As a fan of roguelikes and roguelites, I slashed my way through the first half of the game without much interest in the lore, but once I reached the giant pulsating heart in the southern cave, something clicked. I realized this game probably had something beneath the surface that deserved to be looked at. As I went back into each area to collect secrets I missed, I started to notice how every single pixel seemed to have been placed there for a reason. It was then that I started reading theories on the internet about the lore, but none really satisfied me, until I found yours. At first, I thought the game was a metaphor of human history, from prehistoric brutality in the East, antique knowledge and rituals in the North, honour and martial prowess of the Middle Ages in the West, and finally technology and innovation in the South. Your essay is fantastic. This game has changed my perception of video games, and shown me that they, too, can be true art. This did not feel like 55 minutes.
It makes me so happy to hear that you got that feeling too! I knew that there was something more to this game, but I couldn’t find anybody else really talking about anything but the story itself. That’s why I knew I had to make this video! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
wow, that's symbolic that you have pfp from Rain World, which is another beautiful game with deep lore and meaning love your comment, also both of these games
@@jodiu13 Ah, very much so. Discovered Rain World in the peaks of the pandemic, and it's been special to me ever since. It bewilders me that it's actually a popular game now, it used to have less than a thousand steam reviews a year after its launch. The owner of this channel's video style would probably be really appropriate for Rain World...
Legiondude It was a catch I had while getting footage for the video, and I had to verify it on the wiki to be sure. Needless to say, it fit right into the themes already present, and made the analysis much more cohesive!
@@SHConsoli It's actually maybe not accurate, though, as has been revealed as of late with the revelation that the species called "Blu" that will appear in Hyper Light Breaker is the Drifter's species, a blue furred feline species, and they come from a different continent entirely, the Northern Realms which is to the northwest of the Land of Light (the country/continent in HLD. Doesn't mean the Blu weren't involved in some bad shit. But... since Dirks are shown to be made from the Blu in the vats in the Wastes to the south, it is possible that this is why they hate them truly. They are very much a natural and not artifical species, though! It is possible that the Blu specimen that we see were fighting, trapped in the crystals, or the ones in the vats to the south, were doing htis to themselves, were willing to be experimented on and used, or were forced somehow to do everything. Maybe the bodies in the vats becoming the Dirks were actually dead corpses though. But they were 100% not an artificially created people, and we finally know that for sure. It's canon that they weren't.
Ok what is some random with 10 subs doing making such high quality video essays. I wasn't expecting much when I clicked the video but you put my prejudgements down almost immediately. Amazing video.
@@SHConsoli hey i loved your analysis! small bit of information i just gathered. correct me if im wrong but the frogs are ninjas (japanese myth based. the raccoons could be tanukis. the birds could be tengu as they have a MASSIVE involvement in buddism and the "corruption" of buddist values and the loss of enlightenment/ascension halted. otters are also huge in japanese myth. the only ones i dont have much for is the lizards of the south. and goblins are a common misnomer for oni. oni are anti human/ningensei. and anubis and okami (literally wolves) are represented as messengers of gods or even gods of the mountain. titans reminded me of the colossal skeleton yokai gashadokuro which are from fallen soldiers tormented by their death.
One of my favorite things about the ending scene are the songs that play. Chimera, the boss theme, and Panacea, the credits. A chimera is a wish, a goal, a desire, that despite your best efforts, is impossible to achieve. Your fight with judgement is fighting your fear of death, coming to terms with the fact that you cannot live forever. Conversely, Panacea means a magical cure, the ultimate pill, an escape from mortality. And while the drifter never gets to live forever, he is cured of something. That which was causing him pain the whole time. Not death, which was always on the horizon. But the fear of it, that has haunted him in his journey.
As someone who has lived without fear of death for a while now, I do have one fear that persists: the fear of pain. This game truly reflected my views on death, but I have yet to make peace with my fear of pain. Perhaps that merely means that I am destined to find some expression of this fear. Some way of understanding it that will let me see the light. As I reflect on this, I remember that all people have their own fears, their own demons. Alex Preston and many others have the fear of death. Some have the fear of abandonment. Others have a fear of the unknown or nothingness. But my fear is merely the fear of the pain itself. To live beyond such a existential felling would be true bliss in my eyes. I just need to find the right path before death's clock counts down to nothing. I might be the one who needs to find that path myself. PS: I have now told all of my friends about this video essay. I hope this video and this game go mainstream someday.
Death makes people react in different ways, and your interpretation of these diverse responses in the game is really powerful. I thoroughly loved it. I never thought about the negative impact of living in a death ignorant society, represented by the town, because I either didn't approach that npc or didn't think much of their story. Moderation is a powerful message, one that should be taken to heart no matter the response you feel comfortable with. Hope this video helps people see other sides of coping, and learning to manage these sides.
It’s overall a very powerful message, and a huge part of why I loved the game so much. It changed a large part of my outlook on life and death, and maybe even helped me come to terms with that eventuality. Hyper Light Drifter is just such a beautiful game.
I can’t express how much it means to me that you have recommended my video to others. I make content to express my thoughts and to make videos that I personally enjoy... the fact that others are able to share in my delight makes me very happy :)
I've also just finished writing my own article about the use of the tarots inside this game. We have written so much things in common. I love how people still thinks about this game in search of meanings and interpretations. I tried to give interpretation to every single tarot card given (plus the Hermit, the name of the toad-like boss in the eastern region. I assume his name is "the Hermit" because the fighting theme track is named "the Hermit". -The Magician (The Drifter): the tarot of "beginning" which refers to something that is about to begin a journey. The Magician is related to someone who is in search of something but is far from achieving it (in this case, the cure) -The Hierophant represents the need to dominate both spirit and matter which leads to some sort of inner strenght (both physical and mental) to keep fighting against the disease -The Hermit an old man who knows the life adversities which might represent the need to face an incoming crysis in order to achieve wisdom from it -The Hanged Man the stasis and the fear of suffering which leads to inability. maybe this tarot refers to the crystal containing warriors in the western area and both the fact the boss is a warrior which keeps fighting as the war never ended, enhancing the meaning of stasis and stillness to a sort of "inner block" -The Tower both represents the ruin and the existance of multiple solutions or, to be more precise, multiple aspects of the same issue. It could be connected to the illness of the protagonist and both the true meaning of the story: the problem is not about dying but the fear of death -Judgement the end of a perilous and sorrowful journey leads to rebirth and enlightenment. The end of the story, the nucleus of narration: defeat the fear of death and you will achieve what you need to know all along. Judgement means also the right to fight for existence because (i'll quote what Jorodowski written in his book about the tarots): "this tarots expresses how everyone who is born is desired by divinity, who allowed everyone to be created" and by that we are allowed to struggle and keep fighting. I hope this is not too much, because sometimes i feel i may have put too much of my own interpretation into the game. I hope also this could be useful to someone as a reading of this beautiful game we love i also love how much effort you put in this. You've done an amazing job
god.. someone finally put this into words.. this is probably the best hyper light lore video I've ever watched, the way you've explained it and the way you presented it does so much justice to the wordless story here. But by god you're as right as anyone can be that this game is fucking beautiful. This showed me alot about a story I thought I had figured out!
And honestly it's odd in a really interesting way. I found out about and got into this game this year, and I think we all know how absolutely insane this year has been. But a game about accepting what can't be stopped, no matter how difficult.. I don't find that to be a coincidence. When I was first starting to hear about the state of the world and how... terrifying and chaotic it is and has been, it was incredibly frustrating and scary. It felt like and at times still feels like the apocalypse is coming closer and closer and that I wasn't doing anything to help it. But where I can do some things, I can't do everything. No one really can. Death can't be stopped, and neither can the wrath of this shit year. So why not make the most of it? Sorry for the long paragraph lol this video might've made me very emotional lmao.
Hey Harrison I rarely comment on any video, but I felt like I should do here. I played this game when I was younger (2018 I believe) and this game didn't make much sense back then. Now that I've been diagnosticated with a chronic disease, not severe like how the game creator's disease is, but still shortens my lifespan, this analysis (or art) hit HARD. Thanks for making this video
this video has genuinely helped me understand why i've had an emotional connection with this title for the last few years. the idea of death has always made me panic, even to this day I find a way to look past death, even if my life is not inherently in danger, it looms over me. the journey to acceptance of ones fate and achieving catharsis has a peaceful end to it, but reaching that point is not a walk down the yellow brick road. Alex Preston really has made a masterpiece, and this video compliments the art piece that is Hyper Light Drifter, thank you.
