Hyper Light Breaker early access review: a flashy but hollow roguelike with few of Drifter’s charms

Needs some hyper light fixing

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Arc Games

• Developer: Heart Machine
• Publisher: Arc Games
• Release: January 14th, 2024
• On: Windows
• From: Steam , Game Pass
• Price: £22/$27/€26
• Reviewed on: Intel Core i9-10900K, Nvidia RTX 3090, 32GB RAM, Windows 10

There’s a lot you can do with a third dimension. Texture. Nativity dioramas. Spheres. Hyper Light Breaker , in expanding from the 2D action of Hyper Light Drifter , chooses to almost entirely remake itself as a free-roaming roguelike , trading post-apocalyptic pixel art for big proc-gen vistas and even more acrobatic swordplay.

Its technical ambition, sadly, ends up undermined by the emptiness of its world, the lack of exploratory pleasure that Drifter nurtured so well, and combat that’s more faithful to the original yet doesn’t quite adapt well enough to 3D. Not to mention it has more than its fair share of early access bugs and, especially in the early stages, balancing missteps.

On what might well be the other side of the universe to Hyper Light Drifter’s scarred ruins, you are a Breaker, warping from a (really rather tidy-looking) city-settlement into the Overgrowth: the colourful, if perilous realm of a big baddie named the Abyss King. Go in, acquire better swords and guns, kill the Crowns – the King’s lieutenants – and maybe you’ll get a pop at the big man himself. It’s a largely conventional roguelike setup, save for the opportunity to end a run by extracting rather than winning or dying, in which case you can preserve your gathered loot and tool up for a fresh incursion.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Arc Games

Structurally, it’s fine, and I like how the option for an extraction shooter-style tactical fucking-off means you don’t need to commit to a boss fight for a big crescendo moment. And the fighting – your primary activity during these runs – does successfully replicate some of the original game’s best moves, including its excellent zooming dash. Gear-wise, I found myself barely using the guns, which seem to need multiple upgrades to match the killing power of blades, but did end up becoming attached to a pair of razer claws whose ferocious attack speed paired nicely with my dash addiction.

By the time version 1.0 rolls round, you should also have a choice of nine playable Breakers, each of which has two subclasses that rejig their starting stats and perks. Temper any expectations for truly wacky builds, mind. Only three of those nine are available right now, and while their perks do optimise certain fighting styles, none of them feel night-and-day distinct from one another, and their stat upgrades are so reliant on ultra-rare resources that personalising them takes an age. Your approach is more likely going to be governed by whether you’re wielding light, balanced, or heavy blades, which vary far more in attack patterns and special moves.

The bigger problem is that what works in two dimensions doesn’t necessarily translate well to 3D, at least without more fine-tuning than Hyper Light Breaker currently performs. Once again, you’ll flit between crowds of sci-fi monsters whacking them with knives and letting loose the occasional battery-powered firearm. But while in Drifter you could manage these melees by virtue of a top-down view of the entire scrum, here you’re often just entangled in shapeless, graceless chaos, with far too many cheap shots coming from enemies that can dart in from outside the third-person camera view. Any semblance of Soulslike precision and finesse, which Breaker is still nominally keen on – all but the squishiest foes force you into well-timed dodgedashing, and punish overextension – is lost in these relentless bladestorms. A few minibosses provide exceptions, but these too come accompanied by throngs of minions that are happy to turn duels into mashfests.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Arc Games

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Arc Games

As you can imagine, this all makes for an especially miserable time in the first few hours, where you’ll be scrabbling for basic gear upgrades and won’t even have access to medkits until a few runs in. Even after that, Hyper Light Breaker is weirdly stingy with heals: it will be hours before you can fill out the skill tree enough to carry more than one, and depending on your build, it might not even top you up to a full bar. Nevertheless, the game is happy to pit you against overwhelming crowds and/or big lads with such gigantic HP pools of their own that it can take several minutes of panicked hit-and-run attacks to bring them down.

