Polygon.com / 28.01.25

Hyper Light Breaker is not Hyper Light Drifter 2 and that's OK

If ever there was a game that embodied the maxim of Show, dont tell, its Hyper Light Drifter. The 2D action RPG developed by indie studio Heart Machine launched to critical acclaim back in 2016, buoyed by the strength of fast and frenetic gameplay, its evocative score, and a successful Kickstarter campaign during the heyday of the crowdfunding platform. Nearly a decade later, Heart Machine has returned with a prequel to its breakout hit: an open-world roguelike set in a vibrant world teeming with dangers and secrets aplenty. Hyper Light Breakers design feels heavily indebted to the likes of Risk of Rain 2, as it translates the simplified art style and moment-to-moment combat of its 2D forebear into a procedurally generated 3D setting. Players assume the role of a Breaker, a treasure-hunting warrior tasked with rebuilding the world in the wake of a terrible cataclysm. As a Breaker, youre dispatched into the Overgrowth, a wasteland ruled by the Abyss King, a mysterious antagonist with th...
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