9 months ago, I had an ECG and was unofficially diagnosed with Left Ventricular Hypertrophy. The disease itself is by no means terminal, and it's generally fairly harmless. I was told to come back for another ECG in 6 months to verify my diagnosis. At first I was okay, it wasn't a serious condition and I'm still young, so even if my chance of heartattack or stroke was higher than usual, I was still mostly safe. A few months in though, it started to stress me out. I began researching the condition on a whim, and it began to scare me. After maybe 4 months I developed a serious fear of death. I never wanted to go to sleep for fear that I would have a heartattack and never wake up. I never planned too far ahead because I thought I wouldn't live to grow older and see the future. Worst of all I didn't feel supported by my family, or most of my friends. After 6 months had passed, I was unable to book my next ECG because of COVID issues and whatnot, and I only just managed to get another one 2 weeks ago. My results came back and revealed that I am heart-condition free. I saw this video pop up in my recommended and thought I'd watch a little bit of it to see your interpretation as I've always been curious about the lore. The intro immediately hooked me as you described a metaphor that was almost woven 1-1 with my own experience. After watching it I can honestly say I wish I had seen it maybe 4 months ago, when I started to get really stressed. The main metaphor of the Drifter fits almost perfectly with my experience to the point that I was starting to tear up. I'm infinitely grateful that I'm healthy now but those 9 months of waiting and stress, while trying to cope with the possibility of death were so difficult that I'm very happy to learn that one of my favourite games very well could be a metaphor to that experience. Thank you for this incredible video 2 years ago, I'm very thankful to have watched it.
This is the most beautiful analysis I've ever seen. Because game can be interpreted differently by everyone, it's always interesting to see others perspective. I myself never had put so much emphasis on Death in the game, even though the players first goal is to find a cure.
StuartisUnoriginal Remember that you still have the right to your own interpretation, and that just because I have found mine, it doesn’t necessarily make yours wrong. It’s what makes HLD’s storytelling so incredible!
As HLD easily being my all time favourite game, your video has helped me learn so so so much more about wtf was actually going on and brings a weird sense of closure and resolution to everything I felt, learnt and experienced while playing this game. While HLD was Alex Preston and Heart Machines' labour of love in its highest form, I feel that same sense of conviction and devotion to the game through this video. From the art style to Disasterpeace's sublime score (The Gauntlet being an absolute marvel and masterpiece (sic) of emotional expression) this game and its world mean more to me than any other form of art ever could. Many thanks to you for succinctly and thoughtfully giving us fans this video that helps us make sense of so much that we may have missed in the adrenaline rush of embodying the Drifter through our playthroughs. Long live such Indie phenomenons and as a die-hard fan of the medium of video games, one can only hope that the AAA games industry will one day bring as much 'HEART' (sic) to main stream gaming as this small, indie upstart of a studio (Heart Machine) crammed into what can only be described as one of the most sublime experience of gaming I have ever had. These platitudes to their work ring hollow without the context and knowledge that your video adds to everything HLD, at least to this hopeless, blinded fanboy. May the passion of you and such creators (like Heart Machine, Disasterpiece and you) forever be remembered as testament to what Video Games can actually mean to the Human Experience. From the deepest depths of my heart , thank you to Anyone who played a creative, explanatory (academic) and experiential (read played) role in the all things Hyper Light Drifter. HLD is the highest blessing and boon to us mere mortals.
I have something to add though. In the war with the titans, the "blues" were also on the titans side. The "blues" are the species the drifter is part of. And the racoon folk in the west (aswell as the central townfolk saw the dude that is now drinking in an alley) propably sees the drifter as an enemy out of the time . As the racoons are frozen, still with the mindset of war, they can only respond with aggression to the drifter, who is a "blue". The townsfolk doesn't react to the drifter as it did to the now drinking dude because the guardian (or pink drifter) brought him into the town. Propably. But I haven't seen the whole video yet. But still loving it. I will propably write more comments. There is also a Tarot-approach to this game and I couldn't do it because my knowlege of Tarot is... small. But a lot of characters in the game represent Tarot characters and there is a lot of meaning behind that to be found aswell! Please look into it! The Drifter, thus, is supposed to be "The Magician". I always thought that the drunkard might be "The fool" but... that's all my humble opinion.
I'm a bit late to the party on this one, lol. I played this game about a year and a half ago, when I was going through a really rough spot in my life. I'm really not the best when it comes to figuring out lore, or the message or meaning behind abstract work, but by the end of the game It really struck me, it hit me somewhere so deep and personal that I didn't even know it existed until I played this game. Even still, my own interpretation was vague and lacking. But seeing this video all this time later, it brings back those feelings. I love this game so very much, and I love your perspective and interpretation of the events of it. Thank you for making this video on such a beautiful work of art.
I love this. This is so, so well written and composed together. I missed out entirely on the whole "north/east/west/south approaches to cope with the threat of death" narrative. I mean, you said that the visuals can be interpreted in many ways, but I think with the writing on the monoliths saying what it says and the way four titans were defeated, it fits very well.
ニルディバエワジャミラ Thank you so much! I’m glad that you’re still making sure to apply your own thoughts and reasoning to this, I love seeing the analysis that Hyper Light Drifter inspires!
@@SHConsoli oh, I meant that I missed out on it in the _game_ . My phrasing was kinda confusing. Previously I didn't see the unique ways the titans were defeated as the symbolic manifestation of each region's fight against the fear of death. You provided some plausible new theory on that, and I'm totally buying it.
I love not only this analysis but the passion behind it. This game impacted you so much that you made a RUclips account just to talk about it, and without knowing whether anyone would see it, you created an incredibly well crafted hour long essay. Bravo, sir. You just earned yourself a subscriber.
Wow, you did a really good job with this video. It explains everything quite well, and brings up meanings behind things I never would have thought of. Also dude, "a long and hard fought battle"? You defeated Judgement in like 20 seconds.
My god this video was so interesting that I didn't realize it was 55 min long. I'll watch the rest later but very good video, you put all the pieces together, I really hope you get more views because good essays like that always deserves it
DoublePounch I appreciate your support! It means a lot to me that people can enjoy my creations, especially when it’s about incredible games like this one.
I find myself coming back to this video time and time again. In my eyes, Hyper Light Drifter is revolutionary in game craft. It’s themes, music, and visual storytelling are all nailed perfectly. It also conveys the emotions it wants to, no matter the interpretation of its meaning. Your analysis is extremely well-spoken and insightful. Keep it up with the amazing content. You deserve every good opportunity that comes to you.
I adore the game, but your video boosted that to a whole new level. Thank you so much for this insightful video essay. I was captivated for the duration, because your narration and the video edit was impeccable. I hope you continue to publish such essays in the future.
If you leave just one werewolf alive in a fight, sometimes, they'll start panicking and running away, not giving a fight. And the game, sometimes let's you leave them and other times keeps you enclosed with them until you end them, reminiding you how you're a symbol of death and you cannot escape your reality,
Just came back to write a comment after listening to this master piece again. I listened to it while walking around a park when I wasn’t feeling too great, especially with my fears on the topics you covered in the video. But I genuinely feel a bit more at peace and feel a sense of closure somehow. So, thank you :)
Really enjoyed listening to this while drawing some commissions!! You put a lot of things that I couldn't describe into words. And showed me some new concepts. Overall great essay! Definitely deserves more views.
The sound design / music is SO good in this game -- it's a perfect example of how to tell a story without words. After playing it, I couldn't tell you what it was REALLY about -- but I could tell you how it made me feel. The sense of awe, dread, and wonder is just.. palpable. Thanks in large part to the sound design.
this video is beautiful. thank you for such a clean and well narrated interpretation of the game. you are absolutely right, hyper light drifter is art.
