Hyper Light Drifter (PC, 2016)
Graphics-8.5 Sound-8 Control-7.5/6* Challenge-8 Story-7
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-8.5 Fun-7 Originality-6
Overall Score-7
*Continuous dash move/multidash aka chain dash
+
Great art direction and visual variety (similar to Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery in style and the later Narita Boy), Nice cutscenes and overall animation
Unusual theme (the player char has a heart condition?)
Gaining energy/ammo from attacking enemies and breakable objects encourages aggressive play
2D Zelda-inspired gameplay with more of a combat focus (exploration-focused with various hidden paths and optional detours (for items and sometimes lore), puzzles, char upgrades, towns w/ NPCs and shops, char upgrades and gear - mainly bought in shops here; combat is similar to Bastion, Phantom Trigger, CrossCode and Diablo 3)
A few interesting moves (reflect incoming projectiles, chain dash although there are some issues with it - see below, projectile shield while dashing)
Various good challenges leading up to items and detours tend to loop back around to the main path
Satisfying feedback from hitting enemies and objects
Good visual teases for items placed on detours
Unusual platforming style in that you can't jump, only dash across pits
Teleporters and flexible fast travel system (one per area, can teleport from anywhere to any found teleporter)
Some mini-bosses/tougher enemies (they tend to be grouped with smaller enemies and repeated a few times per area)
See hidden platforms by pressing the interact button when there's a question mark over your sidekick - however you need to be right at the edge of the platform next to the hidden platforms so some are easy to miss
Difficulty options (easy or normal, unlockable harder modes, some achievements disabled in easy mode; see notes about NG+ below though)
Two zoom levels for the map (world view or area view)
Pretty good bosses overall (varied patterns, some escalation)
Can knock enemies into pits or obstacles with the dash attack and it does some extra damage (Daggerfall).
No touch/contact damage (Shadow Dancer, Revenge of Shinobi, Rolling Thunder 2, Blood Omen, Lost Vikings 2, etc)
Some good spatial awareness puzzles (not that many of them though and there aren't really any other puzzles)
Boss rush mode
360 degree aiming with the guns - some aim assist would've been good when using a controller though as you generally have to stop and aim to reliable hit enemies and other targets
2-player co-op (some quirks to it though - player 2 uses 1 HP from player 1 to spawn which also pauses their movement for a moment, bosses have more health, 2nd player can't customize their abilities and upgrades - only copy player 1, player 2 can't interact with doors/switches/items including health packs)
+/-
Mostly non-linear (can do the eastern, western or northern areas from the get go and the southern one (barren hills) after the others are completed; some regular keys require the multidash or the railgun/impact railgun to get to, one skippable segment and boss in the southern area)
Fairly frequent checkpoints (item progression in the same sub area/room isn't saved until you move into a new one however)
Auto-saves when entering a new room/sub area (one save slot per game, four in total). Some save points (the teleporters)
Much more of a combat focus than in Zelda with many forced encounters
Wordless NPC interaction and storytelling (uses pictures and symbols instead, sometimes too vague such as in shop menus though it does show gameplay clips and button combos for the moves you can buy). Sometimes there's just a single picture from the NPC that talks about an area's boss - a bit meh
Minor movement delay between your first three dashes in a row and then a longer one
Can't attack while dashing nor dash more than three times in a row by default (can upgrade both) - feels a bit overly limited compared to some other games (similar to how you don't start with dashing in MMX)
Enemies don't drop health
Mixes fantasy and sci-fi elements
Can't attack NPCs with your sword or swing your sword in non-hostile areas - sometimes feels arbitrarily implemented such as in some empty indoors areas+you can shoot them but nothing happens if you do
Some gore
Area maps show boss key/module door key locations after finding a wandering knight in an area (which you'll do easily as he's on the main path) - finding all 8 in an area opens an optional door which rewards you with items. However only 7/8 are shown after finding this knight/these knights
The world map and area maps are mostly spoiled from the get go - spoils some of the sense of discovery but then again they're also pretty vague
Regular keys are relatively rare. They are also universal and not consumed when used on a door
No health upgrades, only health item capacity upgrades. Also can't find these in dungeons - instead you buy them in town with found money
Some continuous vibration when below half health/down to two bars - can toggle vibration however
Sword swings kinda sound like you're hitting something when you're just hitting air
Can only upgrade the ammo capacity of the guns
No HP regeneration - sometimes health items are rare while at some other times you find more than you can carry
Can only climb ladders placed here and there
If enemies get knocked far enough to land on a platform on the other side of a pit then they will (can be detrimental with ranged enemies)
