The next game from the creator of Hyper Light Drifter is a Toonami-core anime throwback set in one of the most interesting Metroid-style worlds I've seen in a while

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.

But what I saw of Possessor(s)' world has me intrigued and hopeful, while it's also injecting some Platinum-style character action DNA, which was most apparent in a parry-centric boss fight I saw against a flying demon bomber guy.

Heck City

The premise and presentation is very '00s anime⁠—I kept trying to get "Toonamicore" to catch on when describing 2022's excellent Neon White, and it's a similar vibe here. Hutchinson and Michet wouldn't name names, but Death Note, YuYu Hakusho (I guess that's '90s), and Shin Megami Tensei (I guess that's a videogame) all sprang to mind looking at it.

Something foul hits the fan in a fictional city dominated by an Umbrella-style megacorp (the economic achilles heel of many a promising metro area), leading to an influx of demons and a Half-Life 2: Episode 2 swirly-dimension-hell vortex looming over everything. Typical.

Most of the demons⁠—who can't exist in our world long without a host⁠—accidentally possess inanimate objects, leading to one of Possessor(s) coolest conceits. "They lose their minds because of the horror and pain of possessing a fax machine or a security camera," said producer Myriame Lachapelle, so most of Possessor(s)' enemies are going to be mundane objects made evil. That goes for weaponry too: One secondary weapon is a computer mouse, while the demo showed off an electric guitar as the big, slow, Guts sword type-deal.

"It was only fitting that since so many of our enemies are just everyday objects that are monsters, that our weapons themselves are improvised and common everyday objects that you might find," Hutchinson said. "I think a lot of it just stems from Alx, early on, creating tons of tone pieces of cool people fighting with weapons and this is a really number one pillar of 'Yes, we want to have fun combat with weird weapons.'"

Our protagonist, Luca, is a young woman who loses her legs in the demon onslaught, saved from certain doom thanks to possession by a demon named Rhem. This lends her new demon legs, powers, and a cynical, experienced deuteragonist for her shaken idealism to bounce off of as she searches for survivors and answers in the wreckage.

Search

The thing that got me most excited in the hands-off demo was the look of Possessor(s)' environments. Search-metroid-action-vanias can often have this really abstract feel to their side scrolling levels, while Possessor(s)' starting destroyed office building actually felt like a real place I was getting a dollhouse view of.

This could lead to a strong sense of atmosphere in the final game. "I'm always super impressed by how moody the levels are and how much they do express these environments you would expect to see in this dystopian corporate city," said Michet, and Hutchinson explained that there was a big focus on "diegetic choices" when it came to creating these environments.

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My first impression of the mechanical level design is similarly positive: I clocked a fun, unexpected shortcut at one point, as well as a platforming challenge with the grappling hook that looked very satisfying.

After checking in at the big 'ol sealed final boss door under Evilcorp HQ, you get that oh-so-satisfying search-vania moment where it cuts to your mostly-empty map screen and flings an objective impossibly far out into the void, daring you to go fill out those gaps.

"We have two really great level designers, [Mars Ashton] and [Jordan Fanaris]," said Hutchinson. "They work continuously on designing the map with [Heart Machine founder Alx Preston]." It sounds like the design of this world is in good hands: Preston has the 2D exploration bona fides of the original Drifter, while Fanaris was a developer on Half-Life remake Black Mesa.

"They are constantly just refining levels and trying to build a map that fully matches up everywhere," Hutchinson continued. "I think they've got great ideas about building out new systems of doors, keys, and abilities."

Action

Possessor(s)' combat and platforming looked great from afar, with crisp spritework and a good variety of abilities even in the starting area. There's the aforementioned grappling hook, as well as a shield/parry ability that reminded me most of Fox and Falco's Shine from the Super Smash Bros. series.

The levels in Possessor(s) are full 3D, but Luca and her enemies are 2D sprites, all the better to show off the game's '00s anime character designs. Fighting with regular enemies looked good⁠—it's hard to judge without a controller in hand⁠—but the lone boss fight shown in the demo really grabbed my attention.

He'd fly in a bomber pattern, carpeting the arena in parryable projectiles, with the trick of the fight being to angle yourself just right to bounce one or more of them back on each bombing run. It struck me as some mechanically unique, engaging design, like the great 2D boss battles of Hollow Knight or Pizza Tower.

On the back of this preview demo, I feel like I know the exact game Possessor(s) is trying to be, and its familiarity means success or failure lies entirely in the execution. Luckily, signs point to it having a uniquely immersive searchvania world, and combat to continue Heart Machine's strong character action tradition. Possessor(s) currently does not have a release window, but you can wishlist the game on Steam.