History Characters / HyperLightDrifter

* ArtificialHuman: A plausible interpretation.

* DarkLordOnLifeSupport: One Titan [[spoiler: is still alive -- or pieces of it are, at least, in the VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon. Immersed in titanic life-support HealingVat[=s=] are its eyes, its brain, and its biomechanical heart (or in other words, its [[CreatorInJoke Heart Machine]]).]]

* LaserBlade: The Drifter's primary weapon of choice. There are several different designs and colors available.

* GlassCannon: The Drifter becomes this over the course of the game; you can dodge quickly and gain several devastating attacks, but you're stuck with the small HP pool you begin the game with, even as enemies become capable of dealing more damage.
** NewGamePlus mode takes this and cranks it up a notch, since the outfit you start with reduces your Max HP to 2, and finding/unlocking the alternate outfits is not a simple task. And you can't remove the cape or increase your maximum health with the ocre outfit.

** MagneticWeapons: Found after defeating the Hierophant, the railgun provides modest damage and can hit multiple enemies with a single shot. It can also activate certain switches that cannot be activated by other weapons.

** ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: The throwing sword, which is obtained after beating the Tower mini dungeon (only available in the ultimate edition).A second Laser Sword that is thrown like a javelin at an opponent before returning like a boomerang to the Drifter, hitting whatever gets in the way of its return arc.
* VictoryPose: For someone that never speaks, the Drifter still manages to show ; after clearing any challenging battle (whether a small arena, or a full-on BossBattle), the Drifter will do a dramatic sword-flourish and slam it point first into the ground.

* CrusadingWidower: As revealed at the South zone, the death of his wife and child, resulting from the sickness, lead him to start travelling and following the Jackal.

* {{Expy}}: Of the God Warriors from Manga/NausicaaOfTheValleyOfTheWind. Aside from similar designs, they both are largely responsible for the apocalypses of their worlds, were nigh-unstoppable gods, and enigmas that just suddenly appeared one day.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: The minions that he spits up will explode when they die. If he gets caught in the blast, he’ll take damage and become stunned for a few seconds.

* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: The scythe-wielding robot can throw its weapon at you for ranged attacks. The scythe will return to its hands like a boomerang.

* DifficultButAwesome: She has speed and range over drifter prime. Despite the narrow blast graphic, it has a habit of registering hits even when the attack looks like a miss. With that said, she’s a total glass cannon, and the platform distances were built around drifter prime’s dash distance. Expect to overshoot A LOT.

* DifficultButAwesome: She has speed and range over drifter prime. With that said, the levels were built around his dash distances, not hers. You have to start from further back, and you still run the risk of over-shooting. Also, her health penalty leaves little room for error when dodging.

* TheHeroDies: [[spoiler:Implied by the regular ending: after destroying judgement, his symthoms worsen and he can't heal with health kits anymore; to cement this further theending shows a wound opening in his stomach. All but confirmed by the special image you can view after beating the game on NG+ showing the Drifter's body in the area with the bonfire, except there is no fire now and his clothes are ragged and it looks like cobwebs coming off his body.]]
* LaserBlade: The Drifter's primary weapon of choice. There are several different designs and colours available.

* TheMusketeer: Though primarily a user of blades, the Drifter is no stranger to the use of sidearms and longarms. They may use a sword and carry two ranged weapons, fluidly switching between all three as the situation demands. Whilst only a basic pistol is available initially, the Drifter can find five other weapons.

* TurnsRed: Does not physically change colour or appearance, but the Hierophant's attack patterns begin to vary as his health decreases; precise area blasts and snaking chains are gone in favour of saturating the rows and columns of the arena unevenly.

* [[spoiler:TheHeroDies]]: [[spoiler:Implied by the regular ending: after destroying judgement, his symthoms worsen and he can't heal with health kits anymore; to cement this further theending shows a wound opening in his stomach. All but confirmed by the special image you can view after beating the game on NG+ showing the Drifter's body in the area with the bonfire, except there is no fire now and his clothes are ragged and it looks like cobwebs coming off his body.]]

* BadassBoast: For someone that never speaks, the Drifter still manages; after clearing any challenging battle (whether a small arena, or a full-on BossBattle), the Drifter will do a dramatic sword-flourish and slam it point first into the ground.
* BadassCape: The Drifter starts with a red one (or black, on NewGamePlus) and can find various alternatives via exploration and unlocking. Most of them do something cool or useful, on top of looking pretty slick.

* [[spoiler: TheHeroDies]]: [[spoiler:Implied by the regular ending. All but confirmed by the special image you can view after beating the game on NG+ showing the Drifter's body in the area with the bonfire, except there is no fire now and his clothes are ragged and it looks like there may be cobwebs coming off his body. ]]

** NewGamePlus mode takes this and cranks it up a notch, since the outfit you start with reduces your Max HP to 2, and finding/unlocking the alternate outfits is not a simple task.
* LightningBruiser: See the above paragraphs.

