Hyper Light Breaker: Fun solo or with friends
The highly anticipated co-op rogue-lite from Heart Machine, Hyper Light Breaker, launches into Early Access tomorrow. Before jumping in, here’s a preview of the game’s multiplayer experience.
Hyper Light Breaker launches in Early Access on Steam tomorrow, January 14th. This preview took place in mid-December, so there has been some time for developer Heart Machine to continue polishing, tweaking, and fixing any issues before launch. Plus, this is also launching in Early Access, so even after it becomes publicly playable it is still a work in progress.
Tomorrow players will finally be able to jump into the procedurally generated biomes of Hyper Light Breaker, the newest game from developer Heart Machine (Hyper Light Drifter, Solar Ash). Breaker does take place in the same universe as Hyper Light Drifter, the smash hit from 2016 that put Heart Machine on the map. This new entry takes place decades before the original and explores the mysteries of a long-forgotten land, the Overgrowth. Not only that, it makes the jump to 3D and adds optional co-op. Journey solo or with up to two additional teammates to uncover fragmented memories and gather resources to build up your outpost. Use a mix of hack-and-slash melee, long-range weaponry, and unique abilities to tackle enemies, including the challenging bosses, or Crowns.
Hyper Light Breaker, Heart Machine, 2025
Before jumping into the procedurally generated areas of the Overgrowth, players will have to choose a character and a loadout. Hyper Light Breaker will launch with three playable characters, with more to come during the Early Access period. Choose a melee weapon, a long-range weapon, and a more specialized ability. My personal favorite was the ability to summon a large tree-like golem to fight alongside you. Since I only had an hour to get the hang of the controls, it was great to have something to fight for me. Thankfully, I did also have one of the game’s developers by my side as well. Thanks to Alx Preston (the Founder of Heart Machine) and Brad Crespo from publisher Arc Games for guiding me through the experience.
The outpost is a sort of headquarters where players can interact with various characters and shops. Buy new weapons, gear, abilities, and unlock fragmented memories of the Overgrowth. I am curious to see how this hub will change and grow as the player brings back resources from expeditions, and what new characters and shops will be unlocked. But the most interesting part of the outpost was discovering the lost memories. These lost moments of history present themselves almost like a comic panel or storyboard. So they are images, but they are excellent pieces of art and give more details about the various characters and the world itself. This is something I am very interested in exploring further.
Hyper Light Breaker, Heart Machine, 2025
Venturing into the Overgrowth is where the action starts. Each biome is a procedurally generated open-world with a Crown as the ultimate challenge. Monsters will roam the world, but players will have to find and defeat three elite monsters to unlock access to the Crown. Traversal is accentuated by hoverboards and gliders, and even a few jump pads to leap up onto and explore tall structures. These biomes won’t last forever, but players can return to the outpost if needed. Defeat at the hands of a monster is one way, but there are also certain points on the map that can transport you back. Activating one of these teleportation spots starts a sort of cage match, where the team is locked into a small area and has to defeat waves of enemies to earn the trip back to the outpost. Players can return to the same procedurally generated biome a few times, but eventually, it will be gone for good.
Hyper Light Breaker, Heart Machine, 2025
This was not my first time trying out Hyper Light Breaker. I got to play a single-player version at Summer Game Fest this past summer. You can read about those impressions here too if you are interested. Having this comparison was helpful because this more recent preview included more interesting mechanics, such as the cage match mentioned above, the jump pads, and generally more interesting loot and abilities to find. But most of all, I am glad that ahead of the Early Access launch tomorrow I know that Hyper Light Breaker will be fun to jump into on my own or with a few friends.
Thanks to Heart Machine and Arc Games for the opportunity to preview this exciting game. Hyper Light Breaker launches into Early Access January 14th, 2025 on PC via Steam.
More:Hyper Light Breaker: A Worthy Successor? Hands-On Impressions from Summer Game Fest
