Welcome to your handy dandy Hyper Helper, an unofficial and unaffiliated fan guide made to help nudge you in the right directions without giving too much away. It's worth mentioning that following the links above will bring you to spoilers, where as this page is safe from all that. You've been warned!
First thing's first. Configure your controls; Hyper Light Drifter is available on several consoles. Even though the controls are straightforward enough, you may find yourself button spamming when things get tight fighting enemies. Hint? This is a timing game. Best to get familiar before delving deeper, gamer. The difficulty you choose is not a light decision, this game is not easy and wont hold your hand so choose wisely!
Upgrade, upgrade, upgrade. The Drifter (you, dingus) starts off relatively weak and the world will only get harsher as you progress. There’s plenty of fighting and bosses ahead, but we’ll go over that later. Explore to collect and collect to advance; the world is filled with Items like Modules, Gearbits, Keys, and Med Kits. Also worth noting are Monoliths, relating to a side-quest, but again, we'll get to that in a bit.
We play as a Drifter who is plagued by a persistent illness, arriving in new lands and driven by a mission. For weapons we start with a sword, but soon the player will pick up a pistol. The game will explain how charging your gun works, which is your first lesson! Slash and fire away, but not too much because ammo is going to be something you juggle for the rest of the game. Get to know your new toys and enjoy a beautiful cutscene.
Don’t panic. You’ve just picked up the map, congratulations! The map wants you to collect those pink triangles to unlock the blue square, giving access to your main objective. When leaving the building, be sure to touch the big gray slab on the ground to trigger a prompt from the game. You'll find more of these slabs later. Feel free to explore the town, but for now there’s not too much you can do without any Gearbits. The player is free to choose which direction to head off in, however, it’s noted that most players head North.
Explore, fight, discover. It’s important to poke around your surroundings to discover useful items and secrets. Learn the pros and cons of each weapon, where your Drifet’s dash can and can’t take you, and piece together the lore as you go.
Don't get too mad when you fall off the cliff trying to get to that spot. We've all done it. Repeatedly.
Module.
Gearbit.
Med Kit
Key
There are two kinds of high tier enemies that you’ll face: Bosses and Mini Bosses. Along the way there are regular tier enemies, some more annoying to deal with than others depending on the player’s style.
Don’t be discouraged by death. It will take a combination of weapons, moves, and strategy to be top dog. When faced with multiple hostiles there are a few ways to get the upper hand. Know your enemy; Decide the hierarchy of who needs to be dealt with first (cutting the numbers is always nice) and remember their patterns of movement and attacks to time your own assault (use the breaks inbetween to get your strikes in) without taking hits.
Keep getting annihilated by enemies? Feels like there’s suddenly a jump in difficulty? Try, try, try again. Take a break. Try some more. Still no progress? Backtrack. Scavenge for items and upgrade if you can. Try a different path than the one you took from the town. Remember that the enemies get stronger the farther along you go. If you’ve got the right stuff then it may be a timing issue. Study your enemy’s attacks and wait for an opening. There’s no shame in dodging or running away when things get too hot.
Can’t clear an obstacle? The problem is either timing or the classic ‘Shoot the Thing to go Forwards’. The first is a skill issue, you’ll just have to find a way to push through. The second, you'll have to do a little searching. Still nothing? See how another player has approached the problem with the power of the internet. This game has a good enough following that someone else has probably been in the same boat you are.
You've reached the end of the lite guide to Hyper Light Drifter, Hyper Helper. If you need more help do some clicking on the links at the top of the page. I hope you enjoy this wonderful pixel based game by Heart Machine, lead developer Alex Preston. Be on the lookout for Hyper Light Breaker, the next game in the series, as EA is now available on Steam. Another game by Heart Machine set in the same universe as HLD is Solar Ash, though it's lore seems to have no Tie Ins with HLD.