Can't hold onto a grenade to get more control of when it blows up after throwing it (System Shock, Half-Life)
Can't shoot or throw while moving
Stamina meter (affects chain dashing and some attacks)
Pretty overpowered grenades besides vs bosses (they don't damage the player)
Can only switch between two guns at a time in the quick slot menu
More delay after a sword swing before you can follow it up with a shotgun/railgun/spreadgun shot than with the pistol
Can't swim
No double jump equivalent (dashing again in mid-air)
Post-disaster world
About 11 seconds of loading/waiting when warping
The different sword colors gained when finding outfits just change how your sword looks
Some hidden lore/backstory
Few moving platforms
Shorter fourth area and the final one is just a short walk up to the final boss room
-
Some aspects of the western area/crystal forest boss (unforgiving hit detection on his melee attacks and sometimes when trying to dash attack into him, bad how the camera focuses on him instead of the player avatar+the enemies he summons can end up off screen and then do dash attacks into the screen, getting pummeled while knocked down which always leads to death since you can't heal during it and don't have much of a health bar which also can't be upgraded)
Start with 1 HP after dying if you moved to a different sub area with 1 HP and no healing items (can't skip the auto-save in this case). Grenades also don't recharge between deaths
Various control/interface issues (flashing and pausing when you get hit - distracting+there's a delay before you can heal, some delay when using healing items - both before they trigger and before you can move again, if you get hit while trying to heal then the action is canceled, short invincibility time and you can get hit again while knocked down from certain attacks, the continuous dash move doesn't feel that good to use - hard to maintain and you move too fast to navigate the world without dashing into a wall+dashing into a wall makes you fall over+if the stamina bar runs out you slide forwards quite far, no button config unless using joytokey, pretty vague area maps (don't show the exact layout nor your avatar's position - for example in the north area it shows you being on the middle path when right next to the frozen dead giant to the W, don't show some connections between sub areas, don't show found/collected item containers or doors, don't show the 8 module key doors), can't place map markers, some movement delay after hitting a wall (also happens if you try to hit an enemy right next to a wall sometimes) and after dashing - can't queue up a sword slash before the delay is over (have to time a new one), can just barely see your avatar if moving below tree roofs and other foreground obstacles, analog only movement isn't always optimal as it's trickier to move completely straight or diagonally - at least with my PS3 controller, have to hold the button for half a sec to pick up items as well as open some doors (these also don't stay opened) - could've been automatic or sped up, slightly longer delay between slashes when hitting enemies than when hitting air? - can dash cancel however, can't dash cancel after hitting an enemy, can use healing items at full health and can pick up healing items while at full capacity - wastes them (though in the latter case the item does heal you when picked up if you were hurt), game doesn't pause while viewing the map - also means you have to be relatively safe to warp, no in-game explanation of what the outfits do, can't move while aiming, can't throw grenades across pits, somewhat stiff movement around wall corners, some switches don't stay switched when moving back and forth between rooms, gameplay pauses for a few seconds for every fourth gearbit (currency) you find, removing the weapon quick slot icons while showing the rest of the HUD makes no sense and occasionally made me use the wrong weapon by mistake - some icons also look nearly identical at a glance)
Sometimes not immediately clear what is and isn't a pit (your avatar automatically hesitates for a bit when walking towards platform edges however)
Some trial & error (some ambush attacks from behind trees and such as well as during more difficulty encounters - the latter sometimes get overwhelming but also add intensity, the eastern dungeon expects you to have gotten the dash upgrade to get some optional items in it, doesn't show what happened when activating a rune tablet/monolith, can end up unable to dash back from certain platforms - eastern area, several pits behind foreground obstacles, bosses - the northern one also seems to have a random element to its hardest to dodge attacks, at one point in the eastern area some blocks rise to block your way before you enter the combat arena of that room if you try to enter it from the left, some switches and hidden paths are too hard to spot - there are various parts in the eastern area that area that are just dead ends while in some cases if you go right to the edge of a platform in one you'll notice a shootable switch - sometimes a camera issue)
Overly empty eastern area and some dead space here and there in the others. Parts of the SW western area are also too empty
