Hylics
| Hylics | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Mason Lindroth |
| Publisher(s) | Mason Lindroth |
| Engine | RPG Maker |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Release | October 2, 2015 |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Hylics is a role-playing video game developed and published by Mason Lindroth. It was released for Windows on October 2, 2015 on Steam.[1] The game uses claymation graphics to depict a surreal world.
Plot
The player character is Wayne, a humanoid being with yellow skin and crescent-shaped horns. Most of the game's NPCs speak using random text generation, in a manner described as a deliberately misleading red herring, albeit consistent with the setting, with the player's goals being represented through environmental design instead.[2] The world and characters are alluded to be posthuman in nature and the goal of the game is to defeat the moon king Gibby.
Gameplay
Hylics plays like a traditional JRPG despite its surreal setting. Hit points are replaced with "flesh", while magic points are replaced with "will". Battles are shown from a first-person perspective, with the character's hands being shown performing attacks.[2] Wayne loses all his flesh when defeated, but does not die, rather warping to an "afterlife" from which they can travel back to a previous area.[2] Battle items are also unusual, such as being able to attack with a frozen burrito.[3]
Development
The game was developed in RPG Maker and took a year to develop.[4]
Reception
Emily Gera of Rock, Paper, Shotgun described the game as "like a scene from Bosch by way of Videodrome".[3] 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."[2] Jordan Devore of Destructoid said that Hylics was "the trippiest RPG I've ever seen".[5]
Sequel
A sequel with higher resolution graphics was announced to be developed after the release of the first game. "Hylics 2" was finally released on June 2020, featuring a quest to stop Gibby's minions from reconstituting their master.[6].
References
- ^ "Hylics". Metacritic. Retrieved 2018-01-28.
- ^ 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 2018-01-28.
- ^ "Hylics is the trippiest RPG I've ever seen". destructoid. Retrieved 2018-01-28.
- ^ https://www.pcgamer.com/au/hylics-2-feels-like-a-long-lost-rpg-from-the-1970s/