Hyper Light Breaker Early Access Review in Progress

ign.com:

Normally, when a sequel is announced that’s a wild departure from the original, I welcome it with open arms – look no further than my inexplicable but everlasting love of Banjo-Kazooie Nuts N Bolts as evidence. But after just a day with Hyper Light Breaker – a follow-up (though not a proper sequel) to one of my all-time favorite indie games, Hyper Light Drifter – I feel like Vito Corleone telling y’all to look at how they massacred my boy. I’ve only sunk six hours into this incredibly challenging co-op roguelike so far, and although there’s clearly the skeleton of a good action-RPG in here somewhere, it’s currently buried deeper than the sun can see under sloppy combat mechanics, shallow and frustrating exploration, and scant content that began to feel repetitive only two hours in. Of course, this is its early access launch, so there’s always hope an initially rough package will transform into something much better with enough time – but in terms of what’s here right now, my disappointment is immeasurable and my day is ruined.

The goal of a run is to hunt around a randomized map for better gear and key items before taking on three highly deadly and supremely irritating bosses hiding out on each map, then extract yourself back to base to regroup, buy some upgrades, and do it again. I’ve already bested a couple bosses, which summon minions endlessly and flop around erratically to do massive damage, but have yet to complete a map in its entirety, which I’m assuming won’t happen until I near the end of what’s currently available in early access.

Maybe the combat will grow on me once I get deeper in, but it makes an absolutely terrible first impression. There isn’t anything interesting about the melee hack-and-slash attacks you are given, the alternative third-person shooting option has very limited ammo, moving and dodging feel unresponsive and inconsistent, and the lock-on system constantly toggles itself off unexpectedly and gets me killed.

All of these things are