For Better And Worse,Possessor(s) Offers a Hellish World You Can Get Lost In

By Elijah Gonzalez | November 11, 2025 | 12:00pm

Video Games Reviews possessor(s)

For Better And Worse,Possessor(s) Offers a Hellish World You Can Get Lost In

I don’t know if you’ve heard, but a lot of games these days are inspired by a certain 1986 NES title, one that helped popularize backtracking-focused platformers: of course, I’m referring to Metroid. In the decades since, games in this mold—which I’ll refer to as “search action” to avoid using a dreaded portmanteau—have become one of the most popular styles of experience around.

However, while Possessor(s), the latest from Heart Machine (Hyper Light Drifter, Solar Ash, Hyper Light Breaker), squarely falls in this camp, it turns out that its open-ended world design is its least compelling attribute. Instead, the game leaves a mark through its central pair of flawed characters whose relationship begins with utter contempt before they realize they have more in common than sets them apart. Because while Possessor(s)’s open-ended map can cause some real headaches, its brutal and convincing narrative backdrop largely makes it worth trudging through some unpleasant treks.

The story begins with a cataclysm. Luca is a teenage girl living in a corporate metropolis owned and operated by the energy company Agradyne, until one day, the organization’s “experiments” break loose. Having escaped from being used as batteries, demons begin to possess white-collar wrongdoers and bystanders alike. In the chaos, Luka watches her friend die and then loses her legs under falling debris. As she crawls from the wreckage while bleeding out, she meets a similarly dying demon named Rem, who offers a Faustian bargain. He’ll save her life and give her new legs if she offers something in return: let him possess her long enough so he can go back to the demon realm. From here, the two set off on a winding journey that involves gathering up a series of MacGuffins (in this case, human eyeballs needed for a biometric lock) so Rem can get home.

Most Popular

Possessor(s) review

To start with what makes this quest trying at times, Possessor(s)’s world can sometimes feel designed to waste your time. While exploring a vast backdrop is the appeal of search-action games, the problem with this one is how it gates progression. Instead of preventing you from exploring a region by putting a barrier at the beginning, it will instead frequently put its blocker (like a door you can’t open) near the end of a long, relatively linear sequence—after trudging through congested hallways of floating skulls and nightmare rats, you’ll find out that you actually need some specific ability to you don’t have to finish the final chunk of the area which has the eyeball MacGuffin you’re seeking. Now you need to head back in a straight line and try a different route, only for that to very possibly end the same way.

While I’ll admit that I had a particularly unlucky run of it due to missing one specific area that very literally held the key that I was looking for, even after solving this long detour, I would frequently have to return to a section of the map, go deep in a straight line, only to hit another snag a little bit further past my last blocker. This is distinct from better-designed search-action games that are more like a labyrinth with numerous areas you can make actual progress in, with your progression slowly radiating out from the starting point, rather than this experience, which lets you explore various dead ends when there is frequently only one correct way to go. It certainly doesn’t help that the background art is mostly comprised of drab grays and browns, as this destroyed metropolis is rendered in a simplified 3D art style that doesn’t pop as much as the lively 2D character models. While the lo-poly look of the environments is cool in a vacuum, there is a visual repetition that eventually proves grating.

Thankfully, platforming and bashing feral demons proves rewarding enough to make the first trip through a particular biome largely enjoyable. Heavily inspired by platform fighting games like Super Smash Bros., you’re armed with agile dashes, a parry that looks just like the one in Smash Ultimate, and a quick movement speed that mitigates some of the repetition. The upgrades you receive only further increase the fun of moving through this space, even if many of the most enticing ones come a bit too late in this 12-15-ish hour ride.

As for the battles against demons, these hellish foes are mostly reasonably crafted, with some big ol’ windups that make it feel reasonable to parry or I-frame dodge through what’s incoming. While you can wail on many of the small fry foes, it’s best to play things smart and slow when it comes to the bigger bads. Or well, slow is relative: the dash speed and ability to cancel many of your moves mid-swing lets you slip and slide across these stages like a pro Melee player. Eventually, you’ll be using dash to quickly close the distance, allowing you to rapidly reposition as you duck and redirect incoming bullets and blows.

Another compelling aspect of these fights is that your arsenal of seemingly mundane weapons are rewarding to mix and match—these include a baseball bat, computer mouse (which is extremely powerful), and leather gloves that let you suplex guys. However, these can be woven into attack sequences to quickly deal massive damage, as you alternate between normal attacks that charge your special moves and more damaging strikes. When enough damage is dealt enough, you’ll stun your foe, setting them up for aerial juggles that last as long as you keep them in the air. Adding to the sense of customization, weapons can be affixed with weird parts you come across, like a literal pair of lungs, to grant powerful passives that can be game changers.

However, the real heart of Possessor(s) ends up being its characters. For starters, they’re all paired with beautifully rendered illustrations that combine eye-catching colors with details that blend the quotidian and paranormal. From a badass swordswoman with a demon dog to Rem’s very cute anime blushies, these portraits convey a lot of personality.

It goes a long way in helping us get through the earlier hours of the story, which mostly consists of our co-protagonists, Luca and Rem, relentlessly bickering with each other. Thankfully, their alliance is increasingly tinged with complexities, as Luca is forced to reckon with the fact that her assumptions were wrong and that she trusted the wrong people in her past life. Meanwhile, Rem attempts to navigate horrific memories of human-wrought tortures while trying to get over his toxic ex-boyfriend.

Despite their very different backgrounds, Luca and Rem’s stories dovetail quite neatly as the narrative reflects on recovering from abusive relationships (and also apocalyptic mass murder). Sure, it takes too long to get to these meaningful moments, but there are some well-explored threads here, like critiques of an exploitative capitalist hell-world where humans are much more monstrous than their horned counterparts.

All things considered though, this experience is far from perfect, something embodied by its initial tendency to lead you into dead ends. Thankfully, these roadblocks eventually gave way to some real progress, both in terms of traversal and storytelling, as the silky smooth movement alleviated some of these long, dull hikes. While Possessor(s) doesn’t fully break from a crowded field of search-action games, its compelling characters and pointed commentary give it some personality of its own. If you’re eager to explore man-made horrors, this flaming wreck of a company town will provide.

Possessor(s) was developed by Heart Machine and published by Devolver Digital. Our review is based on the PC version. It is also available for the PlayStation 5.

Elijah Gonzalez is an associate editor for Endless Mode. In addition to playing the latest, he also loves anime, movies, and dreaming of the day he finally gets through all the Like a Dragon games. You can follow him on Bluesky @elijahgonzalez.bsky.social.