Gaming

‘Hyper Light Breaker’ Has the Potential To Be My New Favorite Co-Op Roguelite, but It Needs More Time To Cook (Impressions)

Heart Machine’s new co-op roguelite marks a new path for the ‘Hyper Light’ universe, but its current state leaves much to be desired.

Hyper Light Breaker Running through Valley
Screenshot: Heart Machine

I’ll be the first to admit it. When I discovered Heart Machine’s new entry in the Hyper Light series would be a co-op roguelite, packed with randomized loot pickups and all the other jazz associated with the genre, I wasn’t hopeful. It’s a tired formula at this point. The decision to take the atmospheric world of Drifter toward a more arcadey, Risk of Rain-esque direction rubbed me the wrong way. As someone who loved Hyper Light Drifter, I’ve dreamt of a single-player sequel that could live up to the magic of its initial debut. However, after spending a few hours in Hyper Light Breaker, I’m happy to say I’ve changed my tune.

Though it’s certainly not shy about its “Early Access” badge, with a little more time in the oven, Hyper Light Breaker could be my new favorite co-op experience.

Videos by VICE

‘Hyper Light Breaker’ is a stylized blend of some of my favorite genres

Hyper Light Breaker sends you and up to two others into the Overgrowth. Various biomes populate the map, all with randomized loot to pick up and constantly invading enemies. Your mission, ultimately, is to slay the Abyss King. To do that, you’ll need to collect Prisms around the map, which grant access to three separate Crown bosses. Once all three Crowns are killed, you gain access to the Abyss King.

Hyper Light Breaker Gliding with Friends
Screenshot: Heart Machine

Staying in the Overgrowth for too long will strengthen the Abyss King’s influence. Causing enemies to spawn more rapidly and, in turn, make your experience more challenging. To offset this, Extraction Zones are available to escape back to your home base with all the loot acquired in your run. In a sense, this essentially adds a layer of “extraction shooter” (slasher?) to Hyper Light Breaker, as dying too many times will cause you to lose your hard-earned spoils.

At your home base, you can strengthen your bond with various vendors or spend currency for mild, somewhat underwhelming upgrades. These vendors, in my experience, appear to have the best gear available for your dive into the Overgrowth. You can find weapons and gear out in the field, but they rarely match what the vendors have in stock. Once you’re ready for your next run, you can pick one of three available characters (at this time) and roll out.

Beautiful to behold when I’m not getting stomped into oblivion

When it comes to atmosphere, Hyper Light Breaker carries the torch well from its predecessor. The various areas around the map are gorgeous, beaming with signature pastels and glowing neon colors. Glitchy particle effects burst around my character as they slice and blast enemies away. The sound design, especially the music, plays like a natural extension of Drifter. Heart Machine knows how to cook up an audio and visual delicacy, and I vibe with it so much. Yup, this is definitely a Hyper Light game.

Combat, when it works in your favor, feels sharp and satisfying. Each of the various melee weapons has unique move sets and special attacks, and the assortment of firearms adds diverse ways to dish out damage. You can dash around to avoid attacks or perfectly parry incoming damage.

Hyper Light Breaker Boss Battle
Screenshot: Heart Machine

When you find yourself surrounded by wave after wave of enemy spawns, however, the cracks start to show. Parrying appears to be directional, meaning you’ll only block damage directly in front of you. As you frantically slash your way to the center of a mosh pit, you quickly realize you’re better off dashing around than trying to parry anything. Some special attacks lock your character in an animation that can’t be canceled but can still be punished by enemies. Take too big of a hit from an enemy, and your character will flinch or, worse, be completely knocked down, exposing them to even more damage.

a few missing pieces make ‘Hyper Light breaker’ feel incomplete

And when I say damage, I mean damage. The slightest caress from even the most basic enemies will shred your life bar. When you first begin, and even after a few hours, there’s almost nothing you can do to replenish health. There are plants and orbs scarcely placed around to help regain slivers of health. But, it’ll take a significant amount of time before you unlock even one medkit to bring in future runs. Hyper Light Breaker is extremely punishing, so much so that it almost feels like an oversight. In a game where failing means potentially losing gear, one slip-up could essentially end a run and force a restart.

Hyper Light Breaker Hoverboard
Screenshot: Heart Machine

When you manage to stock up on powerful gear, you’re likely ready to face the Crown bosses. While the game clearly lays your path out for you – taking down three Crowns and the Abyss King – half of that is missing from the current Early Access build. At this time, the Abyss King is inaccessible, meaning you can’t actually “finish” a run just yet. The third Crown, while accessible, is just a repeat of a previous boss. You can farm up materials to buy upgrades and strengthen your vendors, making future runs of Crown-slaying a bit easier, but not much else.

Hyper Light at the end of the tunnel

Despite lacking in some departments and needing substantial tweaks in others, Hyper Light Breaker has the bones of a fantastic co-op game. It’s Early Access, after all, and while that doesn’t shield it from criticism, it’s understandable why it feels a bit bare at the moment. It currently sits at a “Mixed” rating on Steam, but Heart Machine has taken the criticism with grace, addressing feedback from players and announcing upcoming updates.

Screenshot: Heart Machine

For those looking for a “complete” experience, you won’t find it here just yet. Hyper Light Breaker has a solid foundation, but needs a bit more meat before I can convince my friends to jump in. After a few more updates, though? It’s liable to become your next co-op obsession – I can already feel it becoming mine.


Hyper Light Breaker is available now on PC. A code was provided by the publisher for the sake of review. Reviewed on PC.