Hyper Light Breaker — Heart Machine’s Huge Risk

Hyper Light Drifter is a heckin’ good videogame; apologies for the strong language, but it is that good. If you’ve never had the pleasure, I’ll try to describe it in one sentence: a beautiful and emotive top-down action game with tight, explosive controls and an unforgettable, transformative soundscape. Like I said, heckin’ good.

Heart Machine’s debut release in 2016, Drifter is notable for many things, but perhaps for its unique character more than anything else. Its abstract, post-apocalyptic world is rendered in an instantly recognisable pixelated, neon-pastel palette that heightens the sombre, ethereal mystery permeating the entire game. The story is delivered with no dialogue, only in-game set-pieces and brief cutscenes that harness iconic composer Disasterpiece’s musical chops to convey strange, powerful emotion. 

You blast and blaze your way through that intoxicating aesthetic using some of the most satisfying 2D controls you’ll ever find. Combat is both fast and strategic. Everything feels like it has real weight, and animations lend true impact to your swipes and shots.

Heck me, bit of a bang-up job all ‘round, then! No surprise the critical reception was so positive, with award nominations and wins abound. You might imagine the obvious move from there to be a simple sequel. Don’t fix what ain’t broke. Revisit the Drifter world, tweak the environments, switch up the plot, and reap the rewards. 

That’s not how Heart Machine does things.

 The follow-up, Hyper Light Breaker, is planned to hit Early Access this year. And to say it’s a departure from its predecessor’s template would be an understatement; it’s actually a departure from all templates, taking the form of a 3D, open-world roguelite.

How could you not respect a move like this? For me, Hyper Light Drifter represents a near-perfect mastery of the 2D toolkit. To abandon that format after a single, triumphant outing is more than ballsy. In a Frequently Asked Questions segment on their website, Heart Machine had this to say about their decision to revisit the Drifter universe:

“The faded whisper of allure of this world we built transformed into a clarion call through the years. A new story became a solid vision. It felt right to come back in, root around, and share what we unearthed about this beautiful-yet-bleak world with everyone.”

Clearly, the authenticity of their creative process is coming through in the vision for Hyper Light Breaker. It’s a risk, absolutely. How successfully will Drifter’s spellbinding atmosphere translate into an extra dimension? Time will tell, but on the scale of pure artistic merit, the Hyper Light series must sit pretty high, and artists should always be encouraged to express themselves authentically, regardless of risk.

And how about this ‘open-world roguelite’ business? Extremely compelling on its face, no doubt, and equally ambitious. The concept is to drop the player onto a fully realised, procedurally-generated, 3D island. Not to the scale of your Breath of the Wild Hyrules or your Skyrim, er, Skyrims. But, y’know, big. Upon death, the whole thing is gone forever. 

This strikes me as risky for a few reasons. Firstly, will there be the same motivation to explore such an ephemeral environment? Could frustration arise when a particularly well-constructed island appears, only to blink out of existence potentially minutes later? Can procedurally generated worlds truly match the detail and flow of a hand-crafted one?

It’s a bold design choice, but all of my concerns can be mitigated if Heart Machine plays its cards right, not to mention the massive benefits inherent in this system. For starters, it’s difficult to get bored with a play area that perpetually transforms. But more compelling still are the potential upsides in juxtaposing proc-gen mechanics with a larger, more immersive, more seductive environment. Rather than being deterred, players may feel more driven than ever to explore every corner and crevice of their surroundings, knowing they will never see them again. 

Moreover, if these fleeting islands are granted enough individuality, Breaker might demand an adaptation in players’ perspectives. An especially appealing landscape could organically trigger a carpe diem mentality. It will be more important than ever to celebrate and appreciate the joy of exploration. Death will be more meaningful, and so, too, will life. 

Heck! The parallels to our own transitory existence pretty much draw themselves, so you don’t need me to put them into words. One way or another, Hyper Light Breaker’s novel paradigm is likely to produce a whole new type of connection between player and virtual world. 

I applaud Heart Machine for taking a gamble on greatness. It’s a heck of a risk, but there could be one heck of a reward.