* TragicKeepsake: [[spoiler:The Guardian's cape, once he succumbs to the sickness, is an item Drifter can take and equip.]]

** ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: A second Laser Sword that can be thrown like a javelin at an opponent before returning like a boomerang to the Drifter, hitting whatever gets in the way of its return arc.

* CrusadingWidower: The death of his wife and child, resulting from the sickness, lead him to start travelling and following the Jackal.
* OneManArmy: As cutscenes and [=NPC=] dialogue show, he is more than capable of defending himself against great numbers by himself. [[spoiler:Unfortunately, even the mightiest of warriors is no match for the mysterious sickness.]]
* RealMenWearPink: His gear is mainly pink-colored with a bit of blue and brown here and there, he's also the bulkiest-looking npc in the game ''and'' he has the deepest, um, [[VoiceGrunting "voice"]].
** Also, you ''really'' can't deny that his spartan-esque helmet and furry cape, despite being pink, look ''hella manly''.

* {{BFS}}: Weapon of choice.

* TakenForGranite: Partially-petrified, with green crystals rising from his back and coating an entire arm. [[spoiler:When defeated, he becomes fully petrified. Then falls apart from a CleanCut.]]

* AuthorityEqualsAsskicking: Absolutely the case here.

* LargeAndInCharge: Bosses are traditionally large in this game, but the Hierophant is ''big''; easily twice the height of the Drifter.

* TotemPoleTrench: [[spoiler:He's actually a very tiny birdman standing on the shoulders of a much larger creature.]]

* ColorMotifs: A sickly magenta is associated with it, which is also the color of Drifter's blood in cutscenes, as well as mysterious pylons and containers that crackle in a way that's evocative of a Geiger counter. [[spoiler: And the Modules themselves, hinting at some unclear connection between them]].

* GodsHandsAreTied: [[spoiler:Due to Judgement stealing its powers, the Jackal is unable to defeat it and must call for outside help from the drifters. Outside of appearing in visions to guide the drifters, it can't offer any more assistance.]]

[[folder: The Sentients]]

* CoupDeGrace: Unlike most other bosses, Judgement does not ''immediately'' "die" when reaching 0 HP. It sits there, breathing heavily, unable to move, attack, or defend itself. [[spoiler:The player must actively, conciously execute the finishing blow, in which the Drifter uses a sort of FinishingMove.]]

* TheJuggernaut: Huge. Absolutely huge. Constantly follows the Drifter as they take the Modules needed to unlock doors throughout the dungeons. Seemingly unstoppable. Until you come face to face with it during the final confrontation, there is nothing you can do whenever it appears.
* LightningBruiser: Very much the case.

Four biomechanical monstrosities that appeared in the old world and brought destruction to the land. Their remains are found in each region where they were finally defeated.

* {{Expy}}: Of the God Warriors from Manga/NausicaaOfTheValleyOfTheWind. Along with similar designs, they both are largely responsible for the post-apocalyptic state of their worlds after appearing out of nowhere
* GreaterScopeVillain: Judgement might be the central enemy of the Drifter, but the Titans are what nearly destroyed the world in the first place and their influence is still felt to this day.
* OutsideContextProblem: They're long dead by the time of the game, but when they first showed up, there was no clue to what they were or why they existed. They then proceeded to destroy ''everything''.

Suffering from a mysterious affliction, the Drifter sets off on a mission to FindTheCure

It will not be easy. And he is not the first.

* TheChosenMany: The Drifter is not the first to seek the Modules, or the core, or to suffer from the affliction. But they may yet be the first to succeed.

** ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: A second Laser Sword that can be thrown like a javelin at an opponent before returning like a boomerang to the Drifter, hitting whatever gets in the way of its return arc.

A Mysterious traveler who saves The Drifter after he briefly passes out from his illness. He seems to be guided by the same jackal-like entity that guides The Drifter (i.e. [[Main/PlayerCharacter you]]), however, he also seems to be affected by the very same illness that affects that haunts you through the game

Suffering from a mysterious affliction, the Drifter sets off on a mission to FindTheCure.

** The NintendoSwitch version also added two new weapons:

Four biomechanical monstrosities that suddenly appeared in the old world and brought destruction to the land. Their remains are found in each region where they were finally defeated.

* {{Expy}}: Of the God Warriors from NausicaaOfTheValleyOfTheWind. They both share similar designs, appeared out of nowhere, and are largely responsible for the post-apocalyptic state of their worlds.

* OutsideContextProblem: They're long dead by the time of the game, but when they first showed up, it was just out of nowhere shortly after the Immortal Cell went critical, with no clue to what they were or why they existed. They then proceeded to destroy ''everything''.

** CoolSword: One, found in the north-west part of the area, fights with a sword.

[[folder:The Sorcerer]]
Mini-boss found in the South Zone; a robotic looking entity.
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* {{Fireball}}: Summons fire orbs as an attack.
[[/folder]]