Hyper Light Drifter was one of my favourite indie games when it was released back in 2016. A callback to the classic Zelda titles with just a hint of soulslike to keep things spicy, mixed in with a phenomenal pixel art direction. Unfortunately, the 3D Action Roguelike follow-up Hyper Light Breaker didn’t live up to expectations and, despite some great ideas, fell flat in execution. Possessor(s) is the latest game from Heart Machine, but can it bring them back to their former glory? 

After a devastating demon attack on the city. Luca has been left badly injured and on the verge of death alongside a demon known as Rem. As a last chance to survive, Rem makes Luca an offer: become a demon host and complete a dangerous task to survive. With no choice, Luca accepts, and they both head out on a journey to discover the truth behind the demon invasion. 

Possessor(s) sets the stage with a grand opening that has Luca making the pact with Rem before unleashing you into a world overrun by demons. The interactions between Luca and Rem are a highlight as they both fight to progress their own goals and uncover the horrors unleashed by the evil corporation. It’s a decent story with a great central hook that actually compelled me to find the mystery at its core. 

Possessor(s) is a 2D side-scrolling Metroidvania set in the ruins of a destroyed city. The world layout is decent enough for the most part. With multiple huge zones that loop back on themselves, there are plenty of shortcuts that you need to unlock with the various movement abilities you’ll obtain throughout the game. Each one also has a unique style, look, and feel, with enemies and bosses to encounter. However, it just lacks creativity or something to pull you in. Rooms are often vast yet empty, with little to discover and much space, eventually feeling repetitive. 

Elevators and subway stations serve as the game’s fast travel, but they’re oddly spread out. Still, a nice way to move between zones without exhaustive backtracking. Overall, it’s a decent map but not a great one, and I never really felt compelled to explore beyond what I needed for progression. Whilst upgrades can boost Luca’s skills and weapons as well, with currency you can gather around the map and from defeated enemies. Dying will cause you to lose what you’ve gathered unless you can get back to your body. In the case of bosses, this will spawn outside the boss rooms, and you can bank everything you have at checkpoints. 

Thankfully, moving around this world is a breeze with some excellent 2D Platforming mechanics. Early on, you will get a grapple hook, which allows you to not only grab enemies at a distance but also grab onto grapple points scattered through the map, using momentum to push you along. Mix this in with ledge grabs, wall jumps and dashes, and you’ve got a pretty standard Metroidvania title. My one real complaint is that sometimes grapple points can be awkward to latch onto, which can make you fall and take damage. It just lacks consistency. 

As for the combat at its best, Possessor(s) can be a lot of fun. It has some great boss fights that are mechanically strong and creative. Yet, dealing with lower-ranking enemies in the rank and file raises some issues. There’s very little variety in enemy designs, and I was hoping new areas would improve on this, but they all fall into the same types, even sometimes the same models. 

Luca has basic combo attacks. However, he can also equip other makeshift weapons, such as baseball bats and computer mice, in different slots, providing more flexibility in combat. Each of these weapons provides Luca with various attacks. The main problem is that this doesn’t really advance the combat system. You’ll create something you like and then stick with it as Possessor(s) doesn’t really encourage experimentation, nor does it really evolve once you get the parry really early on. 

Dealing consecutive attacks to an enemy will stun larger enemies, giving you moments of free damage. Whilst smaller enemies bounce around the room a little, dealing contact damage to other enemies. It’s an interesting idea that makes the combat feel a little more responsive. The biggest problem with its combat is that it just feels inconsistent. Some enemies you can dodge through, others you can’t. Possessor(s) just feel clunky and unfinished, and outside the bosses, I never felt like the enemies I was fighting were all that interesting, with very little variety here. And that’s Poseesor(s) as a whole for me, it just never grabbed me in the way I was expecting.

Heart Machine has always excelled at beautiful art design, and for the most part, that’s the case here as well. The colourful yet straightforward aesthetic is a joy, with great character portraits and slick, stylish animations. Possessor(s) is a treat to look at. Yet again, the game doesn’t quite land in all areas. While the areas look great, they are often empty and lack anything. 

Possessor(s) just does’t live up to the potential. It’s a functionally competent and serviceable metroidvania title that does little to stand out in the wave of excellent metroidvania titles. There are some good ideas, and I had a blast with some of the more creative boss fights, but weak level design and combat issues hold it back. This one needed a little more time to develop. 

Graphics: 6.5 The world lacks in variety but a wonderful art direction does make Possessor(s) a treat to look at most of the time.	Gameplay: 6.0 A mostly fine metroidvania with some creative bosses but lacks in combat variety.
Sound: 7.0 Solid but unremarkable sound design. It’s still one of the best aspects the game has to offer, but not by much.	Fun Factor: 6.0 Possessor(s) doesn’t reach its full potential and comes off as a mostly just competent metroidvania with a half-decent art style.
Final Verdict: 6.0

Possessor(s) is available now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series and PC. 

Reviewed on PlayStation 5. 

A copy of Possessor(s) was provided by the publisher.