Possessor(s) is a side-scroller from the folks behind Hyper Light Drifter

The creators of Hyper Light Drifter are not ones to rest. In the terrifying tidal wave of trailers that continually washes over us this weekend, they send word of a new game via the Devolver Direct. Possessor(s) is a side-scrolling character action game of mysterious sci-fi horror set in a "quarantined city ripped apart and flooded by an interdimensional catastrophe". This is coming on top of the already-announced Hyper Light Breaker. Please, Heart Machine, pace yourselves. I barely have time to play the daily crossword.

You will play as the long-coated Luca, but also Rehm, a being that possesses her for some undisclosed reason. It'll feature "tense, precise, combat" says Devolver in a press release, with lots of combo-clobbering, boss-battering and joe-juggling. "Find and unlock a wide array of powerful weapons and upgrades to bolster your arsenal and explore previously inaccessible areas."

That sounds a bit somethingvania, right? The developers do say you'll be meeting a cast of washed-out post-apocalyptic folks as you go along, "each with their own heart-breaking story", in case you thought it was all jumpy-jumpy-punch-punch. It's not clear if this tale will follow Heart Machine's usual philosophy of wordless storytelling, but the trailer shows no chatter, so probably?

Otherwise, there's not a whole lot to see for now. The 3D environment design is giving me real Inside vibes, with all the glowing lights, gloomy corridors, and dripping water. But I feel like the real meat of this game is still hiding somewhere under the rubble. This is my polite way of saying that, going by the trailer above, it looks like lots of other side-scrolling action games that have come before.

But let us chill. It's all in the buttonfeel for this types of game and Heart Machine do have a reputation for satisfying slashin' and dashin' (Hyper Light Drifter is one of our 25 best action games). It's also worth remembering that they are working on Hyper Light Breaker, that follow-up to their most well-known work. Which itself looks pretty slick, even if Edwin had trouble with its hoverboarding in an early build. In any case, let's give Possessor(s) a chance to fatten up a little. It's not due out until 2025 in any case.