Hyper Light Breaker takes the style and tone of 2016’s Hyper Light Drifter all within a 3D roguelike adventure. While I was able to go hands-on with the game during Play Day 2024, I sadly wasn’t able to experience one of its coolest features, the coop. Regardless, there’s something special about this game’s overall gameloop, presentation, characters, and roguelike elements that has me eager to watch it evolve over the course of its early access period.
Introduction to Hyper Light Breaker
Hyper Light Breaker is set in the Overgrowth, a mysterious new realm within the Hyper Light universe. Developed by Heart Machine, the game embraces fully realized 3D environments and offers a mix of exploration, combat, and cooperative gameplay. Upon entering the Overgrowth, players are thrown into a procedurally generated world that has quite a bit to do, and player choice dictates the approach to various missions. While the size of the map was intimidating at first, there are quick means of exploration via a hoverboard that can also get you across bodies of water. Time is of the essence as you make your way across the map because enemy spawns seemed to get increasingly difficult the more time I spent making my way to mission markers. Luckily, if you do die, you have a few more chances to re-enter the same world to get further, and I confirmed that any boss characters defeated during a run remain defeated, even after death, but lives are limited.
One of the core elements of Hyper Light Breaker is its combat system, which is designed to be both frenetic and strategic. The character loadout is pretty crucial as each playable character can be customized with various equipment to differentiate themselves from the group. Further, weapons each have rarities and added effects to add even more options to a loadout. While playing, there was a looming fear of the increasing challenges that kept the gameplay tense but still rewarding. As you progress, the difficulty ramps up, pushing you to master the mechanics and make the most of the resources and upgrades you collect.
Customization and Upgrades
Collecting and upgrading weapons and items is crucial in Hyper Light Breaker. The game offers a diverse range of tools and upgrades that players can discover and unlock, allowing for a high degree of customization in how you approach each run. While I mainly focused on offensive builds, there are options for defensive builds that will likely benefit any party. Additionally, this roguelike has a narrative found in fragmented memories of the Crowns, the mysterious defenders of the Overgrowth. These memories provide insights into the world and its lore through illustrations without words.
Heart Machine’s Commitment
Heart Machine’s journey to this point has been marked by significant changes and challenges. Following Embracer Group’s divestment of Gearbox Publishing, Heart Machine has continued to work on this title. This shift has allowed them to maintain creative control and ensure that their vision for Hyper Light Breaker is fully realized. The transition from Gearbox Publishing to Heart Machine appears seamless, with the studio’s dedication to innovation and quality shining through in every aspect of the game.
The passion and commitment of the Heart Machine team are evident in Hyper Light Breaker. This feels like a culmination of both Hyper Light Drifter and Solar Ash, and the fact that this team consistently pushes and tests themselves across genres is commendable. My time with Hyper Light Breaker was short, but I was able to get a taste of its quality. The team is entering Early Access with a viable product that will likely require feedback on balancing the roguelike systems. Still, from what they told me, the delays are due to them wanting to provide Early Access players with a product that is enjoyable out of the box, but through the help of the community, it can reach its fullest potential. There’s plenty to look forward to when Hyper Light Breaker launches into Early Access this Summer.
Hyper Light Breaker is coming to PC via Steam Early Access this Summer.
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