Released on March 31, 2016, Hyper Light Drifter is a 2D pixel-style action role-playing game developed by Heart Machine on Steam for $20.00.   The game follows the Drifter, a hero suffering from an unspecified illness. The Drifter’s condition mirrors lead developer Alex Preston’s experience with congenital heart disease. In fact, the original release was delayed more than a year due to Preston’s health conditions. Preston received many letters of encouragement during this time and he ultimately altered the story of Hyper Light Drifter so that the problem was not only just of one character, but one shared by many. He wanted to create Hyper Light Drifter “to tell a story he can identify with, expressing something personal to a larger audience, so he feels more connected and have an outlet for the many emotions that crop up around life-altering issues.”   With excellent ratings (9/10 from Game- Spot) I finally bought the game during the Steam Summer Sale in June and tried it out. To put it simply, I fell in love with Hyper Light Drifter.   The music, excellently crafted by Richard Vreeland, better known as Disasterpeace, fit perfectly with every moment of the game and brought waves of nostalgia reminding me of when I played The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past as a kid. As an aspiring video game artist with a reverence for animation, the flow and smoothness of each cutscene, obstacle, character, and environment almost made me cry. The design of the world is fascinating. With a compelling story told only through beautiful pixel-perfect visuals, I suggest anyone who is a fan of story-driven indie, pixel-style, and/or role-playing games with a challenge pick up Hyper Light Drifter and experience it for themselves. Be careful out there Drifters