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Loot River Review (Steam)

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For this Loot River Review we explore procedurally generated labyrinths in a dungeon crawling action roguelike that combines tense, real-time combat with spatial block-shifting – slide blocks of ancient ruins, fight bestial abominations, loot, explore, level up, strategize, cast powerful spells, die, and wake up anew.

Loot River Review Pros:

  • Pixel art graphics.
  • 2.08GB Download size.
  • Steam achievements.
  • Full controller support.
  • Graphics settings – window mode, resolution, v-sync, shadows, ambient occlusion, water quality, and noise.
  • Accessibility settings – Font size, platform guides, enemy outlines, screen shake, Colourblind mode, vibrations, solid UI background, and easy mode.
  • Roguelike gameplay.
  • Can rebind controls for both keyboard and the controller.
  • Top-down view.
  • The Gimmick is you can move pieces around the level and they are shaped like Tetromino so they fit and slide particular ways.
  • Puzzle-like elements to the traversal.
  • The main hub you revisit after each death and here are shops, potions, and more.
  • Potions are used to replenish health but you can also bet some with this Alchemist guy that will double your bet if you make it back to him.
  • Every run is timed.
  • Knowledge is found/earned and is used to buy permanent unlocks on the massive skill tree.
  • Earn EXP and get a point to level up your stats – strength, vitality, dexterity, endurance and intelligence.
  • The maps uncover as you explore. A line will be made to show your movements.
  • You have a huge level which can end by you ascending to the next level which is Sanctuary (your hub) and then you carry on with your journey.
  • Upon death everything is randomised and reset from the first location to your loadout.
  • Modifiers can be found/earned and activated/deactivated on future runs.
  • Earn bonus rewards for completing locations quickly.
  • Find lost characters to have them in Sanctuary and each have unique features/rewards.
  • Until you ascend to the next location you can just keep revisiting and going over the current location.
  • Breakable objects.
  • Traps are everywhere and spread so if you set fire to a wooden panel/floor it will then pass to the next and so on.
  • Loot can drop from enemies, Breakable objects and chests.
  • As you progress more elements are added in like stairs, different ledge heights etc.
  • Combat does boast dodging, poise, countering and parrying.

Loot River Review Cons:

  • Despite all the accessibility options the combat is really tricky to master.
  • No way to control the camera.
  • You have to go through so much just to get basic options like weapon choice and character building.
  • Tutorial tips are doled out at a slow pace.
  • Takes a while to get going.
  • The story is really broken up.
  • The loot pool is initially small and full of repeated objects.
  • Got stuck on the scenery a few times.
  • Having to start from square one is a but tedious.

Related Post: Revita Review (Nintendo Switch OLED)

Loot River:

Official website.

Developer: straka.studio

Publisher: straka.studio

Store Links – 

Steam

  • 8/10
    Graphics - 8/10
  • 7/10
    Sound - 7/10
  • 8/10
    Accessibility - 8/10
  • 8/10
    Length - 8/10
  • 7/10
    Fun Factor - 7/10
7.6/10

Summary

Loot River is a very good and unique spin on the roguelike genre. Loot River combines tight combat, puzzles, and Tetris into a game that shouldn’t make sense but totally does. OK, so the game is played out on these platforms that can be freely moved around and are all shaped like Tetromenos meaning you have to move them a certain way to join them together so you can move off the platform. Again it shouldn’t work but it adds a puzzling layer to proceedings that does work but can frustrate in equal measure. Combat is tough only because the camera is top-down with no zoom in and out option, this makes parrying, dodging, etc really hard to pull off, a huge bummer as the combat has all the ingredients but never really realizes its own potential. I love the atmosphere as the world slowly comes to life as you populate the safe space called Sanctuary with characters thought lost. Your typical RPG elements are here, kill enemies get exp, and put points into your stats. Knowledge points are earned and these are lost when you die but get back to the sanctuary and you can spend them on new unlocks and abilities in the massive sprawling skill tree. As a roguelike you are still bound by the usual rules, death means everything resets from player level, knowledge points, location progress, etc. The locations are set in stone but the layout is randomized every run as are enemies and treasure chests. To gain a better understanding you clear a location and get to Sanctuary to which you can then either go back to the current location and clear it all out or you can hit the switch and ascend to the next location, add in a timer that rewards you for being fast and you have quite the challenge. As I say I enjoyed a lot of the game and combat is a bit too chaotic and hard to follow for me but I could get by with a lot of button mashing and strategic panel switching. You should honestly give Loot River a go as all the genres they successfully merge together are a feat to behold and the core gameplay is brilliant.

Jim Smale

Gaming since the Atari 2600, I enjoy the weirdness in games counting Densha De Go and RC De Go as my favourite titles of all time. I prefer gaming of old where buying games from a shop was a thing, Being social in person was a thing. Join me as I attempt to adapt to this new digital age!