Hylics may be a short and mechanically simple turn-based RPG, but goddamn does it make a lasting impression. The abstract aesthetic is obviously what you'll notice first, and for good reason. The first time I saw an offhand screenshot of the game's death animation, my immediate reaction was “there’s no way the entire game looks this good.” But it fucking does. The environments, attack animations, monster designs, you name it. In terms of providing ethereal, unique, colorful, and sometimes outright terrifying claymation and stop motion visuals, Hylics delivers 100%.
In terms of narrative, the game is, well… equally if not even more abstract than its visuals. NPC dialogue is entirely randomly generated, yet at the same time, it feels appropriately incomprehensible within the context of the world. I also had a bit of fun laughing at myself in hindsight for trying to make sense of all that dialogue, since I hadn’t known about that fact until after playing. There is however a bit of narrative to glean just from the way the game’s events unfold- mainly by way of the characters who join your party. I particularly liked how your first party member joins to lend you his unique ability of… being able to operate a water cooler. Genius. I mean, I’m joking about it, but buried underneath the mountain of nonsensical obscurity, there are some real nuggets of narrative and worldbuilding you can unearth from these small details. For example, the fact that he describes the paper cup as a precious archaeological finding suggests the possibility of Hylics taking place in post-apocalypse. So much of the game’s narrative abstraction through NPCs obscure any concrete narrative foundation that could have been there. However, there’s still enough plausibility in those details buried beneath the surface from which the player can speculate and draw their own conclusions.
Combat is fun despite its simplicity. In terms of the pace of battle, it’s very snappy (no pun intended... okay fine maybe a little intended). There’s a decent amount of customization and freedom to assign distinct roles in combat through the various equipment options at each tier of value. There’s definitely some strategy required to execute those roles optimally. Though I will say that the constant countering of some enemy types borders on the obnoxious when there’s seemingly no way to predict or respond to it in time early in the game. The death mechanic is also pretty bizarre, though I suppose it’d be more out of place for something to NOT be bizarre in a game like Hylics. That death animation I already alluded to earlier is insanely gorgeous and memorable.
Speaking of memorable, the soundtrack, holy shit the soundtrack. I was initially very surprised to see that its creator, Mason Lindroth, was responsible not only for the art, but everything else in Hylics- including its perfectly uneasy soundtrack. But with a game that is so abstract, yet still feels like a distinctly singular vision, it makes sense for that to be the case. Its guitar-heavy tracks which range from bleak and unsettling to warm and spacey couldn’t be more fitting if it tried. A few of my favs include Afterlife, Ruins, Tomb, and Basement.
I have some complaints, mainly in regards to the amount of backtracking and the game’s groggy midsection (that whole graveyard section was just… why). But in a game this compact, not to mention such a joy to simply walk through and take in its atmosphere, they were mostly inconsequential to my enjoyment. The game is pretty easy for the most part, I only got stuck at one point (somehow walked straight out to the part where you get the airship and just... didn’t activate it?? like how did that even happen god i’m bad). Other than that, Hylics is deceptively straightforward to play despite its aesthetic and narrative abstractions. It's a very easy game to just pick up and play through in one sitting.
The final boss might’ve been easy, but MAN that whole ending sequence took the atmosphere and abstraction to whole new heights. You go from transforming your whole party, to killing nameless hoards without any sort of struggle, to killing a giant orange on the moon who carries a hotdog and oh there’s level ups now apparently and oh you’re now level 67 and oh you’re rich now and oh also something about death-fate
oh
In terms of narrative, the game is, well… equally if not even more abstract than its visuals. NPC dialogue is entirely randomly generated, yet at the same time, it feels appropriately incomprehensible within the context of the world. I also had a bit of fun laughing at myself in hindsight for trying to make sense of all that dialogue, since I hadn’t known about that fact until after playing. There is however a bit of narrative to glean just from the way the game’s events unfold- mainly by way of the characters who join your party. I particularly liked how your first party member joins to lend you his unique ability of… being able to operate a water cooler. Genius. I mean, I’m joking about it, but buried underneath the mountain of nonsensical obscurity, there are some real nuggets of narrative and worldbuilding you can unearth from these small details. For example, the fact that he describes the paper cup as a precious archaeological finding suggests the possibility of Hylics taking place in post-apocalypse. So much of the game’s narrative abstraction through NPCs obscure any concrete narrative foundation that could have been there. However, there’s still enough plausibility in those details buried beneath the surface from which the player can speculate and draw their own conclusions.
Combat is fun despite its simplicity. In terms of the pace of battle, it’s very snappy (no pun intended... okay fine maybe a little intended). There’s a decent amount of customization and freedom to assign distinct roles in combat through the various equipment options at each tier of value. There’s definitely some strategy required to execute those roles optimally. Though I will say that the constant countering of some enemy types borders on the obnoxious when there’s seemingly no way to predict or respond to it in time early in the game. The death mechanic is also pretty bizarre, though I suppose it’d be more out of place for something to NOT be bizarre in a game like Hylics. That death animation I already alluded to earlier is insanely gorgeous and memorable.
Speaking of memorable, the soundtrack, holy shit the soundtrack. I was initially very surprised to see that its creator, Mason Lindroth, was responsible not only for the art, but everything else in Hylics- including its perfectly uneasy soundtrack. But with a game that is so abstract, yet still feels like a distinctly singular vision, it makes sense for that to be the case. Its guitar-heavy tracks which range from bleak and unsettling to warm and spacey couldn’t be more fitting if it tried. A few of my favs include Afterlife, Ruins, Tomb, and Basement.
I have some complaints, mainly in regards to the amount of backtracking and the game’s groggy midsection (that whole graveyard section was just… why). But in a game this compact, not to mention such a joy to simply walk through and take in its atmosphere, they were mostly inconsequential to my enjoyment. The game is pretty easy for the most part, I only got stuck at one point (somehow walked straight out to the part where you get the airship and just... didn’t activate it?? like how did that even happen god i’m bad). Other than that, Hylics is deceptively straightforward to play despite its aesthetic and narrative abstractions. It's a very easy game to just pick up and play through in one sitting.
The final boss might’ve been easy, but MAN that whole ending sequence took the atmosphere and abstraction to whole new heights. You go from transforming your whole party, to killing nameless hoards without any sort of struggle, to killing a giant orange on the moon who carries a hotdog and oh there’s level ups now apparently and oh you’re now level 67 and oh you’re rich now and oh also something about death-fate
oh