One answer is to fight numbers with numbers. Combat becomes noticeably more manageable in co-op, which accommodates up to four at a time, and the matchmaking appears smart enough not to team up grizzled, geared-up veterans with less experienced Breakers. I certainly started having more fun when I could mow through the Overgrowth with another pair of blades, although adding more players will also exacerbate the bosses and minibosses’ tankiness problem. The result: regular, invariably awkward sightings of four identical catboy ninjas whaling spectacularly yet ineffectually on stationary rock golems. Two players feels like the sweet spot, being enough to take some of the pressure off that oppressive early period and not enough to populate the world with titanium-lined meatsacks.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Arc Games

Still, at least it would be populated with something . A procgenned Overgrowth might add surface-level variety to the biomes you’ll fight through, as well as some stakes – die four times and the map is remade, wiping all your previous Crown-slaying progress. But as a gamespace, it’s nowhere near as storied and explorable as Drifter’s post-apocalyptic warrens. Half the fun of that game was poking around for its secrets, uncovering tunnels and treasures that a less curious nose would never sniff out. Hyper Light Breaker’s rewards and collectibles are kind of just… lying there, out in the open. Usually with a map marker pinpointing their exact location, and/or inside a copy-pasted structure that you’ll have visited in a previous run. It’s open-world map design the Starfield way: technically unique, but bereft of the thrill that comes with uncovering hidden prizes in handcrafted nooks.

This isn’t the only quality of Hyper Light Drifter that Breaker forgets about – or at the very least, hasn’t implemented yet. Its micron-thin veneer of a story, for example, is mainly limited to some collectible sketches depicting the Crowns’ rise to power; beyond that, there’s no apparent narrative you can progress yourself, nor many further details about the world you’re allegedly trying to save. That’s also in spite of Breaker watering down Drifter’s presentation, which relied entirely on pictographs and a fictional coded language, to shower you in interfaces and item descriptions in plain English. Maybe that’s a necessary compromise for a game as loot-heavy as this, but it still chips away at the otherworldly vibe that the first game so carefully crafted. Even the music isn’t as evocative and atmospheric, its synths staying oddly reserved outside of boss fights and extractions.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Arc Games

Again, maybe that’s something that can be tweaked further down the early access pipe. Unfortunately, Heart Machine are likely to have their hands full with plenty of nittier, grittier bugs and breakages. Beyond some general performance problems, including the strain of four-person co-op leaving my RTX 3090 struggling to cough up 30fps at 1440p, Hyper Light Breaker is rife with little issues: disconnected players still appearing in the UI, Y-axis camera inversion not working while aiming, enemies turning invisible, enemies getting stuck inside level geometry until they pop out to hit you… At one point, an Engineer miniboss spawned in, took about three hits, then suddenly hurtled off into the sky like Team Rocket at the end of a Pokémon episode. That one got a rare laugh out of me, at least.

Less funny is how this launch version also doesn’t even have the feature-completedness of an alpha build. At least some of the fightable Crowns are other Crowns acting as placeholders, which means a deep run will probably see you battling the same sword-wielding wolf several times in a row. And, as a grand finale of underwhelmingness, reaching the Abyss King himself reveals that he isn’t actually in the game yet either – you’re just shown a static screen and have to pay some of your resources to reset the Overgrowth, just as you would if you’d reached the four-death limit.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Arc Games

The real meat of a roguelike is, to be fair, not the climactic challenge but the preparation for it: the massing of gear and experience, and the primeval pleasure of Numbers Going Up. As much as Hyper Light Breaker is unfinished and more than slightly broken, its biggest issue is how that meaty part just isn’t all that enjoyable. The combat is awkward, the progression is doddering, and the world isn’t interesting enough to motivate indefinitely repeating visits to it. That makes for an awfully long to-do list, early access or no.

This early access review is based on a retail copy purchased by the writer.

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Hyper Light Breaker

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All 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints and where to get them

These areas have the highest chance of giving you Blueprints

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Looking for more Arc Raiders Blueprints? It’s a special day when you find a Blueprint, as they’re among the most valuable items in Arc Raiders. If you find a Blueprint that you haven’t already found, then you must make sure you hold onto it at all costs, because Blueprints are the key to one of the most important and powerful systems of meta-progression in the game.

This guide aims to be the very best guide on Blueprints you can find, starting with a primer on what exactly they are and how they work in Arc Raiders, before delving into exactly where to get Blueprints and the very best farming spots for you to take in your search.

We’ll also go over how to get Blueprints from other unlikely activities, such as destroying Surveyors and completing specific quests. And you’ll also find the full list of all 75 Blueprints in Arc Raiders on this page (including the newest Blueprints added with the Cold Snap update , such as the Deadline Blueprint and Firework Box Blueprint), giving you all the information you need to expand your own crafting repertoire.

