Heart Machine, known for Hyper Light Drifter, returns with Possessor(s), a 2D side-scrolling action-platformer that fits squarely within the Metroidvania tradition. The game takes place in the corporate city of Agradyne, a walled metropolis that has been torn apart by a mysterious cataclysm. That disaster sends interdimensional demons into the streets, where they begin to possess anything they can reach. The story opens on Luca, a teenager left gravely injured and without legs in the aftermath.
She strikes a desperate bargain with the demon Rhem, who requires a host to stay alive. By sharing her body and helping him escape, she gains new insect-like legs and the strength to fight. Their shared existence frames a long adventure that lasts around 20 hours. The main conflict follows Luca and Rhem as they hunt down escaped demons powered by Chroma, a resource Agradyne’s corporation previously extracted from imprisoned demons. The game places the player directly inside this chaos from the first moments, with an introduction built around immediate action and survival.
Style, Structure, and Flawed Heroes
Possessor(s) leans heavily on its narrative and presentation. The plot acts as a major hook, taking on layered themes that compare interpersonal exploitation with Agradyne’s industrial exploitation of demons for Chroma. The writing uses a familiar tone that mixes the heightened emotion of ’90s anime with the reflective sensibility of Young Adult fiction.
Character interaction drives much of the impact. Luca and Rhem function as flawed protagonists, often labeled selfish bastards, who literally share both a body and a past. Their clashing perspectives lead to frequent comic arguments and gradually expose quieter, more vulnerable aspects of each of them. Rhem stands out in particular and provides a fresh spin on demon mythology that keeps the player engaged with this fallen world.
The visual design supports that focus on mood and character. The game renders a 3D environment from a fixed side-on viewpoint and fills it with carefully animated 2D sprites. This mixed approach gives Agradyne a look that recalls 1990s live-action and animation hybrids, which aligns neatly with the fictional 1992 timeframe.
Backgrounds stay muted, shadowed, and grim, and that subdued palette makes the sharp, fluorescent 2D figures stand out. Portrait art in dialogue scenes reinforces the expressiveness of conversations and helps define each character. Sound design pulls its weight through a varied soundtrack that uses melancholic ’90s electronic jazz and city-pop ballads to shape a lonely, desolate atmosphere with a restrained, moody tone.
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Precise Action and Gentle Pacing
Moment-to-moment play focuses on stylish action systems that feel satisfying and largely enjoyable, with clear roots in combo-focused action design. Luca fights with demonically charged versions of everyday tools such as a hockey stick, kitchen knife, and baseball bat. Over time, she gains special abilities that widen her toolkit, including a katana for fast bursts of damage and a cellphone that emits a stunning shock wave.
One of her most flexible tools is the whip, which supports both traversal and offense by letting her swing between grapple points or pull weaker enemies toward her. Survival depends heavily on mastering a crisp parry, since a well-timed deflection can cancel incoming attacks or send projectiles back at foes.
Enemies build on the possession premise in playful and unsettling ways. Luca confronts distorted forms of familiar objects, facing off against things like hostile filing cabinets, watchful security cameras, and aggressive traffic cones. Combat feels tight and weighty, and long-time action players may notice that the difficulty ramps up quite slowly.
Possessor(s) uses a gentle difficulty curve that takes several hours before it starts to push players who already have experience with modern 2D action games. The mechanics tend to reward patient, grounded play on the floor of each arena. Aerial movement is present, yet the density of enemy fire can make extended time in the air feel inefficient, which nudges players to refine familiar patterns and experiment less with new ones. Movement upgrades such as the air dash, wall run, and slide kick appear over the course of the campaign. Learning to combine these options is vital for reaching fresh areas and for bringing more flexibility to combat encounters.
Confusing Paths and Opaque Systems
As a Metroidvania, Possessor(s) offers a large, loosely connected world map. Its non-linear structure lets players pursue the main objective of collecting four demon eyeballs in any sequence. Exploration, however, runs into serious pacing problems. The game often fails to highlight a clear way forward, which leads to long stretches where players can feel directionless.
Because the routes tied to specific abilities are not always clearly communicated, it is easy to run into hard stops and then spend extended time on backtracking. An overly simple map interface makes intricate layouts hard to read, and the limited custom markers give players few tools for labeling places that need a later return.
Progression systems lean on Chroma, a currency gained from defeated enemies. This structure borrows from Soulslike conventions, since death removes any Chroma currently held and stores it in a statue at the point of failure, where it can be recovered. Players can offset that risk by depositing Chroma at checkpoints, which appear as pocket dimensions. Weapon upgrades rely on affixes that apply passive bonuses such as extra parry damage.
These mechanics lack clear explanation, and the path to upgrading health and healing potions in particular can feel obscure and confusing. Technical performance adds further frustration. Frame rate drops appear, especially in areas dominated by water, and the game can present bugs that include audio problems and rare situations where falling through the environment forces a reload. Possessor(s) also places heavy demands on hardware, since its lighting and fog systems require significant processing power.
The Review
Possessor(s)
Possessor(s) is a stylish, narrative-driven Metroidvania that thrives on its unique presentation and the compelling dynamic between Luca and Rhem. While the precise combat and atmospheric setting are high points, the experience is frequently undermined by confusing progression, an unclear map, and various technical and quality-of-life issues. Its strengths in character and art direction ultimately make it a worthwhile play for those who can tolerate its exploratory frustrations and technical shortcomings. It is a good game that needed more polish and clearer guidance.
PROS
- Compelling Luca/Rhem dynamic
- Unique 2D/3D art style
- Precise, satisfying combat
- Strong dystopian atmosphere
CONS
- Confusing progression/map
- Numerous technical issues/bugs
- Opaque upgrade systems
- Difficulty finding the "correct" path
