There’s a part of me as enamored with Hyper Light Breaker, the latest project from Heart Machine, as it is frustrated. Players will doubtless remember the studio’s first title, the acclaimed Hyper Light Drifter and its wonderful fusion of old-school-style sprite work with Zelda-like dungeon crawling and exploration. The world felt mysterious and new, with its wordless narrative conveying the emotional tale of the Drifter and their fatal condition (echoing studio founder Alx Preston’s struggle with congenital heart disease).
Hyper Light Breaker isn’t that. The fully 3D visuals, open-world landscape, and gliding may draw a slight twinge of comparison to your Breath of the Wilds and Tears of the Kingdoms. The trippy sci-fi aesthetic and fusion of close-range hack-and-slash combat with long-range shooting will remind you of Hyper Light Drifter. However, the gameplay loop and world design are several steps below its predecessor.
“Even if you can excuse the lack of narrative elements at this stage, things only slightly improve with Breaker’s gameplay loop.”
Recently launched into Steam Early Access, the title focuses on the Breakers, who venture to the mysterious Overgrowth to defeat the Abyss King. To what end is unknown, but doing so requires defeating three bosses known as Crowns. Reaching them is another task, as players must collect Prisms to open their gates. It’s all simple enough to take in, presented wordlessly with layers of complexity upon further analysis, right? Well, no – problems emerge beyond the initially dry way you’re tossed into the fray.
What are the Breakers? Why are they called this? What has the Abyss King done to warrant such a steadfast quest to eliminate him? What will killing the Abyss King solve? How does the Overgrowth completely morph after a cycle? All these questions and more are pretty much unknown. And even if you believe that early access could omit the more important narrative details, having the absolute bare minimum to constitute the set-up doesn’t cut it.
It’s made all the worse when you’re exploring Overgrowth. Mysterious ruins, mercenary-like soldiers, alien creatures, and the remains of what seem to be bygone civilizations drive you to want to know more. Unfortunately, Hyper Light Breaker doesn’t feature much deeper lore to familiarize you with the place. It doesn’t present any intriguing mysteries to pursue beyond some buildings that evoke Drifter deja vu, and that’s a shame. When you’re first roaming the neon-swathed landscape, moody synth setting the tone as you’re beset on all sides, the sheer atmosphere is easy to get lost in.
Even if you can excuse the lack of narrative elements at this stage, things only slightly improve with Breaker’s gameplay loop. After starting at base and squaring away your loadout, you teleport into Overgrowth and begin a “run.” There are three Crowns to fight, with Prisms scattered all over the map. Each requires a different amount, so while it makes sense to challenge the two-Prism boss first, you could easily take on the three-Prism threat if desired.
“Of course, with your measly grey-quality sword and gun, alongside the lack of passive abilities and healing items, a quick death is more or less assured. “
As for the Prisms, these can be found in locked underground rooms or obtained from defeating Elite enemies. However, slaying enemies in Overgrowth will attract the Abyss King’s attention. He’ll send reinforcements after you while raising the Danger Level – as it gets higher, more powerful mini-bosses, like the Engineer, may spawn to take you down.
Of course, with your measly grey-quality sword and gun, alongside the lack of passive abilities and healing items, a quick death is more or less assured. The kicker is that you get four “rezzes” – one is consumed on death and allows for respawning back at base. Any equipment, from weapons to gear, loses durability in the process. Die enough times, and even that spiffy Orange-tier weapon that synergizes well with your loadout will be gone soon enough.
What happens when all four rezzes are consumed? You gain the ability to reset the world and effectively start a new cycle. And like the most annoying consolation prize ever, your “ranks” increase, earning items like Gold Rations. Those can unlock passive upgrades for your character, including increased gliding and hoverboard time, or the ability to use healing items (more accurately, to convert the Gems discovered in the Overgrowth into healing charges).
So while Hyper Light Breaker is a rogue-like game, as advertised, there are also elements of an extraction title. You can extract from Overgrowth at any time, though earlier is better – that’s because the extraction process requires slaying enemies and Elites to complete. And the last thing you want is to be trapped in an enclosed space with an Engineer, unleashing all manner of explosive shots and mines.
