Here’s the ending of Hyper Light Drifter explained - as much as it can be, anyway. Hyper Light Drifter was first announced on Kickstarter back in 2013 and is a 2D action title set in a fantasy world. In addition to its beautiful pixel artwork, it also featured an evocative score by Disasterpiece (It Follows). The game’s look and feel is meant to envoke old school adventure titles like the original Legend Of Zelda games.
Hyper Light Drifter also drew visual influence from the films of Studio Ghibli, such as Laputa: Castle in the Sky, and has been released for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. One notable element of Hyper Light Drifter is the absence of spoken dialogue, with the story unfolding through onscreen events and text recovered from monoliths - which also need to be decoded. This somewhat impressionistic approach lets players bring their own meanings to the game, especially in regards to its final scenes.
While this backstory isn’t all spelled out in-game, Hyper Light Drifter is set in a world where scientists created an Immortal Cell, derived from the power of the God Anubis, who is represented in the form of a jackal. Naturally, this went bad, with the cell creating an evil being dubbed Judgement that caused an apocalyptic event that raised four Titans. These Titans were defeated at a great cost, with the scientists locking the still active cell away.
Hyper Light Drifter than sees the title character - who is part of a race that roams the ruined world uncovering old technology and knowledge - being tasked by Anubis to destroy the cell before it can raise the Titans once again. One thing that greatly informed Hyper Light Drifter was developer Alex Preston’s heart disease, which he has struggled with his entire life. This is represented in The Drifter being afflicted with a terminal disease at the start of the game by Judgement, with the shadowy being haunting him throughout his quest like a specter of death.
Hyper Light Drifter’s ending has The Drifter finally confronting and defeating Judgement, only to find there is no cure for his affliction. He flees the crumbling facility with the help of Anubis, but once they reach the surface, the God creature leaves the world, having regained all its power following the Immortal Cell’s destruction. The Drifter himself dies from his disease but appears to have a vision of a clean, beautiful world as he passes.
Given the allegorical nature of Hyper Light Drifter’s story, fans have come up with numerous theories about its narrative and ending. The defeat of Judgement could be seen as The Drifter overcoming his fear of death or leaving with a terminal illness - which the nebulous being seems to represent - or maybe his vision is a glimpse into the afterlife. There’s no definitive reading, which is ultimate to the game’s credit.
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