I imagined Hyper Light Drifter had a deeper meaning, or paralleled the journey of the creator in his own life in some way I wasn't privy to... but I got swept up in the awe inspiring vistas of dead giants and beautiful art/animation/music and was unable to see past the surface-- because my GOD is it a distracting surface, this game is STUNNING To me, the ending, like all the other story beats, were moody and evocative, but not much more. They sort of just... happened. They felt too obtuse or flashy to be worth reading into. I finished the game and moved on with my life, and it didn't stick in my mind for long, even though I still thought the game was an extremely impressive package on the whole-- but seeing it all laid out in this way like you've done, the story suddenly seems so much more powerful, and I think one day I'll want to replay it again thanks to this video. You retroactively made me fall a little deeper in love with this little gem, and for that, I'm really grateful. Fantastic essay :D
thank you so much for this. hyper light drifter is my favorite game and your essay gave it even more meaning for me. the ending made me tear up. this game really is such an incredible work of art. :')
This is the best video on Hyper Light Drifter on the whole internet, I can't put into words just how much justice you have done to this incredible game. I'm a person with a brain tumour who has been living with a severe fear of death my whole life and your video has not just helped me understand Hyper Light Drifter on a deeper level, but also myself. I'm not afraid to admit that I cried multiple times while watching this, due to both your own insight and the beautiful way you show and narrate the strongest points of this game. This was very difficult for me to watch, but also very cathartic. Your messages relating to the North and West regions especially rung true for me and made me realise something about myself and death that I never knew before. Thank you Alex for this game, but also thank you Harrison for this essay that's truly worthy of it too.
Amazingly well made and beautifully written video. Every time I watch one of these video essays that dissect and interpret this game, I always find something new to appreciate. Thank you so much for making this!
It is criminal that this account only has 1.4k subs. This was one of the most beautiful analysis and retellings of a video game I've seen, I expect great things out of you
This video is just perfect, you couldn't ask for anything better. The best around on the platform !!! In the future I would love to hear from you about games like FEZ or Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice
It always breaks my heart when I stumble across a wonderful video essay and then come to learn the creator has gone silent. This was wonderful. Here's hoping we get to see more from this channel in the coming years. 😔
One thing that I would like to mention about The Guardian is that, after he dies, you get his Cape, which makes you more powerful, which, to me, signifies how the impact we had on the people in our lives lingers on even after our death.
Thank you so much, for sharing such a beautiful point of view of a game that I already love. For showing with passion an allegory that talks about death itself. So thank you ❤
This made me appreciate the game a lot more. My first impression was that there wasn't much story. Outstandingly high quality video especially for such a small channel.
This essay was absolutely amazing, probably my favorite about this game yet! I do have to say it was pretty funny when you shred Judgement and called it a long fought battle. Though how easy he is to punish and kill feels thematically fitting in a way. Your will to overcome your fear is so powerful that his massive health bar is nothing but another intimidation tactic to scare you back into his submission. In the end Judgment is just as fragile as you are.
One of the most Beautiful games I've ever played, but I never really tried to piece together the allegory that much. This was beautiful. I needed that cry
i realize its been a long time since you posted this one, but it made me real happy. Huge fan of this game. and as someone who deals with my own ailments, this video resonated deeply.
One of the best video essays of a video game I've ever seen (and I've seen a lot, they take up the majority of my YT time). I cried at the end. Thank you and I hope you are doing well.
This game has really gone deep into my soul. And now, about a year after I finished it, I'm crying again. Truly a masterpiece - I wish more people knew about it. Thank you for the essay - your interpretation is very interesting. That's one of those cases when you feel something on the unconscious level and then hear an explanation of your own emotions that fits them almost perfectly. Besides, I've never noticed some clues, like Drifter possibly being one of the southern creatures. Great work!
I am not sure if you will see this but this video has elevated this game from being a top five to being my favorite game of all time. The story of this game was always something in the back of my mind when playing it but I could not always figure things out. Having everything contextualized into what you have presented really makes me not only appreciate Hyper Light Drifter more, but it also makes me really appreciate games as not only a thing to have fun, but a true form of art.
Probably the best documentary i've seen of a video game. And one of my personnal favorite game. You're a genius. Thanks for sharing. Even though I haven't played this in years. I think about that game almost daily. Pure poetry for a poetic game.
Hyper Light Drifter was one of the first real games I got on my PC that wasn't just a sandbox or shooter online game with no meaning. I knew I didn't truly understand the meanings or implications behind the titans and the story of the Guarian but kid me also felt I wasn't supposed to yet. I think the only thing I did understand was that Judgement instilled fear in the Drifter and so it instilled fear in me too. I went through the game appreciating the beautiful scenes, trying to find all the secrets and beating the bosses and was really caught off guard at the Guardian's early death. It sort of snapped me into a more sombre feeling for the remainder of the game and having Judgement flicker around in the final section really emulated that jittery panic the Drifter must have felt. Now I've watched this beautiful video I can appreciate this beautiful game for even more than I ever knew thank you.
Incredibly well researched and thought out video essay on one of my favorite visual games. Now, its one of my favorite stories in video games. Thank you for this video.
So glad this was one of the top videos offered by RUclips when I was searching for HLD sountrack. Knew this would be a good video, I just hope it gets recommended more.
I never thought of the game this way and only ever thought of it as a beautiful fun stabby stabby slashy slashy game but watching this i see it in a completely new way and have found a new appreciation for it.
Wow amazing video, had no idea each direction had such meaning. My personal feelings on the immortal cell is that it represents the drifters life. And that the fear of death corrupts it, it prevents the drifter from truly living because he fears death. Death is something inherent to nature, and you owe nature your death from the day you are born. Each of the directions and the middle direction being fears you describe, the unwillingness to change and to preserve oneself to avoid it, the fighting and consumption of others to avoid death or indulge in oneself before death using others without thinking of the consequences , the avoidance of death and attempt to control it, these unwieldy forces of life and death that mere mortal beings are attempting to harness, and lastly the avoidance of death, the unwillingness to confront it, and the inability to empathize with those facing it. Stagnation with no strive to truly live life to its full potential without both the fear of death and the acknowledgement of it is the common theme here. And I feel like Alex Preston is telling us that if we want to truly live life, fearing death must not overcome your ambitions, it must not consume you, preventing it forever must not be your focus, as it is impossible, and will lead to you only wasting your life trying to extend it fruitlessly. While also acknowledging death, as so long is it is healthy, death, and it’s fear can be beneficial and facing death head on can influence your future decisions for the better, accepting death and moving forward. You must fight death when appropriate, when possible and whenever it arises you are near death. But you must prepare yourself and accept the inevitable, when it comes. Thank you for this lesson. So many people in this world would benefit from having taught these values.
Harrison, your analysis is stunning. This gave me chills. After beating the game again through the special edition, I knew it was time to dive deeper into other interpretations, and yours resonated with me a lot. I’ve always wanted to make video essays like this about my favorite games, so consider me inspired. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with all of us. It felt very personal - just what I needed this evening.
this is one of the best videos ive ever seen, thank you for it, i actually cried in the end. this game holds a special place in my heart as i too have a deep fear of death. again, thank you for making this, it was incredible
HLD is a tittle that allways make me cry from all the feelings it generates, it gained my heart when i feeled my self in the adventures of that little and lonely foe fighting against a fear that persued him... I'll follow ur channel from now on because you took my favourite game of all times and give it a great warm hug with the way you feel it. You vision is beawtyfull and is great to know and learn about something so delicated that is death itself. Im lookin soooo much foward in your upcoming videos, thanks for making me cry one more time with this increddible tittle. apreciated a lot. (srry for my broken english)
I am blown away by this video. I am just seeing this today, but it is simply excellent. I absolutely love Hyper Light Drifter and have had a few ideas about the underlying plot, but this is magnificent. Well done.
I love this video and find it very interesting. HLD has become one of my favorite games of all time and i loved it's abstract story telling. for me HLD has always been about the past and how fixation on it corrupts and poisons oneself, differently for each person and only when we finally face that past and let our obsession go can we sit down and enjoy the present, even if we only have so little time in that present. the ending song is called Panacea which means a cure for all aliments and i believe that in the end The Drifter's Panacea was taking a sense of happiness and enjoying his new present, even if he knew he wouldn't be around for much longer, It's especially that we can see the Drifter's resting place after beating the game, a reminder to take in the small moments and enjoy them.
