video.

"This is a pre-alpha basic demonstration - leveling has been left out, and the weapon set is very limited," explains the YouTube description, modestly leaving out the fact that it already looks absurdly pretty. "We want to highlight a few key things for everyone, like the shield push, missile deflect/cut, and enemy management."

It's a strong start, and Hyper Light Drifter has the potential to be even better. Despite only looking for $27,000, the game's Kickstarter eventually closed out at $645,158. Through various stretch goals, that total has secured more of just about everything, including new areas, encounters, a co-op mode, and online challenges.

You can find more details over at the Hyper Light Drifter site , including the original concept video, made for the Kickstarter launch.

Hyper Light Drifter is targeting a beta release for mid-next year.

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.