The dash attack is a bit disappointing in some ways: there's still the delay on movement and attacks after performing one so you can't chain it into a combo, it drains half your stamina meter, and if the enemy is a bit larger then it doesn't do more damage and you get knocked back instead. It also doesn't destroy the breakable crystal obstacles faster
No instant breakout move (see Streets of Rage or Truxton for example; closest thing is the charge slash for the sword, grenades could've been more useful for this if the various delays on your attacks didn't apply to them) - would've been very useful against certain attacks or being grouped up on
One more teleporter per area wouldn't have hurt. There could've also been a few more shortcuts leading back from challenge segments such as one of the keys in the western area placed behind crystal traps
No other traversal tools than the chain dash and railgun are gained (the latter lets you activate certain switches)
Sometimes uneven difficulty (big spike: western area boss (pretty much need to master the chain dash's timing here or get lucky with his pattern), easy: getting to some keys, some fights from afar and/or with grenades, sometimes stupid enemy AI; tough: certain arena fights, sometimes overly rare health items - beyond the 8 modules door in the eastern area for example, most bosses (the toad isn't too bad and seems intended as the first boss, archer mini-boss is also pretty easy))
Can't examine nor interact with most objects in the environment (plenty of eyecatching doodads)
Some underwhelming outfit bonuses (faster grenade regen (orange one) - still slow enough that you're not gonna be using it more than once per group fight unless you like waiting, the faster stamina regen one (pink) is also kinda slow when you're in battle)
Sometimes it looks like you should fall into liquid/water but your avatar falls to the bottom of the screen instead - looks a bit unfinished
The forced combat arenas don't stay completed when backtracking through an area (breaks flow too much, would've been fine if you weren't locked into them by the rising block walls)
Can't talk to various NPCs
Overly simplistic use of switches and some missed potential for other puzzles (grenades and the switches that raise and lower blocks could've been used to get to some parts if you could step onto a block as it raises, blowing up barrels in the right order and/or pushing them to the right spot before blowing them up to break another obstacle and progress in some rooms, grenades could've been able to blow through some objects like big bushes)
Missing some Switch & iOS exclusive content (tower climb challenge, light blue outfit - makes finding secrets easier by showing an exclamation mark when near one and one that reduces the attack delay between sword combos, crystal shot and blade caster weapons) - should be made available on PC
The final boss's large beam attack stunlocks you to death though it's fairly easy to avoid if you keep your distance. Kind of easy otherwise unless you didn't get any ammo or health pack upgrades
Some pointless exploding barrels and objects that move when hitting a switch
Invisible wall between the totems in the northern area
Can't grind to be able to buy gun ammo and health item capacity upgrades - have to explore and find the money (kinda bad considering the arena fight enemies do respawn and break your flow when you're focused on exploration; yes it incentivizes further exploration but the lacking map system also makes it kinda tedious and they could've used a different, respawning currency for weaker upgrades). There is at least more money placed in the game than you need for the upgrades
New game+ is also hard mode (2 HP only, no gun, can't change outfits) - weird that you can't play it without these penalties. Also starts you in your/the knight's home rather than the usual underground intro area
No stamina meter upgrades and there could've been more of a clear warning when you run out of it (both dash attacks and charge slash attacks drain it quickly)
Notes:
-Can skip cutscenes with /skip on the keyboard - not shown anywhere
Bugs:
-The player avatar (the drifter) would do a victory pose before the wave of enemies was over at one point in the northern area
-Checkpoint bug at one point in the eastern area - I spawned in the previous area instead
-At one point an enemy ended up outside of a battle arena's raised block walls when entering it so I couldn't finish the battle and had to go to the previous room and back again
-A couple of laser doors in the western underground part never unlocked for seemingly no reason
Comment:
Hyper Light Drifter disappointed me a little as I was expecting more of an ability gating and puzzle focus, when it's almost a hack 'n slash game with a lot of forced arena-style combat encounters which also repeat when backtracking. But I enjoyed the aesthetics and spatial awareness aspect, and while I took issue with some design choices of it the combat is pretty good.
It has hard gating but only in the chain dash and railgun - the former is used to get past some timing-based obstacles and the latter to hit certain switches from afar. Puzzles are there but are pretty basic besides spatial awareness-type ones to find hidden paths (sometimes you just have to hug walls or go to the very edge of paths to find new paths).
But that's it, it's a very combat-focused game with various forced combat arena rooms. It also uses a stamina meter and makes you vulnerable while healing, like souls-likes tend to do.
