Hyper Light Breaker brought back all my memories of Dark Souls' greatest boss, and it instantly became one of my favourite demos at Summer Game Fest

GamesRoguelikeHyper Light BreakerHyper Light Breaker brought back all my memories of Dark Souls' greatest boss, and it instantly became one of my favourite demos at Summer Game FestWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.

(Image credit: Arc Games)

Going toe-to-toe with the Exus boss.

There’s a kind of zen state that only certain games can get me into, and when I say “certain games” I pretty much just mean FromSoft games. It’s the state of bashing your head against a brick wall butkind of enjoying it: Repeatedly hurling yourself on the rocks of that one boss over and over and over, dying every single time but, miraculously, never really getting frustrated.

After spending an hour with Hyper Light Breaker at this year’s Summer Game Fest, I think it might be one of the few non-FromSoft games to put me in the same state. Even better: The fight I spent my entire time on reminded me of none other than Artorias from Dark Souls 1’s only DLC. For my money, that’s still the best fight in the studio’s catalogue (with the important caveat that I’ve not gotten around to Elden Ring).

(Image credit: Arc Games)

Dodging an attack from the Exus boss.

Dodge, parry, pirouette

My comrade Ted Litchfield has already done a sterling job writing up all the ways that Hyper Light Breaker differs from its predecessor inhis GDC preview, so I won’t repeat them here, but I should point out that—unlike the demo Ted played—the build I got time with at SGF had its procgen stuff turned on.

Halfway through, a helpful dev reached over and reset the map for me, carrying over a few of my meta-currencies and mixing up the locations of dungeons, enemies, and the boss I was repeatedly testing myself against. It works, folks, although I can’t speak to ittoomuch because I mostly beelined to my several dates with a large, angry man.

Remember the first fight you had with Isshin? Or Father Gascoigne? Or Friede? Remember how you got absolutely demolished and thought to yourself, “Well, they’ve finally done it. They’ve made the boss I’m just not gonna beat. Miyazaki has gone too far!”

(Image credit: Arc Games)

Engaging with enemies in the open world.

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

My heart sank. I loved Hyper Light Drifter, but my first doomed attempt to take on the demo’s recommended boss left me wondering if Heart Machine hadn’t quite managed the shift to 3D. I was overwhelmed and just couldn’t really see how anyone would be able to beat this guy.

But I also had another 56 minutes of my demo time left, so I tried again, and again, and again, only taking the occasional break to go practise my parries against the less devastating enemies that populate the roguelike’s overworld.

(Image credit: Arc Games)

Posing in the overworld.

Lessons learned

Each attempt revealed something new: I wasn’t just taking damage fromthe air, it was that annoying aerial enemy taking potshots while the big guy distracted me. Icing them with a well-placed ranged attack became the first thing I did whenever I entered the arena.

Then, new revelations: Learning the precise right time to parry his dash attack, pretty much obviating one of his moves that kept devastating me in my first fight; Realising attacking him up-close with my beloved twin blades just put me square in the middle of the damaging goo that accumulates around him; Figuring out the precise window to use my dash to escape his ground-pound and the aerial turret he can summon on a whim.

(Image credit: Arc Games)

Hanging out in the hub area.

My fights went from 30-second smackdowns to a minute long, two minutes. Each time I died, I walked away with new knowledge—like learning the steps to a dance—that put me right back in my university halls in 2013, repeatedly trudging back to Artorias' boss arena in Dark Souls and making it just a little further each time.

Each time I died, I walked away with new knowledge—like learning the steps to a dance

Eventually, it all clicked together: I realised that the respawning NPCs dropped ammo when they went down, opening up the possibility of taking the boss on primarily with ranged weapons. He could close the distance with his dash, but I’d cracked the parry window, and his aerial turret couldn’t do much damage when I knew just how to dash out of its way.

(Image credit: Arc Games)

Facing down the Exus boss.