Great to see this game get the love it deserves with such thoughtful and high-quality content. And I especially appreciate that it's focused on abstract themes, rather than an inane string of meaningless speculations about the plot points themselves. You've nailed the main theme, that being the Fear of Death and everything around it - fall and decay, the misguided desire for immortality, hope and despair, etc. Anyway, beautifully produced essay.
This is beautiful, such a respectful piece on one of the most important games to me ever made. I'm glad you released this so I could see it, a reminder that even after so long the message of hyper light drifter holds true, even as death is the most constant thing in our lives.
hey, just wanted thank you for inspiring me to make my own video on Hyper Light Drifter. Your video still stands as one of my favorite video essays in general, just wanted you to know that your creativity spreads to others even after such a long time.
My god, how well this video is made. So much effort and meaning. And it's beautiful just like this game. I went through it twice, the first time I enjoyed the design and gameplay, but the second and third time they allowed me to look at these strange monoliths for me, which all this time had hints of what kind of story I was missing. Truly, beautiful work. I wish you good luck in your work, you really know how to create something good among a bunch of content that popular youtubers stuff us with.
In school i had the chance to make a video essay and I jumped at the chance to talk about this since it's my favorite game. ill be taking notes not only on your editing, but how you portrayed the messages themselves.
THIS IS A MASTERPIECE. Both the game and this essay on the game are both masterpiece that everyone that loves videogames and storytelling in every level should play the game and watch this video
This video made me see the game very differently compared to what I did before, thank you this video was amazing. Also I noticed that the other statues held what seemed to be some sort of liquid that will never go away but your first and last resting place of you journey is near a statue with a fire that will one day stop burning and die out
For some reason the video got recommend to me God am I thankful it did, I just want to thank you for making such a beautiful essay for one of my favorite games.
I just ran into this video recently and I must say this video deserves so so SO much more attention. It's such a beautiful video with such an insightful take of the story and meaning of this game, and it solidifies it's point well and mirrors the Drifter's journey from where he started and dying back at the place where he started by returning back to it's original points in the first parts of the video.
I hope that solar ash will be good too. I don’t really know if they can make their second game even better. And they don’t need to. Because this is art. Amazing video
Thank you! I also hope that Solar Ash is good, but honestly, even if it isn’t, I think that’ll be okay for me. I just hope that it receives the same love and support that HLD has, because Heart Machine has more than earned it :)
I nearly drowned when I was 6 or so, then nearly died from illness when I was 11. After both of these experiences, I've come to feel that I don't really fear death or age that much, at least not for myself. I felt sort of detached from other people's experiences here, and in some other areas. Not because I have no trauma or because I have no struggles, but because I've always had tools to deal with them. This video helped me to think about the mechanisms by which I've found comfort, and how other people might not have access to them, or might pursue good means in an incorrect way. Thank you for sharing.
Hoo boy, I was always a bit dissatisfied with how the story turned out, because I was stuck trying to figure it out too literally, and well, good luck trying to figure out the surface level of an allegory. This video turned that upside down, and now I feel like it was perfect. Thanks for giving me a whole new appreciation for the game. Now my only worry is whether the upcoming sequel will live up to that. I don't doubt it will be a good game, I just hope the story can be as beautiful as this.
... This is a fantastic essay, and you have presented it incredibly well. I'm amazed I never found this until almost two years after its creation! HLD is perhaps one of my most favorite titles, and my own meanings extracted from its abstractions have played an incredibly major role in my own life. "Judgement", or "Chimera" as I have called it, based off its soundtrack title, always felt incredibly close to my severe mental illnesses, primarily my severe depression. It is always felt before it arrives, the shadowy rain, the iconic glitching audio, the screen darkening to a black-and-pink monochrome. And when it appears, it attacks ruthlessly, cutting through The Drifter effortlessly as they collapse. My depressive episodes have always felt this way, me always waking up from them with lingering effects (such as the "vultures" that manifest around The Drifter after Judgement attacks) and taking a moment to collect myself. A lot of the art I produce to handle these feelings often uses that same shape - that pink-red diamond eye that seemingly everyone's personal Judgment has - as a signifier of the "presence" of this unseen force I struggle with daily. It is an opponent I must attack directly, and unlike the Drifter's opponent, it never truly goes away. Of course, this was me taking my own meanings from the visuals, and I never quite felt it fully connected to what the game itself presented in an ending. With your essay, I think I finally had it all click together, and yet again this game cuts close to my own core. ... My own relationship to death is an odd one - a late relative of mine being a mortician and offering me what wisdom he could, plus my own "Judgement" often turning my own hands against me in attempts at cutting my own story short. It's hard for me to describe, but I don't think I'm at the end of my journey just yet. There is still a lot I fear (and that fear has been what has kept me from recklessly ending myself so many times), and a lot of my written work often explores the same themes of the South - the same themes I started to use when the fear of a *natural* death crept up on me. To manipulate my own form and live as long as I wished? How wonderful - after all, I had wasted so much time so far. Of course, as you stated - and as this game demonstrates - there is a balance here. I don't think I'd wish to live forever - but more die when I feel the time is right. Since I doubt any means will exist by the time my natural lifespan ends, I realize I should do my best so that I am *already* satisfied when my time comes. And curiously, we come full circle: In order to ensure I end my story in a way I'd agree with, I certainly cannot terminate it far too early. I know there is a set ending, and so much of my time has be struggling against this invisible, malevolent force from inside my own head - but there's still a lot of time left. And much like in HLD, there's a lot of this beautiful world to see. So, I apologize for my (perhaps overly personal story) and excessive text, but I say thank you to your hard work dissecting this game and it's artistic metaphors and allegories - all of which are fantastically still open to interpret and reinterpret. I can only imagine how much hard work you have put into this! Thank you so much for putting it all into words. (And now I am curious what will be done in the upcoming... expansion? Not a sequel, but the planned "Hyper Light Breaker" title, expanding on this world and giving certain places names... They say it is a story of "Empathy", and I am more than excited for whatever it will entail... especially now that I have heard the story of the Drifter unravelled so elegantly!)
Dang he got all the work cited too. But seriously this video was amazing. It’s clear you put a lot of effort into it and it’s really well put together. HLD is one of my favorite games so I love to hear different peoples interpretations. You definitely got a knack for literary analysis too.
Thank you for this. I’ve been in an excruciatingly hard place and this game is such a wonderful centrepiece in my mind. I love it. I love your essay. Thank you Harrison.
As a fan of roguelikes and roguelites, I slashed my way through the first half of the game without much interest in the lore, but once I reached the giant pulsating heart in the southern cave, something clicked. I realized this game probably had something beneath the surface that deserved to be looked at. As I went back into each area to collect secrets I missed, I started to notice how every single pixel seemed to have been placed there for a reason. It was then that I started reading theories on the internet about the lore, but none really satisfied me, until I found yours.
At first, I thought the game was a metaphor of human history, from prehistoric brutality in the East, antique knowledge and rituals in the North, honour and martial prowess of the Middle Ages in the West, and finally technology and innovation in the South.
Your essay is fantastic. This game has changed my perception of video games, and shown me that they, too, can be true art.
This did not feel like 55 minutes.
It makes me so happy to hear that you got that feeling too! I knew that there was something more to this game, but I couldn’t find anybody else really talking about anything but the story itself. That’s why I knew I had to make this video! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Halfway through and in the southern region?
wow, that's symbolic that you have pfp from Rain World, which is another beautiful game with deep lore and meaning
love your comment, also both of these games
@@jodiu13 Ah, very much so. Discovered Rain World in the peaks of the pandemic, and it's been special to me ever since. It bewilders me that it's actually a popular game now, it used to have less than a thousand steam reviews a year after its launch. The owner of this channel's video style would probably be really appropriate for Rain World...
what bro said this felt timeless
Never noticed the connection of the Drifter to the people of the south, very interesting
Legiondude It was a catch I had while getting footage for the video, and I had to verify it on the wiki to be sure. Needless to say, it fit right into the themes already present, and made the analysis much more cohesive!
