Alongside the embattled-but-promising roguelike Hyper Light Breaker, Hyper Light Drifter developer Heart Machine has another project in the works: Possessor(s), a more classico metroidvania search action game looking to make its mark in an increasingly crowded genre—one where studio founder Alx Preston definitively prefers the Japanese genre name over the unwieldy English one. Can't say I blame him, I hope it catches on.
I had the chance to watch unscripted, live gameplay of Possessor(s)' earliest levels, and also talk to narrative director Tyler Hutchinson and writer Laura Michet about the project. Games like this really live or die on their exploration and level design: In recent years, Hollow Knight provided one of my favorite maps in the genre, while Metroid Dread left me feeling cold by somehow managing to be both handholdy and obtuse.
