My most-anticipated open-world game looks better with each new trailer: Hyper Light Breaker shows off a fiery boss ahead of the roguelike's summer launch

News
By
published

The Hyper Light universe is expanding, and man does it look cool

Open-world roguelike Hyper Light Breaker is launching in Steam Early Access this summer, as developer Heart Machine affirmed in a new trailer showing off another slick boss fight.

Heart Machine was one of the many indie devs included in today's joint Triple-I showcase, and as ever, Hyper Light Breaker was a personal highlight for me. The follow-up to the 2016 classic Hyper Light Drifter, which builds mechanically on the stellar 3D movement Heart Machine demonstrated in its previous game Solar Ash, expands the universe with an ever-changing 3D world that's functionally bottomless. It could well be one of the biggest roguelikes of the year in more ways than one, and this new boss is yet another challenge to look forward to. 

The star of today's trailer is the aptly named Flame Wizard, who packs a mix of melee and ranged attacks, teleports, and seemingly a chunky melee buddy who I'm going to call the Flame Warrior. The Flame Wizard fight looks a little less bullet hell than some of the other bosses we've seen, though there are still clearly a lot of attacks to dodge.

Hyper Light Breaker has been described as a combat-first experience glued together by slick movement, mounting progression like gear unlocks and light settlement expansion, and an evolving narrative tied to the mysterious Overgrowth. Boss fights are front-and-center, with rich lore backing each one, like the Last Master swordmaster who could just about slot right into a FromSoftware tapestry. The Flame Wizard joins a rapidly growing ensemble of threats, and I'm as eager as ever to take them on for myself, and maybe again with some buddies in online co-op.  

We recently spoke to Heart Machine about two key details: roguelike build-crafting and cool hoverboards. 

See more PC Gaming News
CATEGORIES
Austin Wood
Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.

Read more
Hyper Light Breaker
The action roguelike I want most in 2025 is coming sooner than I thought: open-world game Hyper Light Breaker launches in January with 3-player co-op
Hyper Light Breaker early access launch
"It's not Escape from Tarkov," but an extraction twist gives open-world roguelike Hyper Light Breaker an edge – plus it comes with one of the best indie games of 2016
Hyper Light Breaker new playable Breaker
"If someone can’t play the game, the game sucks": Hyper Light Breaker devs explain what went wrong with their open-world roguelike and how they're fixing it
Vermillion runs down a ruined highway while aiming at flying enemies in Hyper Light Breaker
Hyper Light Breaker review: "A shaky start for Heart Machine's looter shooter slasher prequel"
Hyper Light Breaker early access launch
Hyper Light Breaker devs address Mixed reviews after open-world roguelike's early access launch: complaints are "extremely reasonable," expect "improvements ASAP"
Screenshots of Possessor(s) gameplay
Smash Bros meets Metroidvania in Possessor(s), Heart Machine's new side-scrolling opus
Latest in Roguelike
The King is Watching
This roguelike city-builder casts you as a benevolent Lord of the Rings villain, and its Steam Next Fest demo accidentally consumed my entire evening
The key art for the Blue Prince showing a doorway on a blue wall, which is open to reveal several more rooms within its frame, a person deep within opening another door several layers deep to a bright white light
This exploration roguelike has no combat, and just tasks you with placing rooms on a blueprint – but its Steam Next Fest demo is delightfully devious
Shape of Dreams heroes stand around a fire
Someone combined Diablo and League of Legends for a roguelike co-op MOBA with Risk of Rain energy, and it deserves the hype it's getting in Steam Next Fest
Die In the Dungeon
This slick roguelike deckbuilder is shoulder-to-shoulder with Balatro and Slay the Spire on Steam top sellers, and its dev is feeling the pressure: "The definition of walking among giants"
Balatro Joker card
Balatro dev says solitaire exists "at the peak of game culture" and was debatably "the most important" inspiration for his poker roguelike
Conjure
With backing from Slay the Spire and Among Us devs, this Steam Next Fest roguelike inspired by an unlikely classic immediately stands out – even if I am a little confused
Latest in News
Link and Epona
A Zelda movie is finally happening, but Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto used to adamantly oppose the idea even "if Steven Spielberg himself" wanted to do it
Robert Downey Jr announces his Doctor Doom casting at San Diego Comic-Con 2024
"He is so dialed in": Robert Downey Jr. is coming up with backstory and costume ideas for Doctor Doom ahead of Avengers: Doomsday
Stardew Valley
With another "thank you," Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone brings an update arc to a close with "the Switch patch to fix the last Switch patch"
Demon Slayer Infinity Castle
Over 80 countries and 42 days: the first Demon Slayer Infinity Castle movie's remarkable staggered release plans have been revealed – including a US date
Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds' story is as divisive as expected: some players hate the "relentless on rails handholding," others love the build-up to "the best scene in Monster Hunter history"
The Last of Us season 2 first look
Pedro Pascal says "beautiful" scene that made him want to join The Last of Us got cut, but it’ll thankfully appear in season 2: "He was like, ‘That’s half the reason I’m here!’"
More about roguelike
The King is Watching

This roguelike city-builder casts you as a benevolent Lord of the Rings villain, and its Steam Next Fest demo accidentally consumed my entire evening
The key art for the Blue Prince showing a doorway on a blue wall, which is open to reveal several more rooms within its frame, a person deep within opening another door several layers deep to a bright white light

This exploration roguelike has no combat, and just tasks you with placing rooms on a blueprint – but its Steam Next Fest demo is delightfully devious
Link and Epona

A Zelda movie is finally happening, but Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto used to adamantly oppose the idea even "if Steven Spielberg himself" wanted to do it
See more latest
Most Popular
Link and Epona
A Zelda movie is finally happening, but Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto used to adamantly oppose the idea even "if Steven Spielberg himself" wanted to do it
Robert Downey Jr announces his Doctor Doom casting at San Diego Comic-Con 2024
"He is so dialed in": Robert Downey Jr. is coming up with backstory and costume ideas for Doctor Doom ahead of Avengers: Doomsday
Stardew Valley
With another "thank you," Stardew Valley creator Eric Barone brings an update arc to a close with "the Switch patch to fix the last Switch patch"
Demon Slayer Infinity Castle
Over 80 countries and 42 days: the first Demon Slayer Infinity Castle movie's remarkable staggered release plans have been revealed – including a US date
Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds' story is as divisive as expected: some players hate the "relentless on rails handholding," others love the build-up to "the best scene in Monster Hunter history"
The Last of Us season 2 first look
Pedro Pascal says "beautiful" scene that made him want to join The Last of Us got cut, but it’ll thankfully appear in season 2: "He was like, ‘That’s half the reason I’m here!’"
Absolum
The other devs behind the best retro beat-em-up in recent memory are making a co-op roguelike brawler that "channels the spirit" of Capcom's classic D&D games
Monster Hunter Wilds
Monster Hunter Wilds art director and 20-year series vet says the new game intentionally leans into a question fans have debated forever: "What is a hunter?"
Battlefield Bad Company 2
"I am freaked out by how much might actually have been accurate": Battlefield Bad Company 3 writer unearths forgotten script
Jo Mullein on the cover for Absolute Green Lantern #1.
Absolute Green Lantern puts Far Sector's Jo Mullein front and center as a cosmic mystery comes to Earth