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-8.5 Fun-7 Originality-6
Overall Score-7
*Continuous dash move/multidash aka chain dash
+
Great art direction and visual variety (similar to Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery in style and the later Narita Boy), Nice cutscenes and overall animation
Unusual theme (the player char has a heart condition?)
Gaining energy/ammo from attacking enemies and breakable objects encourages aggressive play
2D Zelda-inspired gameplay with more of a combat focus (exploration-focused with various hidden paths and optional detours (for items and sometimes lore), puzzles, char upgrades, towns w/ NPCs and shops, char upgrades and gear - mainly bought in shops here; combat is similar to Bastion, Phantom Trigger, CrossCode and Diablo 3)
A few interesting moves (reflect incoming projectiles, chain dash although there are some issues with it - see below, projectile shield while dashing)
Various good challenges leading up to items and detours tend to loop back around to the main path
Satisfying feedback from hitting enemies and objects
Good visual teases for items placed on detours
Unusual platforming style in that you can't jump, only dash across pits
Teleporters and flexible fast travel system (one per area, can teleport from anywhere to any found teleporter)
Some mini-bosses/tougher enemies (they tend to be grouped with smaller enemies and repeated a few times per area)
See hidden platforms by pressing the interact button when there's a question mark over your sidekick - however you need to be right at the edge of the platform next to the hidden platforms so some are easy to miss
Difficulty options (easy or normal, unlockable harder modes, some achievements disabled in easy mode; see notes about NG+ below though)
Two zoom levels for the map (world view or area view)
Pretty good bosses overall (varied patterns, some escalation)
Can knock enemies into pits or obstacles with the dash attack and it does some extra damage (Daggerfall).
No touch/contact damage (Shadow Dancer, Revenge of Shinobi, Rolling Thunder 2, Blood Omen, Lost Vikings 2, etc)
Some good spatial awareness puzzles (not that many of them though and there aren't really any other puzzles)
Boss rush mode
360 degree aiming with the guns - some aim assist would've been good when using a controller though as you generally have to stop and aim to reliable hit enemies and other targets
2-player co-op (some quirks to it though - player 2 uses 1 HP from player 1 to spawn which also pauses their movement for a moment, bosses have more health, 2nd player can't customize their abilities and upgrades - only copy player 1, player 2 can't interact with doors/switches/items including health packs)
+/-
Mostly non-linear (can do the eastern, western or northern areas from the get go and the southern one (barren hills) after the others are completed; some regular keys require the multidash or the railgun/impact railgun to get to, one skippable segment and boss in the southern area)
Fairly frequent checkpoints (item progression in the same sub area/room isn't saved until you move into a new one however)
Auto-saves when entering a new room/sub area (one save slot per game, four in total). Some save points (the teleporters)
Much more of a combat focus than in Zelda with many forced encounters
Wordless NPC interaction and storytelling (uses pictures and symbols instead, sometimes too vague such as in shop menus though it does show gameplay clips and button combos for the moves you can buy). Sometimes there's just a single picture from the NPC that talks about an area's boss - a bit meh
Minor movement delay between your first three dashes in a row and then a longer one
Can't attack while dashing nor dash more than three times in a row by default (can upgrade both) - feels a bit overly limited compared to some other games (similar to how you don't start with dashing in MMX)
Enemies don't drop health
Mixes fantasy and sci-fi elements
Can't attack NPCs with your sword or swing your sword in non-hostile areas - sometimes feels arbitrarily implemented such as in some empty indoors areas+you can shoot them but nothing happens if you do
Some gore
Area maps show boss key/module door key locations after finding a wandering knight in an area (which you'll do easily as he's on the main path) - finding all 8 in an area opens an optional door which rewards you with items. However only 7/8 are shown after finding this knight/these knights
The world map and area maps are mostly spoiled from the get go - spoils some of the sense of discovery but then again they're also pretty vague
Regular keys are relatively rare. They are also universal and not consumed when used on a door
No health upgrades, only health item capacity upgrades. Also can't find these in dungeons - instead you buy them in town with found money
Some continuous vibration when below half health/down to two bars - can toggle vibration however
Sword swings kinda sound like you're hitting something when you're just hitting air
Can only upgrade the ammo capacity of the guns
No HP regeneration - sometimes health items are rare while at some other times you find more than you can carry
Can only climb ladders placed here and there
If enemies get knocked far enough to land on a platform on the other side of a pit then they will (can be detrimental with ranged enemies)
