Loopmancer Review (Steam)

by Jim Smale · July 28, 2022

Our Loopmancer review has us playing this 3D platformer rogue-lite action game with realistic graphics that takes place in a cyberpunk universe. Players play as a detective who comes back to life after an unexpected death, and battle in this lifelike and futuristic city of the east.

Loopmancer Review Pros:

Fantastic graphics.
12.24GB Download size.
Steam achievements.
Controller support.
Graphics settings – window mode, resolution, v-sync, frame rate cap, graphics preset, visual effect, shadow, texture, motion blur, Ray tracing, Nvidia DLSS, Nvidia NIS, Nvidia FSR, and Nvidia Reflex low latency.
Controller settings – 3 presets and custom.
Four difficulties – Story, normal, hard, and challenge.
Roguelike Metroidvania gameplay.
2D perspective.
Logistics terminals – you can heal at these, the more you heal from it the less effective the terminals are in future levels, use cores to replenish their effectiveness.
Fast travel points between Logistics terminals.
PUT machines – (permission unlock terminal) use e – coins to unlock specific weapons permanently, use the terminal with an unlocked weapon and that then becomes free.
The map fills in as you play.
Combat has you using melee weapons, guns, dodges, equipment such as grenades, and then skills that you unlock.
Beautiful backdrops.
Big boss encounters.
Overkill is where you get a series of hits untouched and this, in turn, grants you a period of stronger attacks.
Collectible diary entries to find.
Loot chests to open along with replenishment chests for gear and ammo.
Slow motion kills can trigger.
Tutorial pop-ups with videos as you play.
Breakable objects.
Devil May Cry/Bayonetta paced combat and style.
Death will reset you back to July 8th in your apartment with memories left intact but the rooms/enemies/puzzles get randomized each run.
You can let your cat.
Cores can be used to buy permanent upgrades to your character via the tenacity skill tree. It is split into health, balance guarantee, and combat.
Strong voicework.
Your choices in the game affect the story.
Save Ray is the guy to talk to about upgrading weapons and skill chips.
Terminal Insurance is a reward where you get one free revive after activating so many terminals within a level.
Traffic sections are little parts where you have to avoid traffic
Setting to auto skip cutscenes.
Multiple choice encounters in terms of destination.
The set pieces are intense and creative.
Fun novelty like weapons such as golf clubs.

Loopmancer Review Cons:

Long initial load time.
Terminal insurance is only good for the current level.
So much going on it can make it hard to see what’s happening.
Combat takes some getting used to.
A lot of visual pop-ups.
Knock back from enemies is almost broken with you flying literally countries away.
A lot of the interactive stuff is on the right stick.
Small text especially pop-up text on items.
Boss fights are just big bullet sponge events.
Constantly getting attacked by enemies off-screen.
No way to look around the level by panning the camera.
They drop f Bombs constantly and it not only cheapens the word but it makes the game seem desperate to be edgy.
The grappling hook stuff is just a pain in both execution and point.
Upgrading of weapons and gear is so generic and uneventful.
Fun weapons to use but most of the time you will just pick a gun and upgrade it and never change.
The dodge control messes up direction so often that it’s really hard to get a combo going.

Loopmancer:

Official website.

Developer: eBrain Studio

Publisher: Xu

Store Links –

Steam

9/10
Graphics - 9/10
8/10
Sound - 8/10
7/10
Accessibility - 7/10
8/10
Length - 8/10
8/10
Fun Factor - 8/10

8/10

Summary

Loopmancer is a looker alright, it has some of the best environmental work I have seen in a long time. Loopmancer is a 2D Metroidvania with a roguelike mechanic on top, for every death will have you waking up to July 8th, and whilst your memories will remain intact, all weapons and abilities will be lost. The World is made up of many locations and rooms, of course, these randomize every run but you will have an over-arcing story that will always trigger certain events and encounters. Loopmancer has you jumping, dodging, and killing fools with both melees and ranged weapons along with equipment and ability moves. It’s a fast-paced game and as said a visual treat but the combat does take some getting used to, the timing of dodges is paramount to success, and knowing when to engage is another. Boss battles are big screen-filling experiences that envoke brilliance but also stress, a lot of stress! Health is picked up as you play or you can get some from Terminals that have a limited supply of health, they also act as fast travel and if you trigger a lot of terminals then you get a free revive in that area. A grapple hook is used for going all vertical up on this bitch and that means you use it a lot, pods can be collected to fix/refill terminals, and unlock new permanent upgrades to your character. Loopmancer just drops in style and it is a relentless onslaught of blood, gore, and over-the-top slow-mo executions. The game has a really good level design with many hidden routes and rooms, you can find these orbs that give you the choice of two buffs that last the entirety of the current run. Honestly, it took a few hours for Loopmancer to grab a hold of me as it has a high barrier to mastering combat, the unlocking and mixing and matching of weapons is impressive but also not really talked about so I glossed over a load of it until I stumbled on a particular weapon. I would say fans of the genre are in for a swearing-filled action-packed hard-boiled ride but new players will have to be prepared to work for it. Loopmancer is fantastic and frustrating in equal measures.