We played Hyper Light Breaker ahead of Early Access and this new world faces some big challenges.
Hyper Light Breaker, the second title in the hugely successful Hyper Light series, just opened Early Access, and we’ve already faced the Crowns. Gamespace got a chance to go hands-on with this stylish 3D action adventure and find out what’s in store for players eager to cut through the Overgrowth.
A New Hyper Light
Hyper Light Breaker is a 3D co-op action RPG with roguelite elements that put players in the shoes of a Breaker. These powerful warriors are tasked with exploring a world in disarray and bringing order back to this realm. Between order and chaos are the malevolent forces of the Crowns, huge bosses that must be overcome. This new installment in the Hyper Light franchise comes from developer Heart Machine and is published by Arc Games. The partnership between a quirky indie outfit and the studio behind Star Trek Online draws players back into the past and expands the action into a fully-fledged 3D world that we logged in to explore.
Leap In
Logging into Hyper Light Breaker for the first time, it’s clear that this is not the game I remember. Despite some clear aesthetic lineage, the unique mix of pixel art graphics, sci-fi inspiration, and the muted palette that draws on the same oppressive atmosphere that made me hark back to Evangelion’s Second Impact are all washed away with a welcoming player hub. The central player hub for the Breaker Early Access is a bright mix of endearing characters, odd personalities, and ramshackle stalls all wonderfully presented among mysterious stone ruins. Tumbledown storefronts and interesting back alleys intertwine with neon signage and smiling shoppe keeps decorating a space that’s obviously built on the ruins of what came before.
I took control of a Breaker. One of three hero characters available to choose from in the Early Access launch, these enigmatic masked figures all come with their own name and light dusting of lore. While they seemingly have their own playstyle and look, the safe zone is an opportunity to build craft, sell, buy, stock up, and prepare to leap in.
Joining a party and readying up, my companion and I selected form a trio of available instances, each of whom are instantly recognizable. We ventured out into a green island teeming with life and danger all around, but other options like a Colosseum were open for business too. Each of these instances, as you’d imagine, contains its own roguelike array of items, a bunch of varied enemies, and some big bads. In this case, two Crown boss encounters and the final big bad.
Cutting through these enemies can play a variety of ways. While each Breaker builds on their own playstyle, loot is probably more important still. A variety of ability mods and weapons can drop from mobs, crates, and other map activities. Heavy swords that have a slow swinging heft, spears, claws, and even automatic weapons provide options for players looking to change out their weapon choices. This can be crucial, and despite the early stage of development, it felt like ranged weapons were already the optimal choice for beginners like us. Getting these weapons, collecting resources to craft health kits, culling mobs, all ensure that players need to keep pushing forward, clear enough content and unlock access to each of the game’s main objectives.
Getting across this beautifully rendered backdrop to do that was easy thanks to the hard light hoverboard and little robotic Sycoms that accompany each breaker. The cool little nod to the previous Hyper Light installment is accompanied by other familiar movement skills. A nostalgia-inducing dash, allows Breakers to avoid damage during boss attacks and minor mob encounters, while the decision to add a glider is a little more Fortnite than Hyper Light.
Heavy is the…
While there’s an aesthetic feel that certainly leans in towards the like of Fortnite, Wayfinder, and even Dauntless, the developers rework ideas from titles like these. Unlocking access to the big bosses isn’t gated through a traditional dungeon clear and gate, instead Breakers simply need to clear enough of the map and collect the progression pips linked to this. As solo or co-op companions farm more c content, things become more dangerous. Mini bosses spawn, environmental attacks can come in from the atmosphere, and I assume there’s more where all that came from. Rather than squeezing players’ physical space, like in a Battle Royale,, Hyper Light breaker seems to force players towards their goal. This Crown became an immovable point on the map and the danger ratcheted up as map progression crept forward. It’s an interesting idea that should allow for decisions on risk versus reward, flexible gameplay, and a ton of room to introduce a wild array of interesting enemy encounters.
Crowns are the natural evolution to a string of very different mini-bosses and other enemies. We took on Dro and got wrecked on round 1. Thankfully players can be resurrected in instance by anybody who’s loitering with them, and even full wipes give teams more than one attempt to try without losing instance progression immediately. Run out of resurrections, and you’ll find that it’s a full wipe. If you want to get out and save your loot before heading in, however, Breakers can find an extraction point during battle, return to safety, craft more healing items, then head in to die like we did. Dro did overpower us. During the encounter, we dodged several phases. Dro shifted between massive leaps, aoe energy waves, and a sprawling twin stick inspired chain of glowing energy orbs. In the end, this boss leaned into the action encounter and simply overwhelmed us with adds. It was, admittedly fun, and definitely engaging and I do feel like the entire encounter could have still done a little more than make a closed encounter feel chaotic, as it has plenty of dimensions to play with. We didn’t have time to battle the rest of the map but there are some positives to take away from the time I had.
Hyper Light Breaker introduces some intriguing gameplay design that melds ideas from Battle Royales, dungeon crawlers, and 3D action games, then builds on the legacy of Hyperlight Drifter. While the roguish elements remain, a lot has changed, and this follow-up has taken as much from Heart Machine’s Solar Ash as the first Hyper Light. It’s a fast and fluid first look with some neat movement and cool ideas that come grafted onto it. In short, its fun but still has room to grow into something as distinctive as its predecessor. I am mildly concerned that this sequel will quickly be labeled as Hyper Light Fortnite, instead of an exciting follow-up to a standout indie adventure. Without the beautiful melancholy and enigmatic storytelling, Hyper Light Breaker will need to demonstrate its more than its predecessor to hook the masses for just one more run. You can become a Breaker soon in Steam Early Access. Check out more on the official website now.
