The Drifter

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
This article contains spoilers. Proceed at your own risk.


The title of this article is conjectural. If there is an official name, it is requested that The Drifter* be moved to the correct name.*

“ A searcher, aspiring to find a cure. ”
“ A lonely soul, in a desperate search. ”

The Drifter, also referred to as The Magician, is the main playable character in Hyper Light Drifter. He's a blue-skinned humanoid who has been infected with a strange terminal disease. He is travelling the World in search of a cure.

History

Our Drifter is haunted by an insatiable illness, traveling further into the lands of Buried Time, steeped in blood and treasure hoping to discover a way to quiet the vicious disease. Echoes of a dark and violent past from the dead eras resonate throughout and he can't help but listen.

Lore and Story Analysis

The Drifter appears to be a blue-skinned humanoid, who has been infected with a mysterious terminal disease, and is travelling the world in search of a cure.

He is member of an artificial species whose origin began long ago, a Drifter by occupation. Drifters are not necessarily the same race. They are collectors of forgotten knowledge, lost technologies and broken histories.

The Crystal or Immortal Cell the Drifter has to destroy is essentially a malevolent entity called Judgement, that has access to and has stolen the power of a God/Godlike entity. Its creation caused the armageddon that has left the world in a post-apocalyptic state.

The God/Entity is Anubis, the Jackal with a halo. He wants our protagonist to kill Judgement so it can't resurrect the Titans, destroy the world and steal his power.

The Drifter is sick because he has been infected by the evil entity using the God's power. Your only hope is to reach Judgement and hope for a cure.

Weapons and Abilities

The Drifter is a highly capable fighter, boasting a wealth of possible abilities and subsequent combinations. When used at full efficiency and factoring all upgrades into combat, an end-game Drifter can be nigh unstoppable.

The Drifter can have two ranged weapons equipped for combat in addition to the Sword. The sword itself is the only melee weapon available in the game, it is made out of energy that emits from the handle as seen in the first cutscene.

The ranged weapons are in the form of firearms, the first being the Pistol.

The Pistol is found within a skeleton resting on a pillar during the introduction level. Though the pistol has a small magazine capacity, it can be recharged by slicing enemies and breakable objects with the sword.

The Drifter can also purchase a Roly Poly from the central village, however unlike the firearms, its ammo recharges over a period of time.

The Drifter has the ability to dash which is their main tool for traveresing various obstacles. The dash ability also allows for the Drifter to dodge attacks both melee and ranged.

All weapons and abilities can be upgraded in the Central Town. The sword can be upgraded to have a charged attack, deflect projectiles, and can be combined with the dash to create a dash attack. Guns can be upgraded to have larger ammo capacity but base damage remains the same for all weapons. The dash can be upgraded to feature chain dashing with the Drifter increasing speed with each subsequent dash, the ability to shield from projectiles, and another combination with sword to create another dash attack.