Hylics
Hylics | |
---|---|
Windows | |
Release | October 2, 2015 |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Hylics is a
, was released in 2020.Plot
Hylics takes place on an archipelago in a world implied to be posthuman and is divided into 3 acts, each one beginning with a prelude roughly describing the current plot events using partially randomly generated sentences. The primary goal of the game is to defeat Gibby, King of the Moon. Many of the game's NPCs speak using random text generation, with the player's goals primarily represented through environmental design. [3] It is implied that Gibby is responsible for the incoherent dialogue found throughout the game.
Act I begins in the house of the player character, Wayne. Nearby Wayne's house is a town and a facility for warping to another dimension. Exploring the town and its adjacent mountain reaches an area filled with ruins populated by Cone Cultists, who forbid anything from leaving the mountain to "promote a reverse-
Within the blue dimension is a castle where the gate controls are. However, Wayne is stopped by a guard who manifests a "Horrid Projection", which must be defeated. After disabling the gate and returning to his home dimension, Act II begins. Wayne can travel to other islands via boat, one of which houses a cave where a knight named Pongorma lives. He reveals that he has been sealed within the cave for many years and asks Wayne to fight him. Upon his defeat, he joins Wayne's party. Another island holds a graveyard and subterranean tomb, which Wayne explores. Upon exiting the tomb after fully exploring the area, Act III begins and Wayne gains access to an airship, allowing him to reach every island in the archipelago.
The Sage's tokens are used to activate a TV on a newly accessible island that grants the Sage's gesture, "Legend of Melting", to all party members. To reach the Moon and fight Gibby, Wayne must purchase a spaceship key from a hot dog vendor. The key is prohibitively expensive, however another island houses a laboratory where devices that turn creatures into money can be accessed, granting enough to purchase the key. After launching the ship and landing on the Moon, Wayne fights through Gibby's palace, eventually reaching Gibby and battling him. Upon defeat, Gibby reveals he has rigged the Moon to explode upon his death, forcing Wayne and his crew to leave and ending the game.
Gameplay
Hylics plays like a traditional JRPG despite its surreal setting.
Development
The game was developed using the
Reception
Emily Gera of Rock Paper Shotgun described the game as "like a scene from Bosch by way of Videodrome".[4] Chris Priestman of Kill Screen called the game's animation "wonderful" and stated that "to play a Mason Lindroth game is to delight in all that is possible within the material world and to learn how wonderful creation and destruction can be."[3] Jordan Devore of Destructoid said that Hylics was "the trippiest RPG I've ever seen".[6]
Sequel
Hylics 2 was announced in January 2018[7] and released on June 22, 2020.[8] The game is made in Unity and features new gameplay, graphics, music and a significantly expanded story about Gibby's minions attempting to revive him and Wayne's quest to stop them.
On January 8, 2022, Mason Lindroth posted a short clip of a project later revealed to be a third Hylics game.[9] Mason has continued to post new content for the project intermittently, much of which features redesigned enemies from earlier games by Mason, as well as enemies and NPCs from Hylics.
Absent Moon, a Hylics Song Cycle
Absent Moon, a Hylics Song Cycle is a rock opera and concept album composed and performed by Chuck Salamone, featuring Vinny from Vinesauce and Diane Aragona. The album was released on May 1, 2023.[10]
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "The Champion of Ennui / Into the Pastel Sky" (featuring Vinny Vinesauce and Diane Aragona) | 5:20 |
2. | "The Promethean's Lament" | 4:42 |
3. | "The Way Back Home" (featuring Diane Aragona) | 4:55 |
4. | "Seasons" | 4:19 |
5. | "Spell of Absurdity" (featuring Diane Aragona) | 4:52 |
6. | "As the World Begins to Wane" | 7:32 |
7. | "Awakening" | 1:25 |
8. | "The Champion of Ennui / Into the Pastel Sky" (instrumental) | 5:20 |
9. | "The Promethean's Lament" (instrumental) | 4:42 |
10. | "The Way Back Home" (instrumental) | 4:55 |
11. | "Seasons" (instrumental) | 4:19 |
12. | "Spell of Absurdity" (instrumental) | 4:52 |
13. | "As the World Begins to Wane" (instrumental) | 7:32 |
Total length: | 64:45 |
References
- ^ "Hylics". Steam. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
- ^ "Hylics". Itch.io. Retrieved 2023-01-16.
- ^ a b c d "The material world of Mason Lindroth - Kill Screen". Kill Screen. 2015-07-27. Retrieved 2018-01-28.
- ^ a b Gera, Emily (2015-08-08). "Hylics Is Basically Videodrome: The Game". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2018-01-28.
- ^ "Hylics Might Be One Of The Strangest Yet Beautiful RPGs You'll See - Siliconera". Siliconera. 2015-08-23. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
- ^ "Hylics is the trippiest RPG I've ever seen". destructoid. Retrieved 2018-01-28.
- ^ "Hylics 2 Preview". YouTube.
- ^ O'Connor, Alice (22 June 2020). "Claymation RPG Hylics 2 is out now". Rock, Paper, Shotgun.
- ^ @MasonLindroth (January 9, 2022). "#screenshotsaturday" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ https://twitter.com/MasonLindroth/status/1653036667609939969?lang=en