Hyper Light Breaker first hands-on preview — Breaking time

Recently, GamingTrend had the opportunity to play the Early Access version of Hyper Light Breaker a little earlier than early. We sat down with the devs to check out the rogue-lite game and fight the first boss. While I was already excited for the game, what I played only amplified that excitement.

First, an introduction. Hyper Light Breaker is the prequel to Hyper Light Drifter, though the two don’t seem to have much in common story or gameplay wise. Where Drifter was similar to 2D Zelda, Breaker is a rogue-lite, 3D action game. You pick from one of three characters, head out into the world on a run, defeat a boss, and hopefully return alive with all of your loot intact. Drifter had some gorgeous pixel art and minimalist storytelling, and Breaker continues that tradition with some beautiful visuals and minimalist storytelling moments you can unlock, though there is actually dialogue this time around outside of those.

The basic flow of Breaker is simple but satisfying. You start in the hub as one of three playable characters. Here, you can upgrade your character, equipment, and skills before heading out into the world for a run. This will consume one segment of a meter, so put a pin in that. You then spawn in a large area with three bosses to defeat, though you need to fight them in order and unlock their arenas by finding keys hidden in the world. As you explore, however, a danger meter is constantly rising, causing stronger and stronger enemies to spawn as it levels up. Essentially, you want to get in, find the key, defeat a boss, grab some loot, then retreat before things get too dicey.

If you manage to make it out without dying, which can be pretty difficult as turning on the teleporter will require you to survive against infinitely spawning enemies, the used segment of that meter will return and you can do it all over again. The world will only reset and randomize once the meter runs out entirely, so theoretically you could keep the same world forever.

That’s not to say the game is easy, far from it. I played with a lot of great gear already unlocked in co-op with one of the developers, and I often ran out of healing items before even reaching the boss. Thankfully, I’m pretty good at action games, and was able to defeat the boss twice in a row without taking much damage. Breaker feels like a rogue-lite character action game, with each weapon having a vastly different moveset.

I started out with a weapon similar to the Whirligig Saw from Bloodborne; basically a chainsaw on a stick. I generally prefer faster weapons that let me stay on the move, but this heavier implement felt great to use. There are several, vastly different weapons to equip, from short swords to hammers, all of which have their own attack strings and special moves, but that only forms the centerpiece of your moveset. You also have a firearm for long ranged attacks, a satisfying dodge that can transition into riding a hoverboard for extra speed, and even a glider to aid in exploration. The world has tons of high points you can reach with jump pads, then jump off and glide to a far off point. Yes, a lot of games have gliders now after Breath of the Wild, but with the rogue-lite gameplay here it always feels like you’re in a hurry rather than leisurely exploring.

It all gives Hyper Light Breaker a “go go go!” vibe that’s a lot of frantic fun. I imagine it’ll get even more hectic in a less curated co-op experience. Do you split up your team, sending one person off to grab the key while the other two make a b-line for the boss arena, risking that the one might die with no one to revive them? Or do you stick together, taking more time but allowing the danger meter to creep ever higher?

I was impressed with what I played, but that was just early access, there’s even more Hyper Light Breaker in development with new weapons, bosses, Breakers, and more coming down the line. Needless to say, I’m incredibly excited to see what the team can pull off here, and to just get my hands on the game again. Luckily, if you’re reading this on the day it goes up, we don’t have to wait long as Hyper Light Breaker enters Steam Early Access tomorrow on January 14th, 2025. For more on the game as it develops, stay tuned to GamingTrend.

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