Hyper Light Drifter studio reveals its new game, Solar Ash Kingdom

YouTube

Hyper Light Drifter developer Heart Machine has officially pulled back the curtain on its new game, Solar Ash Kingdom, with an announcement trailer that's as lovely as it is weird.

"We strive to tell a beautiful story through our world, the atmosphere, our characters and even our gameplay—each aspect of our games are painstakingly considered—which requires a large investment of time," creator Alx Preston told IGN. "Thanks for bearing with us and our relative silence; we’re so excited to start opening up about the game and the process behind it on our devlog and beyond."

The trailer makes Solar Ash Kingdom look like a speed-skating sim in a surprisingly colorful alternate dimension riven by the sticky marshmallow offspring of Yog-Sothoth, but that's probably not quite what it's all about. Actual specifics are short, but Preston said that "a whole new set of incredible tech and key innovations" will distinguish the game from its predecessor, and the studio clarified on Twitter that it is not a sequel to Hyper Light Drifter.

Solar Ash Kingdom is being published by Annapurna Interactive, which given its track record—What Remains of Edith Finch, Gorogoa, Donut County—is also encouraging. One other interesting thing to note is at the very end of the trailer, where the Epic Game Store logo appears, while that of Steam does not. I've emailed Heart Machine and Annapurna to ask if it will be an Epic exclusive and will update if I receive a reply.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.