3/5 ★ – dropthemoon's review of Hyper Light Drifter.

The presentation of this game is fantastic, but it’s let down by annoying design decisions. The core combat has is simple but satisfying. Or it would be, if not for an unnecessary stamina system, annoyingly high end lag on your actions, and a chain dash whose skill floor is too high and presents too much risk. These annoyances also extend to navigation, with mediocre “dodge platforming”, and a need to press up against a ton of walls to make sure you’re not missing an obscured path. This will directly cause damage at times because pits will be hidden instead, but it will also cause you to become impatient when you need to backtrack and dodge around the map to waste less of your time, only to fall into pits or bonk and become more frustrated. The game is fundamentally solid, which makes the unnecessary own goals that much more annoying.