Can't hold onto a grenade to get more control of when it blows up after throwing it (System Shock, Half-Life)
Can't shoot or throw while moving
Stamina meter (affects chain dashing and some attacks)
Pretty overpowered grenades besides vs bosses (they don't damage the player)
Can only switch between two guns at a time in the quick slot menu
More delay after a sword swing before you can follow it up with a shotgun/railgun/spreadgun shot than with the pistol
Can't swim
No double jump equivalent (dashing again in mid-air)
Post-disaster world
About 11 seconds of loading/waiting when warping
The different sword colors gained when finding outfits just change how your sword looks
Some hidden lore/backstory
Few moving platforms
Shorter fourth area and the final one is just a short walk up to the final boss room
-
Some aspects of the western area/crystal forest boss (unforgiving hit detection on his melee attacks and sometimes when trying to dash attack into him, bad how the camera focuses on him instead of the player avatar+the enemies he summons can end up off screen and then do dash attacks into the screen, getting pummeled while knocked down which always leads to death since you can't heal during it and don't have much of a health bar which also can't be upgraded)
Start with 1 HP after dying if you moved to a different sub area with 1 HP and no healing items (can't skip the auto-save in this case). Grenades also don't recharge between deaths
Various control/interface issues (flashing and pausing when you get hit - distracting+there's a delay before you can heal, some delay when using healing items - both before they trigger and before you can move again, if you get hit while trying to heal then the action is canceled, short invincibility time and you can get hit again while knocked down from certain attacks, the continuous dash move doesn't feel that good to use - hard to maintain and you move too fast to navigate the world without dashing into a wall+dashing into a wall makes you fall over+if the stamina bar runs out you slide forwards quite far, no button config unless using joytokey, pretty vague area maps (don't show the exact layout nor your avatar's position - for example in the north area it shows you being on the middle path when right next to the frozen dead giant to the W, don't show some connections between sub areas, don't show found/collected item containers or doors, don't show the 8 module key doors), can't place map markers, some movement delay after hitting a wall (also happens if you try to hit an enemy right next to a wall sometimes) and after dashing - can't queue up a sword slash before the delay is over (have to time a new one), can just barely see your avatar if moving below tree roofs and other foreground obstacles, analog only movement isn't always optimal as it's trickier to move completely straight or diagonally - at least with my PS3 controller, have to hold the button for half a sec to pick up items as well as open some doors (these also don't stay opened) - could've been automatic or sped up, slightly longer delay between slashes when hitting enemies than when hitting air? - can dash cancel however, can't dash cancel after hitting an enemy, can use healing items at full health and can pick up healing items while at full capacity - wastes them (though in the latter case the item does heal you when picked up if you were hurt), game doesn't pause while viewing the map - also means you have to be relatively safe to warp, no in-game explanation of what the outfits do, can't move while aiming, can't throw grenades across pits, somewhat stiff movement around wall corners, some switches don't stay switched when moving back and forth between rooms, gameplay pauses for a few seconds for every fourth gearbit (currency) you find, removing the weapon quick slot icons while showing the rest of the HUD makes no sense and occasionally made me use the wrong weapon by mistake - some icons also look nearly identical at a glance)
Sometimes not immediately clear what is and isn't a pit (your avatar automatically hesitates for a bit when walking towards platform edges however)
Some trial & error (some ambush attacks from behind trees and such as well as during more difficulty encounters - the latter sometimes get overwhelming but also add intensity, the eastern dungeon expects you to have gotten the dash upgrade to get some optional items in it, doesn't show what happened when activating a rune tablet/monolith, can end up unable to dash back from certain platforms - eastern area, several pits behind foreground obstacles, bosses - the northern one also seems to have a random element to its hardest to dodge attacks, at one point in the eastern area some blocks rise to block your way before you enter the combat arena of that room if you try to enter it from the left, some switches and hidden paths are too hard to spot - there are various parts in the eastern area that area that are just dead ends while in some cases if you go right to the edge of a platform in one you'll notice a shootable switch - sometimes a camera issue)
Overly empty eastern area and some dead space here and there in the others. Parts of the SW western area are also too empty
