At Digital Tech Explorer, we’re dedicated to uncovering the most exciting developments in the tech and gaming world. Today, our own TechTalesLeo dives into an early look at a highly anticipated title from Hyper Light Drifter developer Heart Machine. Alongside their embattled-but-promising Hyper Light Breaker roguelike, they’re crafting Possessor(s), a classic search action game poised to make its mark. Studio founder Alx Preston notably prefers the Japanese term for the genre, and frankly, as TechTalesLeo, I agree – let’s hope it catches on.
I, TechTalesLeo, had the opportunity to witness unscripted, live gameplay of Possessor(s)’ earliest levels and discuss the project with narrative director Tyler Hutchinson and writer Laura Michet. Games in this genre truly live or die on their exploration and level design. In recent years, Hollow Knight provided one of my favorite maps, while Metroid Dread, unfortunately, left me cold by somehow managing to be both handholdy and obtuse.
However, what I’ve seen of Possessor(s)’ world has me genuinely intrigued and hopeful. The game is also injecting some Platinum-style character action DNA, most apparent in a thrilling, parry-centric boss fight I witnessed against a formidable flying demon bomber.
Heck City
The premise and presentation scream ’00s anime. It’s a vibe I, TechTalesLeo, tried to dub “Toonamicore” when describing 2022’s excellent Neon White, and a similar energy resonates here. While Hutchinson and Michet didn’t name specific inspirations, titles like Death Note, YuYu Hakusho (admittedly ’90s), and Shin Megami Tensei (a videogame, of course) sprang to my mind.
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. A typical Tuesday, perhaps?
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. Consequently, most of Possessor(s)’ enemies are going to be mundane objects made evil. This philosophy extends to weaponry too: one secondary weapon is a computer mouse, while the demo showcased an electric guitar as the big, slow, Guts sword-style weapon.
“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 stated. “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. She’s saved from certain doom by possession from 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
What particularly excited me, TechTalesLeo, during the hands-off demo was the appearance of Possessor(s)’ environments. Search-action-vanias can often feature abstract-feeling side scrolling levels, whereas Possessor(s)’ initial destroyed office building felt like a tangible place viewed through a dollhouse perspective.
This approach could cultivate 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,” Michet remarked. Hutchinson further explained that there was a significant focus on “diegetic choices” in creating these environments.
My first impression of the mechanical level design is similarly positive: I observed a clever, unexpected shortcut at one point, as well as a platforming challenge utilizing the grappling hook that looked immensely satisfying.
After checking in at the imposing sealed final boss door beneath Evilcorp HQ, you experience that oh-so-satisfying search-vania moment: the game cuts to your largely empty map screen and flings an objective impossibly far out into the void, daring you to fill in 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 this world’s design is in capable hands: Preston brings the 2D exploration bona fides of the original Drifter, while Fanaris was a developer on the 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 impressive from afar, boasting crisp spritework and a good variety of abilities even in the starting area. There’s the aforementioned grappling hook, alongside a shield/parry ability that most reminded me of Fox and Falco’s Shine from the Super Smash Bros. series.
The levels in Possessor(s) are full **3D environments**, but Luca and her enemies are **2D sprites**, all the better to showcase the game’s ’00s anime character designs. Combat with regular enemies looked fluid—though it’s hard to judge definitively without a controller in hand—but the lone boss fight shown in the demo truly captured my attention.
The boss would fly in a bomber pattern, carpeting the arena in parryable projectiles. The trick to the fight involved angling Luca just right to bounce one or more of them back on each bombing run. It struck me as a mechanically unique, engaging design, reminiscent of the great 2D boss battles in games like Hollow Knight or Pizza Tower.
Reflecting on this **preview demo** for Digital Tech Explorer, I, TechTalesLeo, believe Possessor(s) clearly knows the game it wants to be. Its familiarity means success hinges entirely on execution. Fortunately, early indications suggest a uniquely **immersive searchvania world** and **combat** that continues **Heart Machine’s** strong **character action tradition**. Possessor(s) currently lacks a **release window**, but you can wishlist Possessor(s) on Steam to stay updated. We at Digital Tech Explorer will certainly be keeping a close eye on its development.