After a year of delays, Hyper Light Breaker is finally launching in early access next month

Along with a new gameplay overview video, developer Heart Machine has revealed a new early access launch date for Hyper Light Breaker, its co-op roguelike prequel to Hyper Light Drifter. Breaker will launch in early access on Steam January 14.

There isn't a ton we haven't seen before in Breaker's new gameplay trailer, but there's a few new morsels here. Most footage so far has focused on the game's marquee, Mario, all-rounder starting character, who plays like the original game's Drifter, so it's nice to see a little action from one of the game's other classes, a hooded furry creature with a big fluffy tail. We also got a peek at a sample world map showing how different biomes will connect to one another.

Hyper Light Breaker's big ambition⁠—aside from translating the gameplay, look, and vibe of Hyper Light Drifter into full 3D⁠—is to bolster its roguelike replayability with procedurally-generated open world maps that encourage exploration as much they do struggle and survival. I'd wager this has been Heart Machine's biggest challenge with shipping Breaker, precipitating the game's delays so far. Late last month, GamesIndustry.biz reported that Heart Machine laid off an indeterminate number of employees.

But Hyper Light Breaker's gameplay foundation is rock solid. PC Gamer news writer Joshua Wolens and I have both tried a demo of Breaker and loved it. The game has a similar tension of exploration vs. time crunch as Risk of Rain, but with the more precise, melee/dodge roll-focused combat you would expect from a Hyper Light game. And Breaker's Artorias-flavored first boss is a real terror, capping off an experience that I've so far found to be bracingly difficult.

I'm excited to dive into Hyper Light Breaker then, and we don't have long to wait. I've also got my fingers crossed that the studio's second project, the 2D action game Possessor(s) revealed at this year's Summer Game Fest, is still on the way despite Heart Machine's recent challenges.