I only noticed in this video that the Drunkard is the same as the Drifter, which to me explains another reason why the town attacked him
@@SHConsoli It's actually maybe not accurate, though, as has been revealed as of late with the revelation that the species called "Blu" that will appear in Hyper Light Breaker is the Drifter's species, a blue furred feline species, and they come from a different continent entirely, the Northern Realms which is to the northwest of the Land of Light (the country/continent in HLD. Doesn't mean the Blu weren't involved in some bad shit. But... since Dirks are shown to be made from the Blu in the vats in the Wastes to the south, it is possible that this is why they hate them truly. They are very much a natural and not artifical species, though! It is possible that the Blu specimen that we see were fighting, trapped in the crystals, or the ones in the vats to the south, were doing htis to themselves, were willing to be experimented on and used, or were forced somehow to do everything. Maybe the bodies in the vats becoming the Dirks were actually dead corpses though. But they were 100% not an artificially created people, and we finally know that for sure. It's canon that they weren't.
Ok what is some random with 10 subs doing making such high quality video essays. I wasn't expecting much when I clicked the video but you put my prejudgements down almost immediately. Amazing video.
Everybody has to start somewhere. Thank you so much for being so supportive!
@@SHConsoli hey i loved your analysis! small bit of information i just gathered. correct me if im wrong but the frogs are ninjas (japanese myth based. the raccoons could be tanukis. the birds could be tengu as they have a MASSIVE involvement in buddism and the "corruption" of buddist values and the loss of enlightenment/ascension halted. otters are also huge in japanese myth. the only ones i dont have much for is the lizards of the south. and goblins are a common misnomer for oni. oni are anti human/ningensei. and anubis and okami (literally wolves) are represented as messengers of gods or even gods of the mountain. titans reminded me of the colossal skeleton yokai gashadokuro which are from fallen soldiers tormented by their death.
i just realised it now, damn
@@SHConsoli hey you had a great start. We would love to see more!
hey look, it's that one guy on rain world comments
The shotgun you get from the frog is the real representation for death.
One of my favorite things about the ending scene are the songs that play. Chimera, the boss theme, and Panacea, the credits. A chimera is a wish, a goal, a desire, that despite your best efforts, is impossible to achieve. Your fight with judgement is fighting your fear of death, coming to terms with the fact that you cannot live forever.
Conversely, Panacea means a magical cure, the ultimate pill, an escape from mortality. And while the drifter never gets to live forever, he is cured of something. That which was causing him pain the whole time. Not death, which was always on the horizon. But the fear of it, that has haunted him in his journey.
This video is so well-done. I wish more people knew about this game.
jayluun Thank you! It really is an incredible game!
As someone who has lived without fear of death for a while now, I do have one fear that persists: the fear of pain. This game truly reflected my views on death, but I have yet to make peace with my fear of pain. Perhaps that merely means that I am destined to find some expression of this fear. Some way of understanding it that will let me see the light. As I reflect on this, I remember that all people have their own fears, their own demons. Alex Preston and many others have the fear of death. Some have the fear of abandonment. Others have a fear of the unknown or nothingness. But my fear is merely the fear of the pain itself. To live beyond such a existential felling would be true bliss in my eyes. I just need to find the right path before death's clock counts down to nothing.
I might be the one who needs to find that path myself.
PS: I have now told all of my friends about this video essay. I hope this video and this game go mainstream someday.
Death makes people react in different ways, and your interpretation of these diverse responses in the game is really powerful. I thoroughly loved it. I never thought about the negative impact of living in a death ignorant society, represented by the town, because I either didn't approach that npc or didn't think much of their story. Moderation is a powerful message, one that should be taken to heart no matter the response you feel comfortable with. Hope this video helps people see other sides of coping, and learning to manage these sides.
It’s overall a very powerful message, and a huge part of why I loved the game so much. It changed a large part of my outlook on life and death, and maybe even helped me come to terms with that eventuality. Hyper Light Drifter is just such a beautiful game.
More video essays from you would be a gift to this entire platform
StuartisUnoriginal Thank you! You’ll be happy to hear that the next project is already in development!
This is such an incredible, complete, masterpiece of an essay. I've never finished a video feeling so content and fascinated!
Thank you so much...
And thank you for the recommendation! Youve done a lot to grow this community and Im glad to so such love and care being shared by the fans :)
@@Alpha_beef 💙
I can’t express how much it means to me that you have recommended my video to others. I make content to express my thoughts and to make videos that I personally enjoy... the fact that others are able to share in my delight makes me very happy :)
I've also just finished writing my own article about the use of the tarots inside this game. We have written so much things in common. I love how people still thinks about this game in search of meanings and interpretations. I tried to give interpretation to every single tarot card given (plus the Hermit, the name of the toad-like boss in the eastern region. I assume his name is "the Hermit" because the fighting theme track is named "the Hermit".
-The Magician (The Drifter): the tarot of "beginning" which refers to something that is about to begin a journey. The Magician is related to someone who is in search of something but is far from achieving it (in this case, the cure)
-The Hierophant
represents the need to dominate both spirit and matter which leads to some sort of inner strenght (both physical and mental) to keep fighting against the disease
-The Hermit
an old man who knows the life adversities which might represent the need to face an incoming crysis in order to achieve wisdom from it
-The Hanged Man
the stasis and the fear of suffering which leads to inability. maybe this tarot refers to the crystal containing warriors in the western area and both the fact the boss is a warrior which keeps fighting as the war never ended, enhancing the meaning of stasis and stillness to a sort of "inner block"
-The Tower
both represents the ruin and the existance of multiple solutions or, to be more precise, multiple aspects of the same issue. It could be connected to the illness of the protagonist and both the true meaning of the story: the problem is not about dying but the fear of death
-Judgement
the end of a perilous and sorrowful journey leads to rebirth and enlightenment. The end of the story, the nucleus of narration: defeat the fear of death and you will achieve what you need to know all along. Judgement means also the right to fight for existence because (i'll quote what Jorodowski written in his book about the tarots): "this tarots expresses how everyone who is born is desired by divinity, who allowed everyone to be created" and by that we are allowed to struggle and keep fighting.
I hope this is not too much, because sometimes i feel i may have put too much of my own interpretation into the game. I hope also this could be useful to someone as a reading of this beautiful game we love
i also love how much effort you put in this. You've done an amazing job
god.. someone finally put this into words..
this is probably the best hyper light lore video I've ever watched, the way you've explained it and the way you presented it does so much justice to the wordless story here.
But by god you're as right as anyone can be that this game is fucking beautiful. This showed me alot about a story I thought I had figured out!
And honestly it's odd in a really interesting way. I found out about and got into this game this year, and I think we all know how absolutely insane this year has been. But a game about accepting what can't be stopped, no matter how difficult.. I don't find that to be a coincidence. When I was first starting to hear about the state of the world and how... terrifying and chaotic it is and has been, it was incredibly frustrating and scary. It felt like and at times still feels like the apocalypse is coming closer and closer and that I wasn't doing anything to help it. But where I can do some things, I can't do everything. No one really can. Death can't be stopped, and neither can the wrath of this shit year. So why not make the most of it?
Sorry for the long paragraph lol this video might've made me very emotional lmao.
Damn man, that was the best hour of my life.
Adam Sherman Im happy to hear it!
I guess the buffalo guy in the arena failed to overcome his fear of death. Didn’t understand what it was saying before.
To be fair, he IS still alive. He just had a closer encounter than he was ready for.
Hey Harrison
I rarely comment on any video, but I felt like I should do here. I played this game when I was younger (2018 I believe) and this game didn't make much sense back then. Now that I've been diagnosticated with a chronic disease, not severe like how the game creator's disease is, but still shortens my lifespan, this analysis (or art) hit HARD. Thanks for making this video
No matter how many times i watch this, it never lises its charm. Easily one of the best videos on YT. Amazing work on one of my favorite games.
this video has genuinely helped me understand why i've had an emotional connection with this title for the last few years. the idea of death has always made me panic, even to this day I find a way to look past death, even if my life is not inherently in danger, it looms over me. the journey to acceptance of ones fate and achieving catharsis has a peaceful end to it, but reaching that point is not a walk down the yellow brick road. Alex Preston really has made a masterpiece, and this video compliments the art piece that is Hyper Light Drifter, thank you.
