Hyper Light Drifter delayed again, now due "spring 2016"
Tides us over with nifty new trailer.
Hyper Light Drifter, the neon action adventure that made nearly 24 times its $27k goal on Kickstarter, has been delayed until "spring 2016".
This isn't the first time Hyper Light Drifter has been delayed. Originally scheduled for a summer 2014 launch, the game was initially pushed back until "holiday 2014" then remained in limbo for a while until developer Heart Machine announced this most recent target goal.
That's just for the PC and Mac versions. The console ports (on PS4, Vita, Xbox One and Wii U) will follow "as quickly as possible" Heart Machine stated in a Kickstarter update. The developer said it "decided to not withhold the PC version while we wait for the console versions to pass certification."
So why the delay? Simple: the developers are perfectionists. "We have set a high standard for ourselves throughout the entire process, and will not compromise those to release a title before it's ready," Heart Machine stated. "We've seen how that choice turns out time and time again. The final game will be far better for it."
"Hyper Light Drifter is a big game, with a small handful of extremely dedicated people creating it," the developer added. "It has required a massive amount of careful design considerations, extensive conversations about the story and world, engine and tools building, plenty of discovery, trial and error, working through a variety of game-breaking and time-draining bugs, reworking and cutting of systems, reshaping, and streamlining to feel like we can deliver on the original intention and vision of the project."
"It's taken us a fair amount of time to get to this level; we won't compromise on our standards now."
Furthermore, game director Alex Preston has been suffering health issues and is awaiting a heart procedure, which has surely put a damper on his productivity. "My own physical condition has been growing worse (as is expected), leaving me unable to do as much until I have the necessary heart procedure performed. This means pacing, resting, recovering, and getting treatment even when I have much to do," he said. "We've been working full-blast for almost two years, and the team as a whole needs to continue to steadily pace ourselves, instead of crunching; pushing any harder would burn us out, leading to a negative outcome."
So that's the inside baseball look at why things are taking so long, but on a more uplifting note, here's a new Hyper Light Drifter trailer to show how it's all coming together:
For more on Hyper Light Drifter, our Chris Donlan had a go of its beta last October and came away very optimistic. "One dungeon down and I was left wanting more," he said in his Early Access impressions. "I want to see how Heart Machine can build on this mean-spirited and wonderfully exacting combat - and I want to see where the light-stepping tour of artful dereliction takes us next."