Hyper Light Breakerwill be doing things a bit differently compared to its predecessor,Hyper Light Drifter. Heart Machine recently went into detail about howHyper Light Breaker’s new direction will impact the world and narrative.
In a turn similar to the one taken bytheRisk of Rainseries,Hyper Light Breakerhas pivoted away from the roots of its predecessor. UnlikeDrifter,Breakeris a 3D, cel-shaded open-world roguelite game—a change in aesthetic and gameplay that’s sure to switch up how the narrative will work too. To learn more about how the story is evolving inBreaker, Game Rant sat down with members of the Heart Machine team, including lead producer Michael Clark and narrative director Laura Michet.
Worldbuilding And Story Development In Hyper Light Breaker
Hyper Light Breaker And The Timeline
An interesting aspect ofHyper Light Breakeris its place in the timeline, as it’s not strictly a sequel or prequel. Clark was able to illuminate where the game is chronologically placed, and how that broadens the world’s scope:
“The Drifter’s experience takes place much later than Hyper Light Breaker—but they spend much of their time walking through the history of past events. We started with that shared history, expanding the world and the various warring factions and opportunistic groups that sought power. Breaker is a new story with a lot to discover—I don’t want to spoil it—but over the course of Early Access players will learn more about what happened here, how the world changes, when the Abyss King gained his power, and who the Abyss King and his Crowns were, are, and aspire to be.”
This meansHyper Light Breakermay give fans a new perspective onDrifter, with a “shared history” explored through more factions and more of the world. Michet adds that the team “focused on the characters who are inBreaker,” and that these characters “have their own experience of the world.” This suggests thatHyper Light Breakerwill bea character-driven game, and that the world will be structured to foster stronger connections with its characters. Moreover, it further emphasizes the shift in perspective thatBreakerwill allow.
Heart Machine also tells us that Hyper Light Breaker’s world formula builds on the approach of Solar Ash.
Evolving Hyper Light Themes
Themes are as important to games as they are to any other medium, and the ideas surrounding the confrontation of disease and its consequential isolation inDriftercaptured the attention of many fans.Hyper Light Breakerwill evolve these themes, but Breaker is also more social than Drifter, says Clark:
“I’m hesitant to delve too much into this, because I want players to experience it in-game, but if Drifter is more solitary, Breaker is more social in its themes.”
Despite this, illness will always remain part ofHyper Light’sthematic identity, just with an added social dimension. This also manifests in theco-op gameplay ofHyper Light Breaker, but it’ll be interesting to see how far this theme is carried throughout Early Access and beyond. Overall, Clark’s references to the expansion of the world, as well as Michet’s comments on the perspectives ofBreaker’s characters, sound like great ways to explore this setting and this story from a wider, more social angle.
