9th Dawn vs Hyper Light Drifter
9th Dawn
9th Dawn is an old-school-like RPG that is set in a remote yet large island continent of Montelorne. The game has a pretty open world gameplay where you can choose to follow the questline and help the people of Montelorne handle the invading armies of the rising undead or simply explore the vast land to discover new towns and dungeons.The game is very much an RPG in the traditional sense. It has three archetype classes for you to play as – the knight, archer and mage. Each of them have their own sets of skills and equipment, that you’ll do well to constantly upgrade, resulting in very different game experiences depending on which class you play as.
Many players have compared 9th Dawn to timeless RPG classics like Ultima and this comparison is, in our humble opinion, very well justified. The game is just very well-designed and will definitely delight every old-school RPG fan who bought it.
Hyper Light Drifter
Hyper Light Drifter is an action-adventure RPG with a very unique pixel-based art style and a fun gameplay that will keep you coming back for more. The storyline in this game is pretty bleak since you play as a drifter who happens to have an odd but vicious disease that keeps haunting your thoughts and dodging your every move. By traveling to the dark and savage lands of Buried Time, you hope to find a way to finally be free of this illness.Being ill, you aren't exactly in your fighting prime and so, instead of relying on your frailing strength, combat in this game mainly involves dashing away to avoid blows and trying to strike the enemy in between dashes. In some way, it may feel like being the less burly underdog in a WWE match. There are plenty of weapons to help you though, along with a variety of incredible skills which you can master.
The world you play in is also quite vast, with plenty of hidden nooks and crannies - usually with a bonus reward in them - for you to find. In addition to the story mode, there is a horde mode (endless) as well where you can truly put your combat skills to the test. However, one of the best things about this game is the soundtrack which somehow seems to complement the game's graphics and its overall atmosphere perfectly.
With the unique pixel art and the old-school feel, Hyper Light Drifter may not be everyone's cup of tea, but if you do enjoy such games, you'll find that this game is truly a hidden indie gem.