As strange as it sounds, I don’t think there’s another developer who’s inspired as many feelings of hype and disappointment over the years as Heart Machine. Hyper Light Drifter, a Zelda-like released in 2016, instantly made the studio with its beautiful wordless narrative, sharp combat, and fantastic exploration. Solar Ash, with its sci-fi platforming and Shadow of the Colossus-style bosses, seemed like an amazing follow-up but ended up just fine in terms of execution. The less said about Hyper Light Breakers, the better.
Still, it felt like Possessor(s) was a return to form, offering 2D animated characters in a side-scrolling action-adventure set in a massive 3D world. Unfortunately, despite a compelling premise and some sleek presentation, it also stumbles in various frustrating ways.
The setting is Sanzu City, recently torn apart by a disaster of demonic proportions. A massive otherworldly rift has opened, and demons roam the streets, ravaging the living. Luka, a high school student, is on death’s door after losing her legs, but she happens upon the equally wounded Rhem. Despite watching her best friend, Kaz, get killed by a demon, Luka reluctantly forms a partnership with Rhem, allowing him to possess her and heal her wounds.
It isn’t for free, though, as the player is tasked with escorting Rhem to the epicenter of the rift so he can return to his home dimension. Doing that requires accessing a mysterious underground vault belonging to Agradyne, who effectively runs the city and produces batteries (three guesses about where their energy comes from). You’ll then need to travel to different corners of the map and collect four eyeballs belonging to officials possessed by high-ranking demons to pave the way forward.
As typical as the MacGuffin search feels, Possessor(s) does a pretty decent job of not immediately lapsing into it. Luka spends a significant amount of time getting to know Rhem while mastering her new legs and strength. Their pasts intertwine as memories are mixed and secrets eventually spill forth. The characterization feels spot-on in this regard, with Luka coming across as immature and awkward, but also understanding and down-to-earth. Meanwhile, Rhem, despite his calm, collected demeanor is prone to stubborn callousness.
The barriers between them are slowly but surely whittled down along the way, even if arguments still tend to flare up. Other notable figures include Tens, a former Agradyne employee turned hunter who works alongside a possessed wolf; Professor Foss, Rhem’s former teacher who’s now possessed and mentally unravelling; and more. Outside of accepting quests or acting as vendors and one-time bosses, they don’t have a heavy presence in the plot, with the focus remaining squarely on the eyeball hunt and Luka and Rhem’s dynamic. Nevertheless, they’re intriguing and add to the overall setting with their backstories.
The two core components of Possessor(s) are platforming and combat, and there’s plenty of acquiring new abilities and revisiting previous locations to test them. All your favorites are here, from the grappling hook that also doubles up as pulling smaller enemies towards you to the slide and underwater dash. And while the platformer can feel solid enough as a whole, there are some fumbles, like the grapple not properly latching onto points at times. There are also some delays to your movement in combat – something I learned the hard way when trying to transition from a dash to a crouch to avoid a beam and dying in the process.
“Aesthetically, Possessor(s) is a mix of wonder and intentionally clashing styles. The look and motion of its characters are in stark contrast to the 3D environment, with limited animation frames that still manage to flow together relatively smoothly.”
That awkwardness pervades a huge chunk of the combat as well. While attacking, you’re effectively stuck in one direction for the duration of that combo. Enemies aren’t, of course, resulting in frustration. Luka can utilize a primary weapon and three special weapons at a time, ranging from a mouse to juggle enemies into the air to a hockey stick with wide-range smacks. There’s a Super Smash Bros.-like feel to some of the action as you break through guards and knock enemies into each other and the environment, which feels pretty nice. It’s punctuated by parries, which are required to open up certain foes to attacks and reflect projectiles.
Given how many enemies tend to stay just out of reach, the latter can be essential. Occasionally, it’ll feel very generous as you parry multiple bullets back. Due to the lack of any kind of invincibility window when taking damage and the excruciatingly long stun recovery, you can easily get by hit dozens of them at once and die. This leads to some even more annoying runbacks, purely due to the layout of certain sections.
Even if you fully grasp the combat, there isn’t all that much to it beyond smacking enemies away, grappling them back and following up with another attack. The primary weapon variety is surprisingly low, and the special weapons are very mechanically basic. Admittedly, it can be cool to execute a counter-attack with the glasses or charge up a powerful katana slash, but that’s as far as their functionality goes. The affixes also feel a little too straightforward, though providing some lungs for an NPC to cook and effectively buff is one of the more memorable interactions.
Aesthetically, Possessor(s) is a mix of wonder and intentionally clashing styles. The look and motion of its characters are in stark contrast to the 3D environment, with limited animation frames that still manage to flow together relatively smoothly. Well, on most occasions, since some bosses still tend to just kind of float towards you with certain attacks. Regardless, they stand out well against the brutalist architecture of the world, its shadowy undertones and an analogue-like filter which lends an old-school horror feel.
Even the sound design is lovingly on point on most occasions. Possessed books float about, crying like babies while your whip lashes out with all the primalness of a beast. The music is also a nice mix of heavy-handed and moody, whether it’s the disarming nature of the Abandoned Mall’s tunes or the epic feel of the final battle.
“Even the story, when it’s all said and done, peters out in fairly predictable ways. Some elements are left disappointingly open – a significant contrast to how inviting Sanzu City felt when first diving in. “
However, the biggest problem with Possessor(s) outside of its movement and combat issues is that it runs out of steam in the closing hours. One area feels painfully straightforward, consisting of nothing but battle rooms en route to the final boss. The other plays with inverted structures and extensive gaps, but not in any really special way compared to prior areas (and it feels relatively short). While there are reasons to go out of your way, be it in obtaining items to add more affix slots to gear or discovering quest items, it begins to feel superfluous after a point. This leads to frustration when you happen upon any places not tied to your objective. At least many of the bosses feel unique, though the aforementioned combat and movement issues can once again hamper your enjoyment.
Even the story, when it’s all said and done, peters out in fairly predictable ways. Some elements are left disappointingly open – a significant contrast to how inviting Sanzu City felt when first diving in. As a whole, Possessor(s) is a decent side-scrolling action-adventure with some interesting twists, especially surrounding possession, backed by a relatively solid dynamic between its leads.
It just sadly doesn’t venture much further. Maybe that’s on me for being so enthralled by this concept and wanting to see where it ventures next, only to be suitably whelmed by the end. I wouldn’t classify this as Heart Machine’s worst effort by a long shot, but it’s yet another in a long line of personal disappointments for sure.
This game was reviewed on PC.