9 months ago, I had an ECG and was unofficially diagnosed with Left Ventricular Hypertrophy. The disease itself is by no means terminal, and it's generally fairly harmless. I was told to come back for another ECG in 6 months to verify my diagnosis. At first I was okay, it wasn't a serious condition and I'm still young, so even if my chance of heartattack or stroke was higher than usual, I was still mostly safe. A few months in though, it started to stress me out. I began researching the condition on a whim, and it began to scare me. After maybe 4 months I developed a serious fear of death. I never wanted to go to sleep for fear that I would have a heartattack and never wake up. I never planned too far ahead because I thought I wouldn't live to grow older and see the future. Worst of all I didn't feel supported by my family, or most of my friends. After 6 months had passed, I was unable to book my next ECG because of COVID issues and whatnot, and I only just managed to get another one 2 weeks ago. My results came back and revealed that I am heart-condition free. I saw this video pop up in my recommended and thought I'd watch a little bit of it to see your interpretation as I've always been curious about the lore. The intro immediately hooked me as you described a metaphor that was almost woven 1-1 with my own experience. After watching it I can honestly say I wish I had seen it maybe 4 months ago, when I started to get really stressed. The main metaphor of the Drifter fits almost perfectly with my experience to the point that I was starting to tear up. I'm infinitely grateful that I'm healthy now but those 9 months of waiting and stress, while trying to cope with the possibility of death were so difficult that I'm very happy to learn that one of my favourite games very well could be a metaphor to that experience. Thank you for this incredible video 2 years ago, I'm very thankful to have watched it.
This is the most beautiful analysis I've ever seen.
Because game can be interpreted differently by everyone, it's always interesting to see others perspective.
I myself never had put so much emphasis on Death in the game, even though the players first goal is to find a cure.
This was such an eye opener for the game I thought I knew
StuartisUnoriginal Remember that you still have the right to your own interpretation, and that just because I have found mine, it doesn’t necessarily make yours wrong. It’s what makes HLD’s storytelling so incredible!
@@SHConsoli Totally agree! That was the main crux of my storyline part of my video essay on this game
* mumbles something incoherent about onions and layers *
As HLD easily being my all time favourite game, your video has helped me learn so so so much more about wtf was actually going on and brings a weird sense of closure and resolution to everything I felt, learnt and experienced while playing this game. While HLD was Alex Preston and Heart Machines' labour of love in its highest form, I feel that same sense of conviction and devotion to the game through this video. From the art style to Disasterpeace's sublime score (The Gauntlet being an absolute marvel and masterpiece (sic) of emotional expression) this game and its world mean more to me than any other form of art ever could. Many thanks to you for succinctly and thoughtfully giving us fans this video that helps us make sense of so much that we may have missed in the adrenaline rush of embodying the Drifter through our playthroughs. Long live such Indie phenomenons and as a die-hard fan of the medium of video games, one can only hope that the AAA games industry will one day bring as much 'HEART' (sic) to main stream gaming as this small, indie upstart of a studio (Heart Machine) crammed into what can only be described as one of the most sublime experience of gaming I have ever had. These platitudes to their work ring hollow without the context and knowledge that your video adds to everything HLD, at least to this hopeless, blinded fanboy. May the passion of you and such creators (like Heart Machine, Disasterpiece and you) forever be remembered as testament to what Video Games can actually mean to the Human Experience. From the deepest depths of my heart , thank you to Anyone who played a creative, explanatory (academic) and experiential (read played) role in the all things Hyper Light Drifter. HLD is the highest blessing and boon to us mere mortals.
Honestly this is one of the best videos on youtube
I have something to add though. In the war with the titans, the "blues" were also on the titans side. The "blues" are the species the drifter is part of. And the racoon folk in the west (aswell as the central townfolk saw the dude that is now drinking in an alley) propably sees the drifter as an enemy out of the time . As the racoons are frozen, still with the mindset of war, they can only respond with aggression to the drifter, who is a "blue". The townsfolk doesn't react to the drifter as it did to the now drinking dude because the guardian (or pink drifter) brought him into the town. Propably.
But I haven't seen the whole video yet. But still loving it. I will propably write more comments.
There is also a Tarot-approach to this game and I couldn't do it because my knowlege of Tarot is... small.
But a lot of characters in the game represent Tarot characters and there is a lot of meaning behind that to be found aswell! Please look into it!
The Drifter, thus, is supposed to be "The Magician". I always thought that the drunkard might be "The fool" but... that's all my humble opinion.
I'm a bit late to the party on this one, lol. I played this game about a year and a half ago, when I was going through a really rough spot in my life. I'm really not the best when it comes to figuring out lore, or the message or meaning behind abstract work, but by the end of the game It really struck me, it hit me somewhere so deep and personal that I didn't even know it existed until I played this game. Even still, my own interpretation was vague and lacking. But seeing this video all this time later, it brings back those feelings. I love this game so very much, and I love your perspective and interpretation of the events of it. Thank you for making this video on such a beautiful work of art.
I love this. This is so, so well written and composed together.
I missed out entirely on the whole "north/east/west/south approaches to cope with the threat of death" narrative. I mean, you said that the visuals can be interpreted in many ways, but I think with the writing on the monoliths saying what it says and the way four titans were defeated, it fits very well.
ニルディバエワジャミラ Thank you so much! I’m glad that you’re still making sure to apply your own thoughts and reasoning to this, I love seeing the analysis that Hyper Light Drifter inspires!
@@SHConsoli oh, I meant that I missed out on it in the _game_ . My phrasing was kinda confusing.
Previously I didn't see the unique ways the titans were defeated as the symbolic manifestation of each region's fight against the fear of death. You provided some plausible new theory on that, and I'm totally buying it.
ニルディバエワジャミラ Well I’m glad to hear it nonetheless!
I love not only this analysis but the passion behind it. This game impacted you so much that you made a RUclips account just to talk about it, and without knowing whether anyone would see it, you created an incredibly well crafted hour long essay. Bravo, sir. You just earned yourself a subscriber.
Wow, you did a really good job with this video. It explains everything quite well, and brings up meanings behind things I never would have thought of. Also dude, "a long and hard fought battle"? You defeated Judgement in like 20 seconds.
My god this video was so interesting that I didn't realize it was 55 min long. I'll watch the rest later but very good video, you put all the pieces together, I really hope you get more views because good essays like that always deserves it
DoublePounch I appreciate your support! It means a lot to me that people can enjoy my creations, especially when it’s about incredible games like this one.
I find myself coming back to this video time and time again. In my eyes, Hyper Light Drifter is revolutionary in game craft. It’s themes, music, and visual storytelling are all nailed perfectly. It also conveys the emotions it wants to, no matter the interpretation of its meaning. Your analysis is extremely well-spoken and insightful. Keep it up with the amazing content. You deserve every good opportunity that comes to you.
I adore the game, but your video boosted that to a whole new level. Thank you so much for this insightful video essay. I was captivated for the duration, because your narration and the video edit was impeccable. I hope you continue to publish such essays in the future.
Thank you so much! I fully plan on continuing, and have a new essay in development right now.
get this man a a golden play button
It's 55 mins but it feels like 5 :)
This is the best thing that I watched on RUclips in a very long time
Im just so blown away
Hoo boy I’m gonna say it
I’m gonna say it
NEEDS MORE VIEWS
Thank you for making this video. This is one my favourite games of all time and it deserves more love.
Wonderful! Was brought here by Sequential Sundial!
If you leave just one werewolf alive in a fight, sometimes, they'll start panicking and running away, not giving a fight. And the game, sometimes let's you leave them and other times keeps you enclosed with them until you end them, reminiding you how you're a symbol of death and you cannot escape your reality,
Just came back to write a comment after listening to this master piece again. I listened to it while walking around a park when I wasn’t feeling too great, especially with my fears on the topics you covered in the video. But I genuinely feel a bit more at peace and feel a sense of closure somehow. So, thank you :)
Hope your doing better
Really enjoyed listening to this while drawing some commissions!! You put a lot of things that I couldn't describe into words. And showed me some new concepts. Overall great essay! Definitely deserves more views.