The dash attack is a bit disappointing in some ways: there's still the delay on movement and attacks after performing one so you can't chain it into a combo, it drains half your stamina meter, and if the enemy is a bit larger then it doesn't do more damage and you get knocked back instead. It also doesn't destroy the breakable crystal obstacles faster
No instant breakout move (see Streets of Rage or Truxton for example; closest thing is the charge slash for the sword, grenades could've been more useful for this if the various delays on your attacks didn't apply to them) - would've been very useful against certain attacks or being grouped up on
One more teleporter per area wouldn't have hurt. There could've also been a few more shortcuts leading back from challenge segments such as one of the keys in the western area placed behind crystal traps
No other traversal tools than the chain dash and railgun are gained (the latter lets you activate certain switches)
Sometimes uneven difficulty (big spike: western area boss (pretty much need to master the chain dash's timing here or get lucky with his pattern), easy: getting to some keys, some fights from afar and/or with grenades, sometimes stupid enemy AI; tough: certain arena fights, sometimes overly rare health items - beyond the 8 modules door in the eastern area for example, most bosses (the toad isn't too bad and seems intended as the first boss, archer mini-boss is also pretty easy))
Can't examine nor interact with most objects in the environment (plenty of eyecatching doodads)
Some underwhelming outfit bonuses (faster grenade regen (orange one) - still slow enough that you're not gonna be using it more than once per group fight unless you like waiting, the faster stamina regen one (pink) is also kinda slow when you're in battle)
Sometimes it looks like you should fall into liquid/water but your avatar falls to the bottom of the screen instead - looks a bit unfinished
The forced combat arenas don't stay completed when backtracking through an area (breaks flow too much, would've been fine if you weren't locked into them by the rising block walls)
Can't talk to various NPCs
Overly simplistic use of switches and some missed potential for other puzzles (grenades and the switches that raise and lower blocks could've been used to get to some parts if you could step onto a block as it raises, blowing up barrels in the right order and/or pushing them to the right spot before blowing them up to break another obstacle and progress in some rooms, grenades could've been able to blow through some objects like big bushes)
Missing some Switch & iOS exclusive content (tower climb challenge, light blue outfit - makes finding secrets easier by showing an exclamation mark when near one and one that reduces the attack delay between sword combos, crystal shot and blade caster weapons) - should be made available on PC
The final boss's large beam attack stunlocks you to death though it's fairly easy to avoid if you keep your distance. Kind of easy otherwise unless you didn't get any ammo or health pack upgrades
Some pointless exploding barrels and objects that move when hitting a switch
Invisible wall between the totems in the northern area
Can't grind to be able to buy gun ammo and health item capacity upgrades - have to explore and find the money (kinda bad considering the arena fight enemies do respawn and break your flow when you're focused on exploration; yes it incentivizes further exploration but the lacking map system also makes it kinda tedious and they could've used a different, respawning currency for weaker upgrades). There is at least more money placed in the game than you need for the upgrades
New game+ is also hard mode (2 HP only, no gun, can't change outfits) - weird that you can't play it without these penalties. Also starts you in your/the knight's home rather than the usual underground intro area
No stamina meter upgrades and there could've been more of a clear warning when you run out of it (both dash attacks and charge slash attacks drain it quickly)
Notes:
-Can skip cutscenes with /skip on the keyboard - not shown anywhere
Bugs:
-The player avatar (the drifter) would do a victory pose before the wave of enemies was over at one point in the northern area
-Checkpoint bug at one point in the eastern area - I spawned in the previous area instead
-At one point an enemy ended up outside of a battle arena's raised block walls when entering it so I couldn't finish the battle and had to go to the previous room and back again
-A couple of laser doors in the western underground part never unlocked for seemingly no reason
Comment:
Hyper Light Drifter disappointed me a little as I was expecting more of an ability gating and puzzle focus, when it's almost a hack 'n slash game with a lot of forced arena-style combat encounters which also repeat when backtracking. But I enjoyed the aesthetics and spatial awareness aspect, and while I took issue with some design choices of it the combat is pretty good.
It has hard gating but only in the chain dash and railgun - the former is used to get past some timing-based obstacles and the latter to hit certain switches from afar. Puzzles are there but are pretty basic besides spatial awareness-type ones to find hidden paths (sometimes you just have to hug walls or go to the very edge of paths to find new paths).
But that's it, it's a very combat-focused game with various forced combat arena rooms. It also uses a stamina meter and makes you vulnerable while healing, like souls-likes tend to do.