Hyper Light Breaker, a 3D, Co-op Sequel to Hyper Light Drifter, Announced
Heart Machine has revealed Hyper Light Breaker, a 3D, co-op focused sequel to cult classic Hyper Light Drifter, coming to Steam Early Access in Spring 2023.
The announcement marks the sixth birthday of Hyper Light Drifter, the studio’s seminal action/adventure game that took players on a beautiful but melancholic journey through a ruined world. That first game was built around challenging combat and a wealth of secrets that offered brief glimpses into the game’s otherwise opaque narrative.
However, where Drifter offered a 2D single-player experience (albeit with a local co-op mode that was added post-release), Heart Machine is now looking at creating Breaker in 3D, with online co-op as the focus.
The announcement trailer (below) seems to indicate that Breaker will combine Drifter’s exacting combat with the elegant traversal mechanics seen in Heart Machine’s second game, Solar Ash. Speaking to IGN, creative director Alx Preston also noted that it will be “a little more systems-heavy, with more RPG mechanics” compared to Drifter, complete with a range of distinct playable classes.
“And when we say online cooperative play, we mean multiple players, not just you and another person; we're looking at a group of players that can go out and kill some monsters together.”
The online aspect represents a second major technological leap for Heart Machine since its debut; Solar Ash saw it make the transition from 2D to 3D, resulting in a game that was well-received, but took nearly twice as long to make as Drifter.
We asked Preston if having already made this transition might result in a smoother development cycle for its new 3D game. “Yeah. I mean, that is definitely part of it, now that we've made that transition into Unreal and built up
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