Hyper Light Breakeris a highly-discussed new title in early 2025, but does it support co-op play?Hyper Light Breakeris a roguelike/extraction shooter hybrid that has launched into its early access on Steam. Players are thrown into a world known as the Overgrowth and tasked with beating a series of bosses before being able to extract. Based on developer comments,Hyper Light Breaker’s early accessis set to run for about a year.

So far,Hyper Light Breaker’s early access has a lukewarm reception. Though much of the gameplay is fun, it has all the signs of an early-access game that is incomplete. To go along with this, there have been plenty of complaints about the graphical and technical performance of the game. These types of issues can be understood for an early access game, but are not the kind of thing that some will play through, especially given the $30 price tag.

The main character facing a boss in Hyper Light Breaker

Hyper Light Breaker Can Be Played Solo Or In Co-Op

Play The Way You Want

Luckily,Hyper Light Breakercan be played alone or with friends. In fact, the game is more suited to playing with others due to the natural difficulty of the game. However, the game does scale off the number of players, so a solo experience will be challenging but easier per enemy than a co-op game. This is a fair substitute for the extraction roguelike, replacing a time contrast with the goal of surviving an ever-growing threat.

How Co-Op Works In Hyper Light Breaker

Take On The Overgrowth Together

Co-op inHyper Light Breakeris easy to access with friends or random players. From the main hub,speaking to a robot in the Main Hall will give the option to create a party or join one. However, parties can only hold up to three people, which may seem small but is likely to balance the difficulty scaling. If parties could hold more, it may get to the point where enemies have to be so strong to compensate, that they could easily one-shot players.

Oddly enough, for being largely a multiplayer experience,the game currently has no voice or text chat. This could just be because of the early access state, and will likely be added at some point given the quality-of-life it would offer. The alternative to this would be communicating outside the game, which is popular nowadays, or with the game’s Ping system. Luckily, the Ping system is easy to use with any controller D-pad or using the middle mouse button. This should only be a stop-gap in the long run, but works for what the game currently needs.

An enemy in Hyper Light Breaker

Is Solo Or Co-Op Better?

Two Levels Of A Fun Challenge

What mode is better inHyper Light Breakercomes down to personal preference.The benefit of working for solo players is great for those without other friends who own the game and don’t feel like playing with random teammates. It is also a nice way to challenge oneself and improve without the pressure of holding others back.

In contrast, co-op will be more fun for those with others to play with, and like the increased difficulty. Especially in co-op, bosses have more focus on team play, making sure every member does their part for success. Extractions will also be much more challenging, with longer waves and tougher units. Overall,co-op play will be more difficult, but could also have the type of chaotic fun a game like this needs to shine brightly.

mixcollage-24-dec-2024-01-58-am-6614.jpg

Hyper Light Breaker’s previewsshow that it still has a ways to go to be a success, but it has the foundations to be a great genre hybrid. The early access faults are obvious, but are expected and should be easily fixed by listening to community advice. The good thing is that co-op is largely functional and just needs some fine-tuning to be at its best.Hyper Light Breakersupporting both solo and co-op play is the first bright side to the new title.

Hyper Light Breaker

Hyper Light Breaker is the follow-up to developer Heart Machine’s 2016 isometric action-adventure game, Hyper Light Drifter. In this stand-alone sequel, players will embark on a journey through a land called the Overgrowth, where massive monsters roam the ruined cities reclaimed by time. Either alone or with friends, players will collect new gear and build their character to help them uncover the secrets of this forgotten land.