In this guide:

• What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?
• Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes
• Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders Blueprints obtained from quests Blueprints obtained from Trials Best Blueprint farming locations

What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?

Blueprints in Arc Raiders are special items which, if you manage to extract with them, you can expend to permanently unlock a new crafting recipe in your Workshop. If you manage to extract from a raid with an Anvil Blueprint, for example, you can unlock the ability to craft your very own Anvil Pistol, as many times as you like (as long as you have the crafting materials).

To use a Blueprint, simply open your Inventory while in the lobby, then right-click on the Blueprint and click “Learn And Consume” . This will permanently unlock the recipe for that item in your Workshop. As of the Stella Montis update, there are allegedly 75 different Blueprints to unlock - although only 68 are confirmed to be in the game so far. You can see all the Blueprints you’ve found and unlocked by going to the Workshop menu, and hitting “R” to bring up the Blueprint screen.

It’s possible to find duplicates of past Blueprints you’ve already unlocked. If you find these, then you can either sell them, or - if you like to play with friends - you can take it into a match and gift it to your friend so they can unlock that recipe for themselves. Another option is to keep hold of them until the time comes to donate them to the Expedition.

Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes

Below is the full list of all the Blueprints that are currently available to find in Arc Raiders, and the crafting recipe required for each item:

Note: The missing Blueprints in this list likely have not actually been added to the game at the time of writing, because none of the playerbase has managed to find any of them. As they are added to the game, I will update this page with the most relevant information so you know exactly how to get all 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints.

Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders

Below is a list of all containers, modifiers, and events which maximise your chances of finding Blueprints:

• Certain quests reward you with specific Blueprints .
• Completing Trials has a high chance of offering Blueprints as rewards.
• Surveyors have a decent chance of dropping Blueprints on death.
• High loot value areas tend to have a greater chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Night Raids and Storms may increase rare Blueprint spawn chances in containers.
• Containers with higher numbers of items may have a higher tendency to spawn Blueprints. As a result, Blue Gate (which has many “large” containers containing multiple items) may give you a higher chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Raider containers (Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, Medical Bags, Grenade Tubes) have increased Blueprint drop rates. As a result, the Uncovered Caches event gives you a high chance of finding Blueprints.
• Security Lockers have a higher than average chance of containing Blueprints.
• Certain Blueprints only seem to spawn under specific circumstances: Tempest Blueprint only spawns during Night Raid events. Vulcano Blueprint only spawns during Hidden Bunker events. Jupiter and Equaliser Blueprints only spawn during Harvester events.

Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, and other raider-oriented container types have a good chance of offering Blueprints. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints have a very low chance of spawning in any container in Arc Raiders, around 1-2% on average. However, there is a higher chance of finding Blueprints in particular container types. Specifically, you can find more Blueprints in Raider containers and security lockers.

Beyond this, if you’re looking for Blueprints you should focus on regions of the map which are marked as having particularly high-value loot. Areas such as the Control Tower in Dam Battlegrounds, the Arrival and Departure Buildings in Spaceport, and Pilgrim’s Peak in Blue Gate all have a better-than-average chance of spawning Blueprints somewhere amongst all their containers. Night Raids and Electromagnetic Storm events also increase the drop chances of certain Blueprints .

In addition to these containers, you can often loot Blueprints from destroyed Surveyors - the largest of the rolling ball ARC. Surveyors are more commonly found on the later maps - Spaceport and Blue Gate - and if one spawns in your match, you’ll likely see it by the blue laser beam that it casts into the sky while “surveying”.

Surveyors are quite well-armoured and will very speedily run away from you once it notices you, but if you can take one down then make sure you loot all its parts for a chance of obtaining certain unusual Blueprints.

Blueprints obtained from quests

One way in which you can get Blueprints is by completing certain quests for the vendors in Speranza. Some quests will reward you with a specific item Blueprint upon completion, so as long as you work through all the quests in Arc Raiders, you are guaranteed those Blueprints.

Here is the full list of all Blueprints you can get from quest rewards:

• Trigger Nade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Sparks Fly”.
• Lure Grenade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Greasing Her Palms”.
• Burletta Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Industrial Espionage”.
• Hullcracker Blueprint (and Launcher Ammo Blueprint): Rewarded after completing “The Major’s Footlocker”.

