I was shocked to find out that not only is Hyper Light Drifter's studio working on a second new project, it's a return to 2D with action inspired by 'platform fighters' like Super Smash Bros

Two strange characters squaring off on pinkish background
(Image credit: Heart Machine)

Revealed at today's Devolver showcase, Possessors⁠—stylized as "Possessor(s)"—is yet another new game from Heart Machine, the creators of Hyper Light Drifter and Solar Ash. After pivoting to full 3D action for Solar Ash and the upcoming roguelike Hyper Light Breaker, the studio's gone back to its 2D action roots, but with a surprise twist: the singleplayer game will have combat inspired by platform fighters like Super Smash Bros and Multiversus.

There's not a ton to go on in Possessors' one-minute reveal trailer, but what's here is a real treat visually. The dark, saturated blacks and hazy yellow highlights of its color palette make for a nice contrast with the Hyper Light series' signature neon reds, greens, and teals. Possessors' color scheme, desolate city, and general vibe remind me of a more hi-fi Radio the Universe, itself a Hyper Light-reminiscent game I still hope I get to play one day.

Possessor(s) | Reveal Trailer - YouTube Possessor(s) | Reveal Trailer - YouTube
Watch On

The trailer just showed a few quick snippets of Possessors' combat⁠: it looked like it had the sharp, staccato feel of Hyper Light Drifter, but the accompanying description from Devolver and Heart Machine was more illuminating. They call it a "fast-paced action side scroller with combat inspired by platform fighters." That's the generic term for the genre popularized by Smash Bros, which immediately has my sicko antenna up: a fully singleplayer version of that experience? Am I going to be short hop neutral airing my way through this story of tragedy, trauma, and woe? Say no more, I'm in.

It'll also have a "deep interconnected world ready for exploration," which to me sounds like "I don't want to have to use the word 'metroidvania'" speak for "metroidvania." It's ok, I wish we had a better name for the genre too. Maybe we should take a page from the Japanese gaming community and try to make Search Action a thing.

Story-wise it's cryptic nouns all the way down, and based on Heart Machine's history, I expect my heart strings plucked and brain befuddled by the finished product. "Play as Luca, the host, and Rehm, her less-than-cooperative counterpart, as they explore a quarantined city ripped apart and flooded by an interdimensional catastrophe," the game's description reads. "They're only hope of survival is by learning to co-exist."

Possessors will also be here sooner than you might expect: The trailer revealed it will be releasing at some point in 2025, and you can wishlist the game over on Steam.

Associate Editor

Ted has been thinking about PC games and bothering anyone who would listen with his thoughts on them ever since he booted up his sister's copy of Neverwinter Nights on the family computer. He is obsessed with all things CRPG and CRPG-adjacent, but has also covered esports, modding, and rare game collecting. When he's not playing or writing about games, you can find Ted lifting weights on his back porch.

Read more
An angry dwarf and a sword-wielding elf with various villains in the background in Absolum.
This mash-up of side-scrolling beat-'em-up and fantasy roguelike feels like it could be the future of a classic genre
Three hyper light breaker characters running toward camera viewed from below.
Hyper Light Breaker has great combat, impeccable vibes, and its ambitious randomized open worlds actually work⁠—the real test is if it goes the distance in early access
Blades of Fire's protagonist Aran prepares to attack with a very large sword.
Blades of Fire is a God of War-style action game coming to PC from the creators of Metroid Dread, and it's almost definitely a spiritual successor to Severance
A stylized drawing of a horned demon with a skull for a face and glowing eyes peering over a forest cabin.
Bloober Team’s new horror label just unveiled an isometric survival horror game straight out of a comic book: ‘Avoid the Horned Man at all costs’
Midair neon jetpack combat between a robot and an android lady
Metal Eden is a movement-shooter that looks like cyberpunk Doom Eternal
A man in a leather jacket with a crystal dragon on his shoulder
Lost Soul Aside, a spectacle fighter where your dragon pal turns into a hoverboard, is coming out in May
Latest in Action
The First Berserker: Khazan review - Blade Phantom
How to claim The First Berserker: Khazan pre-order bonus and deluxe edition DLC
gta 6 trailer
Publishers 'don't want to be anywhere near' Grand Theft Auto 6 when it launches: 'It's proving to be very stressful'
An image of a Helldiver from Helldivers 2 shooting at a red dragon from Dungeons & Dragons.
'Ok, so dragon builds are a thing now': galaxy-brained Helldivers 2 player incinerates a bile titan with a hover pack and a flamethrower
Assassin's Creed Shadows promo image
Ubisoft scores a legendary ratio against Elon Musk on his own platform—which hopefully marks a final end to all the Assassin's Creed Shadows' culture war nonsense
Assassin's Creed Shadows immersive mode - Naoe holding a tanto in her hand as two guards fall to the ground behind her.
Assassin's Creed Shadows' first hotfix addresses stability issues and a photo mode crash
A plastic duck dressed like a circus weightlifter
The 5th highest-rated game on Steam in 2022 is back with a multiplayer sequel
Latest in News
The heroes are attacked by monsters
Pillars of Eternity is getting turn-based combat to mark its 10th anniversary, and that means PC Gamer editors will soon be arguing about combat mechanics again
Image of Ronaldo from Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves trailer
It doesn't really make sense that soccer star Ronaldo is now a Fatal Fury character, but if you follow the money you can see how it happened
Junah beginning a battle in Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Today's RPG fans are 'very sensitive to feeling like they wasted time' when they die, says Metaphor: ReFantazio battle planner—but Atlus still made combat hard anyway
Image of Cersei Lanniser from Game of Thrones: Kingsroad Steam early access trailer
A new Game of Thrones RPG is coming to Steam today with a cast of 'familiar faces,' which is good because it's really the only way to tell it's a GoT game at all
The new Prime Asset featured in the upcoming update for the Outlast Trials.
The Outlast Trials puts its already paranoid players under surveillance for a time-limited story event
A Viera looking confused in Final Fantasy 14.
Old armor continues to fall victim to Final Fantasy 14's bizarre two-channel dye system, unless you're super into changing the colour of teeny-tiny eyelets: 'Why even bother at this point?'