izigame.me

You spin me around and around

There is a certain beauty to simplicity of purpose. A mundane notion, thought through, expanded upon and perfected in a bid to deliver a worthwhile piece of entertainment. Loop Hero is one such proof of concept, on one hand a rougelike taken apart to its most basic components and on the other a fresh take on the genre, able to snatch you away for however long you please. Whether you are a die-hard veteran or a rookie with a while to spare, the title in question is there with an adventure to deliver. Daring as this introduction may be, I was genuinely charmed by how Loop Hero in question manages to make the repetition, of all things, entertaining.
In the beginning, there was nothing
The world has ended, first the stairs have went out, then the blackness flooded the land and everything was simply gone, as if nothing has ever existed in the first place. And yet, against all odds, a very confused hero stands by the road amidst emptiness in stark contrast to the fate of the universe. With nothing better to do, the player’s character starts to tread this road over and over again and as he does, the hero starts to slowly remember the world that was. One block at a time, the player begins to gather pieces with which to fill the nothingness. Thus, a quest to save the world begins. However, the spark of activity in the middle of darkness is easy to notice for the powers behind this calamity and they will come knocking very soon.
Admittedly, the story delivered primarily via dialogue boxes reminiscent of jRPGs is an addition to this gameplay-driven title. That said, Loop Hero is written with a surprising level of forethought which quickly made me invested into its lore. To the point that I made a habit of browsing a couple of entries (you may unlock encyclopaedia further down the line) following each game session. It is simply an enjoyable read with a prevalent nihilistic undertone to it all so fitting to the game’s subject matter. If seeing the world end won’t make you feel disillusioned, I don’t know what may.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2913525073
Evening the odds
It’s high time to address the main course of this game, namely the loops themselves. A lot of the gameplay loop in this title is automated – the player’s character traverses the road and fights all of the encountered monsters automatically. However, it is the player who decides when and where each of the cards received for fighting monsters will be played. Terrain is dedicated to the background, they increase the player’s stats for a price – they increase monster presence when played in abundance. Then there are landmarks, filling more utilitarian function e.g. they can increase player’s speed or reduce the maximum monster presence on tiles in range. Most cards may only be played adjacent or directly on the road. These tend to directly spawn monsters which while dangerous also fuel character’s growth and equipment.
Even at its default setup, Loop Hero presents the player with a puzzle. Expand too recklessly and the monsters will quickly overwhelm you. Develop too slowly and steadily increasing loop level will make even the few monsters in the field too powerful as you fail to gather item drops, necessary to increase the hero’s stats. In order to succeed the player needs to experiment, learn and seek delicate balance that allows their character to maintain the momentum. Every card placed on the map gradually fills the progress bar, heralding the coming of chapter’s boss. Given that the title in question is a rougelike, you will likely see more than a couple of death screens before getting to that point though. Even in death, the player gets to keep a fraction of the gathered resources to take back to the camp – your new home away from reality.
Survivors
Whether victorious or beaten into submission, the hero always returns to the camp with whatever spoils he managed to gather along the way. Starting off as a humble fireplace, this is the backbone of the game’s progression system. With a multitude of buildings to construct and upgrade, more and more survivors begin to appear in the camp, eager to assist the hero during his quest in return for the commodities he provides. Most functionalities in the game need to be unlocked this way, healing potions, crafting, perk system – the more you build, the more this title starts to resemble a classic RPG.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2913525249
As the camp gradually becomes a hub teeming with life, the variety of cards available increases as well. The player can build a deck of cards, allowing to either prepare a setup most fitting to your chosen playstyle or pursuit a very specific goal. Many cards have unique synergies, completely altering their base properties when placed next to each other. Discovering these interactions on your own, encourages experimentation in a satisfying way and lore entries provide quite a few hints on where to look. A noteworthy aspect of the game is how well paced its chapter-based structure is. Once each of the four chapters is completed, the player usually has sufficient resources to build a structure responsible for a new mechanic, which just happens to be a perfect tool for completing the following stage. Smooth and organic progression system is perhaps the greatest strength Loop Hero can boast.
Sides of a coin
Despite quite a few intricacies apparent when you explore the game in finer detail, Loop Hero at its core is simple to a fault. Depending on your expectations, all of what I perceive to be this title’s virtues can quickly turn into vices. It may be a jolly background clicker to toy with while queuing for a match or a laid-back proposition after a long day of work. Nevertheless, if a more immersive experience is what you are looking for, you may find yourself flatout bored by Loop Hero’s high degree of automation. Likewise, while I find this title perfect for shorter play sessions, if one were to try completing the game in a weekend, it would overstay its welcome very fast.
For its relative simplicity, Loop Hero is not without minor technical issues. I experienced several crashes, which luckily cost me a minute of play at most, due to constantly updating autosave. Oddly enough, Steam screenshot feature creates corrupted files when the game is played in full-screen mode. Nothing deserving of more than this footnote though.
Ultimately, I view Loop Hero as a title created with a busy gamer in mind, one having 2 hours or less of daily playtime on average. Should you happen to fit the bill, you will likely be enamoured by this title much like yours truly. Enthusiasts of the rougelike genre should also enjoy this game’s literal take on the notion of gameplay loop. In turn, those among you gaming for the adrenaline rush should probably steer away from this one. For everyone else, as you make your loop so shall you hero, or something along these lines as the saying goes.