Alas, that’s only 4 Blueprints out of a total of 75 to unlock, so for the vast majority you will need to find them yourself during a raid. If you’re intent on farming Blueprints, then it’s best to equip yourself with cheap gear in case you lose it, but don’t use a free loadout because then you won’t get a safe pocket to stash any new Blueprint you find. No pain in Arc Raiders is sharper than failing to extract with a new Blueprint you’ve been after for a dozen hours already.

One of the best ways to get Blueprints is by hitting three stars on all five Trials every week. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints obtained from Trials

One of the very best ways to get Blueprints is as rewards for completing Trials in Arc Raiders. Trials are unlocked from Level 15 onwards, and allow you to earn rewards by focusing on certain tasks over the course of several raids. For example, one Trial might task you with dealing damage to Hornets, while another might challenge you to loot Supply Drops.

Trials refresh on a weekly basis, with a new week bringing five new Trials. Each Trial can offer up to three rewards after passing certain score milestones, and it’s possible to receive very high level loot from these reward crates - including Blueprints. So if you want to unlock as many Blueprints as possible, you should make a point of completing as many Trials as possible each week.

Best Blueprint farming locations

The very best way to get Blueprints is to frequent specific areas of the maps which combine high-tier loot pools with the right types of containers to search. Here are my recommendations for where to find Blueprints on every map, so you can always keep the search going for new crafting recipes to unlock.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Dam Battlegrounds

The best places to farm Blueprints on Dam Battlegrounds are the Control Tower, Power Generation Complex, Ruby Residence, and Pale Apartments . The first two regions, despite only being marked on the map as mid-tier loot, contain a phenomenal number of containers to loot. The Control Tower can also contain a couple of high-tier Security Lockers - though of course, you’ll need to have unlocked the Security Breach skill at the end of the Survival tree.

There’s also a lot of reporting amongst the playerbase that the Residential areas in the top-left of the map - Pale Apartments and Ruby Residence - give you a comparatively strong chance of finding Blueprints. Considering their size, there’s a high density of containers to loot in both locations, and they also have the benefit of being fairly out of the way. So you’re more likely to have all the containers to yourself.

Buried City

The best Blueprint farming locations on Buried City are the Santa Maria Houses, Grandioso Apartments, Town Hall, and the various buildings of the New District . Grandioso Apartments has a lower number of containers than the rest, but a high chance of spawning weapon cases - which have good Blueprint drop rates. The others are high-tier loot areas, with plenty of lootable containers - including Security Lockers.

Spaceport

The best places to find Blueprints on Spaceport are the Arrival and Departure Buildings, as well as Control Tower A6 and the Launch Towers . All these areas are labelled as high-value loot regions, and many of them are also very handily connected to one another by the Spaceport wall, which you can use to quickly run from one area to the next. At the tops of most of these buildings you’ll find at least one Security Locker, so this is an excellent farming route for players looking to find Blueprints.

The downside to looting Blueprints on Spaceport is that all these areas are hotly contested, particularly in Duos and Squads. You’ll need to be very focused and fast in order to complete the full farming route.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blue Gate

Blue Gate tends to have a good chance of dropping Blueprints, potentially because it generally has a high number of containers which can hold lots of items; so there’s a higher chance of a Blueprint spawning in each container. In my experience, the best Blueprint farming spots on Blue Gate are Pilgrim’s Peak, Raider’s Refuge, the Ancient Fort, and the Underground Complex beneath the Warehouse .

All of these areas contain a wealth of containers to loot. Raider’s Refuge has less to loot, but the majority of the containers in and around the Refuge are raider containers, which have a high chance of containing Blueprints - particularly during major events.

Stella Montis

On the whole, Stella Montis seems to have a very low drop rate for Blueprints (though a high chance of dropping other high-tier loot). If you do want to try farming Blueprints on this map, the best places to find Blueprints in Stella Montis are Medical Research, Assembly Workshop, and the Business Center . These areas have the highest density of containers to loot on the map.

In addition to this, the Western Tunnel has a few different Security Lockers to loot, so while there’s very little to loot elsewhere in this area of the map, it’s worth hitting those Security Lockers if you spawn there at the start of a match.

That wraps up this primer on how to get all the Blueprints in Arc Raiders as quickly as possible. With the Expedition system constantly resetting a large number of players’ Blueprints, it’s more important than ever to have the most up-to-date information on where to find all these Blueprints.

While you’re here, be sure to check out our Arc Raiders best guns tier list , as well as our primers on the best skills to unlock and all the different Field Depot locations on every map.

ARC Raiders

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC

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