2016 saw me play a wider variety of games than probably at any time in my history, including this frustratingly difficult pixel art game with absolutely no dialog. I tried really hard to love Hyper Light Drifter but ultimately couldn’t do it.

...Which is a shame, because the atmosphere of this game adopts the creepy rotting-civilization-future aesthetic that I dig, its soundtrack is excellent, its controls are incredibly tight, and holy crap they tell a story and manage to (almost) never leave you confused without ever using dialog or text. (I did find the overworld map a little frustrating in its inexactness). This was an exquisitely designed game that deserves all the praise that the other guys are going to heap on it. Thanks for making me recognize your excellence while having zero fun doing it, Hyper Light Drifter.

Games of 2016

Throughout January, the Games of 2016 will lead the way towards The 2016 Grimmys - Horrible Night's Games of the Year Awards.