In a trailer debuted during this year’s Future Games Show at Gamescom today, Arc Games and Heart Machine surprise-dropped a free major update, “Double Down”, for the open world co-op roguelike Hyper Light Breaker in Steam Early Access.
Since Hyper Light Breaker launched in Early Access in January of this year, the title has been improving and expanding thanks to player feedback. Today’s update, available to download now for free, evolves the Hyper Light adventure like never before, bringing a slew of new content and developments for players to jump into.
To celebrate the launch of today’s update, Hyper Light Breaker is on sale for 30% off of its retail price from today, August 20, until September 1. Additionally, to give players who want the full Hyper Light experience, the “Hyper Light Bundle”, which includes Hyper Light Breaker and Hyper Light Drifter at a discount, is available for a limited time on Steam.
Watch the Double Down Update Trailer here: https://youtu.be/AeFmWvfv2jo
The Double Down Update
The “Double Down Update” makes Hyper Light Breaker bigger and better than before, and introduces the following major new content:
- New Crown (Boss) – “Bersia and Vesia” (The Twins): Prepare to face double the trouble with Hyper Light Breaker’s first deadly duo, Bersia and Vesia – more commonly known as “The Twins” within the Overgrowth. Players will take on both of these foes at once and players will need to decide which twin to defeat first… but, even with one defeated, the fight will not end there!
- New Breaker (Playable Character) – “Gravenheart”: A new Breaker, Gravenheart, has joined Pherus Bit and her team of Breakers! Gravenheart hails from the Shattered Fortress and specializes in playing more of a Tank role in battle compared to other Breakers.
- New Points of Interest, Including “Sky Labs” – Reach for the skies and explore the Overgrowth in a whole new way with “Sky Labs”, a series of floating islands that float above the Overgrowth! Eagle-eyed players may have spotted these islands before, but with the Double Down update, players can now officially enter these locations and experience all they have to offer. Sky Labs will continue to evolve over the course of Hyper Light Breaker’s Early Access period with plans for them to be completed by the game’s 1.0 launch. Additional points of interest have been added as well in today’s update.
- New Difficulty System, the “Glitch” System: For those who successfully complete their first run within the Overgrowth, new challenges await with the Glitch System! This new game plus-style difficulty system gives players searching for the ultimate challenge the ability to enable modifiers, like increasing enemy damage, to make their next run even more deadly. The harder the difficulty overall, the greater the challenge and rewards. This system will evolve over the course of Early Access and be complete by 1.0 launch.
- Soup Master Shop (Noodle Bar): Collect ingredients in a run and spend them at the Soup Master Shop to gain a temporary buff that lasts for the next run.
This update also features a new Quests system, allowing players to take on a series of quests to earn rewards, a new Rail (ranged weapon) the game’s first-ever grenade launcher called “Burst Launcher”, new enemies, Mods, Gear Upgrade Machines and Obelisks throughout the Overgrowth, and quality of life improvements.
Development progress
After roughly a half a year of Early Access development, Heart Machine is now preparing to set their sights on Hyper Light Breaker’s full 1.0 launch for next year. The team is planning for one final major Early Access content update for this fall, then following that, they will fully focus on version 1.0 development.
A launch date for the 1.0 version will be revealed later this year. Additionally, a roadmap with more details on what’s to come will be shared sometime in September.