What commisions?
hyper light drifter is art, and so is this video
The sound design / music is SO good in this game -- it's a perfect example of how to tell a story without words. After playing it, I couldn't tell you what it was REALLY about -- but I could tell you how it made me feel. The sense of awe, dread, and wonder is just.. palpable. Thanks in large part to the sound design.
this video is beautiful. thank you for such a clean and well narrated interpretation of the game. you are absolutely right, hyper light drifter is art.
Thank you for the time and effort put into this.
It is greatly appreciated.
I imagined Hyper Light Drifter had a deeper meaning, or paralleled the journey of the creator in his own life in some way I wasn't privy to... but I got swept up in the awe inspiring vistas of dead giants and beautiful art/animation/music and was unable to see past the surface-- because my GOD is it a distracting surface, this game is STUNNING
To me, the ending, like all the other story beats, were moody and evocative, but not much more. They sort of just... happened. They felt too obtuse or flashy to be worth reading into. I finished the game and moved on with my life, and it didn't stick in my mind for long, even though I still thought the game was an extremely impressive package on the whole-- but seeing it all laid out in this way like you've done, the story suddenly seems so much more powerful, and I think one day I'll want to replay it again thanks to this video.
You retroactively made me fall a little deeper in love with this little gem, and for that, I'm really grateful. Fantastic essay :D
oh my god. this... this is beautiful. I don't have many words... gosh I'm so mad not many people know of this game, amazing work on the video
I've just discovered this video and... wow. It's beautiful and emotional as the game it talks about.
thank you so much for this. hyper light drifter is my favorite game and your essay gave it even more meaning for me. the ending made me tear up. this game really is such an incredible work of art. :')
This is the best video on Hyper Light Drifter on the whole internet, I can't put into words just how much justice you have done to this incredible game. I'm a person with a brain tumour who has been living with a severe fear of death my whole life and your video has not just helped me understand Hyper Light Drifter on a deeper level, but also myself.
I'm not afraid to admit that I cried multiple times while watching this, due to both your own insight and the beautiful way you show and narrate the strongest points of this game. This was very difficult for me to watch, but also very cathartic. Your messages relating to the North and West regions especially rung true for me and made me realise something about myself and death that I never knew before. Thank you Alex for this game, but also thank you Harrison for this essay that's truly worthy of it too.
Amazingly well made and beautifully written video. Every time I watch one of these video essays that dissect and interpret this game, I always find something new to appreciate. Thank you so much for making this!
It is criminal that this account only has 1.4k subs. This was one of the most beautiful analysis and retellings of a video game I've seen, I expect great things out of you
This video is just perfect, you couldn't ask for anything better.
The best around on the platform !!!
In the future I would love to hear from you about games like FEZ or Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice
Not a lot of content for this game so thanks for your contribution.
It always breaks my heart when I stumble across a wonderful video essay and then come to learn the creator has gone silent. This was wonderful. Here's hoping we get to see more from this channel in the coming years. 😔
One thing that I would like to mention about The Guardian is that, after he dies, you get his Cape, which makes you more powerful, which, to me, signifies how the impact we had on the people in our lives lingers on even after our death.
Thank you so much, for sharing such a beautiful point of view of a game that I already love. For showing with passion an allegory that talks about death itself. So thank you ❤
This made me appreciate the game a lot more. My first impression was that there wasn't much story. Outstandingly high quality video especially for such a small channel.
This essay was absolutely amazing, probably my favorite about this game yet!
I do have to say it was pretty funny when you shred Judgement and called it a long fought battle. Though how easy he is to punish and kill feels thematically fitting in a way. Your will to overcome your fear is so powerful that his massive health bar is nothing but another intimidation tactic to scare you back into his submission. In the end Judgment is just as fragile as you are.
One of the most Beautiful games I've ever played, but I never really tried to piece together the allegory that much. This was beautiful. I needed that cry
i realize its been a long time since you posted this one, but it made me real happy. Huge fan of this game. and as someone who deals with my own ailments, this video resonated deeply.
One of the best video essays of a video game I've ever seen (and I've seen a lot, they take up the majority of my YT time). I cried at the end. Thank you and I hope you are doing well.
This game has really gone deep into my soul. And now, about a year after I finished it, I'm crying again. Truly a masterpiece - I wish more people knew about it.
Thank you for the essay - your interpretation is very interesting. That's one of those cases when you feel something on the unconscious level and then hear an explanation of your own emotions that fits them almost perfectly. Besides, I've never noticed some clues, like Drifter possibly being one of the southern creatures.
Great work!
206 subscribers? strange world we live in.
Great video btw.
I wish there was something better than a like button to show how much I appreciated this video. Amazing essay, interpretation, editing, everything!!
I am not sure if you will see this but this video has elevated this game from being a top five to being my favorite game of all time. The story of this game was always something in the back of my mind when playing it but I could not always figure things out. Having everything contextualized into what you have presented really makes me not only appreciate Hyper Light Drifter more, but it also makes me really appreciate games as not only a thing to have fun, but a true form of art.
What’s the other four?
Probably the best documentary i've seen of a video game. And one of my personnal favorite game. You're a genius. Thanks for sharing. Even though I haven't played this in years. I think about that game almost daily.
Pure poetry for a poetic game.
Hyper Light Drifter was one of the first real games I got on my PC that wasn't just a sandbox or shooter online game with no meaning. I knew I didn't truly understand the meanings or implications behind the titans and the story of the Guarian but kid me also felt I wasn't supposed to yet. I think the only thing I did understand was that Judgement instilled fear in the Drifter and so it instilled fear in me too. I went through the game appreciating the beautiful scenes, trying to find all the secrets and beating the bosses and was really caught off guard at the Guardian's early death. It sort of snapped me into a more sombre feeling for the remainder of the game and having Judgement flicker around in the final section really emulated that jittery panic the Drifter must have felt. Now I've watched this beautiful video I can appreciate this beautiful game for even more than I ever knew thank you.
Incredibly well researched and thought out video essay on one of my favorite visual games. Now, its one of my favorite stories in video games. Thank you for this video.
So glad this was one of the top videos offered by RUclips when I was searching for HLD sountrack. Knew this would be a good video, I just hope it gets recommended more.
Sir, I must say, what a masterpiece.
Thank you for your service in this community.
I never thought of the game this way and only ever thought of it as a beautiful fun stabby stabby slashy slashy game but watching this i see it in a completely new way and have found a new appreciation for it.
Wow amazing video, had no idea each direction had such meaning.
My personal feelings on the immortal cell is that it represents the drifters life. And that the fear of death corrupts it, it prevents the drifter from truly living because he fears death. Death is something inherent to nature, and you owe nature your death from the day you are born.
Each of the directions and the middle direction being fears you describe, the unwillingness to change and to preserve oneself to avoid it, the fighting and consumption of others to avoid death or indulge in oneself before death using others without thinking of the consequences , the avoidance of death and attempt to control it, these unwieldy forces of life and death that mere mortal beings are attempting to harness, and lastly the avoidance of death, the unwillingness to confront it, and the inability to empathize with those facing it.
Stagnation with no strive to truly live life to its full potential without both the fear of death and the acknowledgement of it is the common theme here. And I feel like Alex Preston is telling us that if we want to truly live life, fearing death must not overcome your ambitions, it must not consume you, preventing it forever must not be your focus, as it is impossible, and will lead to you only wasting your life trying to extend it fruitlessly.
While also acknowledging death, as so long is it is healthy, death, and it’s fear can be beneficial and facing death head on can influence your future decisions for the better, accepting death and moving forward. You must fight death when appropriate, when possible and whenever it arises you are near death. But you must prepare yourself and accept the inevitable, when it comes.
Thank you for this lesson. So many people in this world would benefit from having taught these values.
Harrison, your analysis is stunning. This gave me chills. After beating the game again through the special edition, I knew it was time to dive deeper into other interpretations, and yours resonated with me a lot. I’ve always wanted to make video essays like this about my favorite games, so consider me inspired. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with all of us. It felt very personal - just what I needed this evening.
this is one of the best videos ive ever seen, thank you for it, i actually cried in the end. this game holds a special place in my heart as i too have a deep fear of death.
again, thank you for making this, it was incredible
What amazing work you have done!
Thank you so much for this video!
I hope a lot of people buy HLD and support the team behind it.
