Game of the Month (January 2025) Hyper Light Breaker

2025 looks to be a big year in gaming, with a lot of AAA games coming out that we’ve all been waiting for, and new hardware that is ready to burst from the seams of the Internet.  January has got a few remakes coming out, like Tales of Graces f Remastered and Donkey Kong Country Returns HD.  January has also got some re-releases on Steam that this PC gamer is excited about about, specifically the Steam releases of Final Fantasy Remake Rebirth and Spiderman 2.  However, for Mega Dad’s game of the month, I’m going to go talk a bit about Hyper Light Breaker, the co-op successor to Hyper Light Drifter.

Hyper Light Breaker is an open world, action rpg in the world of Hyper Light, which was started in Hyper Light Drifter released in March 2016.  Developed by Heart Machine, this game claims to be one of the first in the “open world rogue-lite” subgenre, so they’re using their Early Access status to keep their audience close for feedback and changes. 

Hyper Light Breaker takes place in the realm of the Overgrowth, a war-torn land in the World of Light.  You play a “Breaker” who quests to take down the Abyss King and his Crowns, who apparently are the cause of the world’s decline.  The open world is procedurally generated, which should allow for a ton of replayability, and has many biomes and mysteries to explore, and monsters to fight.

When Hyper Light Drifter came out, it was pixelated but stylized in a way that was different than most other games at the time.  It didn’t really explain much in words, but the gameplay made up for that.  I’m hoping that this game follows that same recipe.  While Hyper Light Drifter was isometric and focused, Breaker is third-person 3D and open world.  It almost has a Tears of the Kingdom look to it in the images and videos.  So many of us are tired of the slow, open world games coming out over the last few years, but this game has a lot of promise, between the procedurally generated world, the stylized graphics and the rogue-lite gameplay.  The Early Access tag on Hyper Light Breaker also says to me that the developers want to get this game right, and are going to actively be fixing it up as time passes to emerge as something that its audience can get immersed in.  I can really see this game as one that you could just pick up and explore in short bursts, just as easily as you can get lost in its labyrinths and ruins for hours.  

Hyper Light Breaker releases in Early Access on January 14, 2025 for Steam (PC).