Extraction won’t consume any rezzes, but on the flip side, not consuming rezzes won’t complete cycles and provide Golden Rations on leveling up. You could also complete a cycle by defeating all the Crowns but the chances of that happening, especially with this current level of balance, are astronomically low.
“However, there are occasions where shifting from melee to ranged combat can feel awkward, never mind trying to slash at flying enemies.”
The overall gameplay loop thus devolves into the following: Teleport into Overgrowth. Find the nearest point of interests with weapons, guns, whatever. Loot them and then extract before things get too dangerous. Build a decent arsenal and maybe refresh the vendors’ stocks for additional options, either with currency earned from each run or by waiting. Once you feel confident enough, gather some Prisms, and when you’re extra confident, take on the bosses.
If it sounds tedious, that’s because it is. All the extra steps and twists to what should be a rogue-like where you explore a barren yet beautifully realized world feel unnecessary. And even if you do get into a groove of preparation, slowly but surely assembling the best weapons and passives available, the fact that some can be lost in one or two deaths makes it feel like a waste.
Mind you, this is before we get to all the other problems with Hyper Light Breaker, specifically its combat. Anyone who’s played Drifter, let alone any hack-and-slash title in the past few years, will expect a certain level of fluidity. You’ll get that for the most part – two-handed weapons carry a heftier feel; dual blades feel nice and speedy; and they each have innate talents that come in handy.
However, there are occasions where shifting from melee to ranged combat can feel awkward, never mind trying to slash at flying enemies. Some abilities also have a painfully long recovery, which is enough time to get smacked down. Dashing feels decent, though the stamina recovery and only two dashes (with more pips obtained via gear) don’t help when you’re getting battered by a mini-boss. You can parry attacks but that feels awkward more often than not.
“The lack of random events, beyond whatever the Abyss King throws at you or notable figures to meet beyond a vendor that sells some underwhelming loot, also doesn’t help.”
Enemies can also feel astoundingly punishing. Before you obtain any armor, a few hits are enough to kill, and the Overgrowth generously tosses several ranged foes to go with melee enemies that can charge from miles off. Then you have the flying enemies which shield their comrades and unleash sweeping lasers.
Things become more manageable with armor, but you’ll still have to deal with annoyances like leaping enemies perfectly predicting where to land in your path. As for bosses, I’ve only faced one so far, but suffice it to say that some tuning is required. Beyond batteries to refill your ranged weapons, why it needs an excessive amount of constantly respawning smaller enemies is beyond me.
If all of this wasn’t enough, the Overgrowth isn’t all that fun to explore. Any sense of wonder at discovering a new cave or section of the map is quickly diminished since you’re just out to scrounge for resources. The lack of random events, beyond whatever the Abyss King throws at you or notable figures to meet beyond a vendor that sells some underwhelming loot, also doesn’t help.
Some sections become hazardous as the Danger Level rises, and remaining within them will sap your health. These can be intriguing…except when you haven’t collected the loot and must suddenly race through to get it. More time before the health drain begins would be ideal, and in fact, not being immediately bombarded with meteors and reinforcements when I’m trying to check for upgrades would also be swell.
” For now, it’s little more than a rough experiment which confuses progression for tedium.”
To say that Hyper Light Breaker isn’t what I expected would be an understatement. Sure, it’s early access, but even the graphical options were downright pitiful. V-Sync wasn’t initially available, which meant forcing it through the Nvidia Panel. Heart Machine has since added it and promised further performance optimization, which is good, given some of the random frame drops that occur.
Even if it receives extensive balance updates, new content, an actual story to go with the setting, and a busier Overgrowth beyond relentlessly throwing enemies at you, Hyper Light Breaker has some serious design issues. I see the potential in the world and combat, and the visuals, coupled with the music, are imbued with this unique otherworldly quality that few other games outside of this universe can replicate. However, for now, it’s little more than a rough experiment which confuses progression for tedium.
This game was reviewed on PC.