HLD is a tittle that allways make me cry from all the feelings it generates, it gained my heart when i feeled my self in the adventures of that little and lonely foe fighting against a fear that persued him... I'll follow ur channel from now on because you took my favourite game of all times and give it a great warm hug with the way you feel it. You vision is beawtyfull and is great to know and learn about something so delicated that is death itself. Im lookin soooo much foward in your upcoming videos, thanks for making me cry one more time with this increddible tittle. apreciated a lot. (srry for my broken english)
I am blown away by this video. I am just seeing this today, but it is simply excellent. I absolutely love Hyper Light Drifter and have had a few ideas about the underlying plot, but this is magnificent. Well done.
I remember watching this video a while ago, I’m glad I rediscovered it now when I needed something like this. This is really well done!
We would be elated to hear more from you.
I love this video and find it very interesting. HLD has become one of my favorite games of all time and i loved it's abstract story telling. for me HLD has always been about the past and how fixation on it corrupts and poisons oneself, differently for each person and only when we finally face that past and let our obsession go can we sit down and enjoy the present, even if we only have so little time in that present. the ending song is called Panacea which means a cure for all aliments and i believe that in the end The Drifter's Panacea was taking a sense of happiness and enjoying his new present, even if he knew he wouldn't be around for much longer, It's especially that we can see the Drifter's resting place after beating the game, a reminder to take in the small moments and enjoy them.
hyper light drifter 🤝 spiritfarer
teaching me about accepting death
Great to see this game get the love it deserves with such thoughtful and high-quality content. And I especially appreciate that it's focused on abstract themes, rather than an inane string of meaningless speculations about the plot points themselves. You've nailed the main theme, that being the Fear of Death and everything around it - fall and decay, the misguided desire for immortality, hope and despair, etc. Anyway, beautifully produced essay.
This is beautiful, such a respectful piece on one of the most important games to me ever made. I'm glad you released this so I could see it, a reminder that even after so long the message of hyper light drifter holds true, even as death is the most constant thing in our lives.
hey, just wanted thank you for inspiring me to make my own video on Hyper Light Drifter. Your video still stands as one of my favorite video essays in general, just wanted you to know that your creativity spreads to others even after such a long time.
My god, how well this video is made. So much effort and meaning. And it's beautiful just like this game. I went through it twice, the first time I enjoyed the design and gameplay, but the second and third time they allowed me to look at these strange monoliths for me, which all this time had hints of what kind of story I was missing.
Truly, beautiful work.
I wish you good luck in your work, you really know how to create something good among a bunch of content that popular youtubers stuff us with.
In school i had the chance to make a video essay and I jumped at the chance to talk about this since it's my favorite game.
ill be taking notes not only on your editing, but how you portrayed the messages themselves.
THIS IS A MASTERPIECE. Both the game and this essay on the game are both masterpiece that everyone that loves videogames and storytelling in every level should play the game and watch this video
Just finished this game and decided to take to RUclips for videos on it, I'm so glad I found yours. Thank You
This video made me see the game very differently compared to what I did before, thank you this video was amazing.
Also I noticed that the other statues held what seemed to be some sort of liquid that will never go away but your first and last resting place of you journey is near a statue with a fire that will one day stop burning and die out
This is easily the most well structured video essay I've ever had the pleasure of witnessing
For some reason the video got recommend to me God am I thankful it did, I just want to thank you for making such a beautiful essay for one of my favorite games.
How has this video not gain 10k views after a year? It is so well done.
fantastic video (love how smooth the transition at 25:01 is btw)
I just ran into this video recently and I must say this video deserves so so SO much more attention. It's such a beautiful video with such an insightful take of the story and meaning of this game, and it solidifies it's point well and mirrors the Drifter's journey from where he started and dying back at the place where he started by returning back to it's original points in the first parts of the video.
I hope that solar ash will be good too. I don’t really know if they can make their second game even better. And they don’t need to. Because this is art.
Amazing video
Thank you! I also hope that Solar Ash is good, but honestly, even if it isn’t, I think that’ll be okay for me. I just hope that it receives the same love and support that HLD has, because Heart Machine has more than earned it :)
Still one of my very favorite videos on RUclips. Hope you are well, enjoying life, and using your wonderful mind to explore it. Cheers.
I nearly drowned when I was 6 or so, then nearly died from illness when I was 11. After both of these experiences, I've come to feel that I don't really fear death or age that much, at least not for myself. I felt sort of detached from other people's experiences here, and in some other areas. Not because I have no trauma or because I have no struggles, but because I've always had tools to deal with them. This video helped me to think about the mechanisms by which I've found comfort, and how other people might not have access to them, or might pursue good means in an incorrect way.
Thank you for sharing.
Hoo boy, I was always a bit dissatisfied with how the story turned out, because I was stuck trying to figure it out too literally, and well, good luck trying to figure out the surface level of an allegory. This video turned that upside down, and now I feel like it was perfect. Thanks for giving me a whole new appreciation for the game. Now my only worry is whether the upcoming sequel will live up to that. I don't doubt it will be a good game, I just hope the story can be as beautiful as this.
... This is a fantastic essay, and you have presented it incredibly well. I'm amazed I never found this until almost two years after its creation!
HLD is perhaps one of my most favorite titles, and my own meanings extracted from its abstractions have played an incredibly major role in my own life. "Judgement", or "Chimera" as I have called it, based off its soundtrack title, always felt incredibly close to my severe mental illnesses, primarily my severe depression. It is always felt before it arrives, the shadowy rain, the iconic glitching audio, the screen darkening to a black-and-pink monochrome. And when it appears, it attacks ruthlessly, cutting through The Drifter effortlessly as they collapse. My depressive episodes have always felt this way, me always waking up from them with lingering effects (such as the "vultures" that manifest around The Drifter after Judgement attacks) and taking a moment to collect myself. A lot of the art I produce to handle these feelings often uses that same shape - that pink-red diamond eye that seemingly everyone's personal Judgment has - as a signifier of the "presence" of this unseen force I struggle with daily. It is an opponent I must attack directly, and unlike the Drifter's opponent, it never truly goes away.
Of course, this was me taking my own meanings from the visuals, and I never quite felt it fully connected to what the game itself presented in an ending. With your essay, I think I finally had it all click together, and yet again this game cuts close to my own core.
... My own relationship to death is an odd one - a late relative of mine being a mortician and offering me what wisdom he could, plus my own "Judgement" often turning my own hands against me in attempts at cutting my own story short. It's hard for me to describe, but I don't think I'm at the end of my journey just yet. There is still a lot I fear (and that fear has been what has kept me from recklessly ending myself so many times), and a lot of my written work often explores the same themes of the South - the same themes I started to use when the fear of a *natural* death crept up on me. To manipulate my own form and live as long as I wished? How wonderful - after all, I had wasted so much time so far. Of course, as you stated - and as this game demonstrates - there is a balance here. I don't think I'd wish to live forever - but more die when I feel the time is right. Since I doubt any means will exist by the time my natural lifespan ends, I realize I should do my best so that I am *already* satisfied when my time comes.
And curiously, we come full circle: In order to ensure I end my story in a way I'd agree with, I certainly cannot terminate it far too early. I know there is a set ending, and so much of my time has be struggling against this invisible, malevolent force from inside my own head - but there's still a lot of time left. And much like in HLD, there's a lot of this beautiful world to see.
So, I apologize for my (perhaps overly personal story) and excessive text, but I say thank you to your hard work dissecting this game and it's artistic metaphors and allegories - all of which are fantastically still open to interpret and reinterpret. I can only imagine how much hard work you have put into this! Thank you so much for putting it all into words.
(And now I am curious what will be done in the upcoming... expansion? Not a sequel, but the planned "Hyper Light Breaker" title, expanding on this world and giving certain places names... They say it is a story of "Empathy", and I am more than excited for whatever it will entail... especially now that I have heard the story of the Drifter unravelled so elegantly!)
Dang he got all the work cited too.
But seriously this video was amazing. It’s clear you put a lot of effort into it and it’s really well put together. HLD is one of my favorite games so I love to hear different peoples interpretations.
You definitely got a knack for literary analysis too.
Thank you for this. I’ve been in an excruciatingly hard place and this game is such a wonderful centrepiece in my mind. I love it. I love your essay. Thank you Harrison.