With mere minutes left of my allotted demo time (no, really, it was all very dramatic), I walked into the fight with my beloved dual blades and a rapid-fire, high-ammo pistol and finally overcame the boss, though I did have to churn through all five of my healing items to do it.

It feltgreat, like passing an exam I’d spent months cramming for, and like a victory I’d earned purely through my developing mastery of Hyper Light Breaker’s mechanics. It’s just one boss in a lengthy roguelike (so lengthy it pitches “limitless replayability”), but it left me incredibly eager to see more when HLB hits early access. I started the demo off wondering if Heart Machine had lost it, and left thinking it was firing on all cylinders. If it can keep up that kind of tempo across the whole game, you can sign me up right now.

More about roguelikeWormhole is an impeccable arcade revival of Snake that plays like it fell off the back of Derek Yu’s vanHyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of DrifterLatest23 year-old D&D RPG Neverwinter Nights just got a new update thanks to the ‘unpaid software engineers’ of its unkillable communitySee more latest►

More about roguelike

Wormhole is an impeccable arcade revival of Snake that plays like it fell off the back of Derek Yu’s vanHyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of Drifter

Wormhole

Wormhole is an impeccable arcade revival of Snake that plays like it fell off the back of Derek Yu’s van

Hyper Light Breaker player characters standing in a row with yellow cloud and dark background behind

Hyper Light Breaker will cost $30 and for a limited time come with a free copy of Drifter

Latest23 year-old D&D RPG Neverwinter Nights just got a new update thanks to the ‘unpaid software engineers’ of its unkillable communitySee more latest►

Latest

23 year-old D&D RPG Neverwinter Nights just got a new update thanks to the ‘unpaid software engineers’ of its unkillable community

Aribeth de Tylmarande in Neverwinter Nights.

23 year-old D&D RPG Neverwinter Nights just got a new update thanks to the ‘unpaid software engineers’ of its unkillable community

See more latest►

Most Popular

This bizarre roguelike has a new take on the Vampire Survivors formula: letting you build your own custom weapons out of brains, eyeballs, and chimpanzee spines

18 games the PC Gamer team can’t wait to play in 2025

The Witcher 3’s now 2-year-old bonus quest is our first taste of the ‘vibe’ CD Projekt is going for in The Witcher 4

2024 was the year updates for old games beat out all the new ones for me

Train like you game with this adventure-inspired workout

‘It’s simply impossible to make a difficulty level that’s just right for all players’: How Final Fantasy 14’s lead battle designer has been playing a precarious balancing game for Dawntrail’s dungeons and raids

Please join me in getting super excited for all the cool looking survival games coming in 2025 (and beyond)

Competitive shooters are at a crucial crossroads in 2025: ‘sweaty’ teamplay vs. casual fun

Call of Duty’s $28 Squid Game skins are the perfect crossover for our capitalist dystopia, and Activision knows exactly what it’s doing

These are the 14 biggest upcoming RPGs of 2025—get ready for another amazing year for the genre

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review4Ikea Utespelare desk review5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

HARDWARE BUYING GUIDESLATEST GAME REVIEWS

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

A bunch of the best Steam Deck accessories on a blue background.

1Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

Best Steam Deck accessories in Australia for 2025: Our favorite docks, powerbanks and gamepads

2Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

Best graphics card for laptops: the mobile GPUs I’d want in my next gaming laptop

3Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

Best mini PCs in 2025: The compact computers I love the most

4Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

Best 14-inch gaming laptop: The top compact gaming laptops I’ve held in these hands

5Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

Best Mini-ITX motherboards in 2025: My pick from all the mini mobo marvels I’ve tested

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here review

1Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

Thank Goodness You’re Here! review: An anarchic treasure trove of jokes and skits

2Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island review—like juggling chainsaws on horseback

3WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

WD Black SN850X 8 TB NVMe SSD review

4Ikea Utespelare desk review

Ikea Utespelare desk review

5Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Asus ROG Harpe Ace Mini wireless mouse review

Dodge, parry, pirouette#

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals#

Lessons learned#

Dodge, parry, pirouette

The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals

Lessons learned