Touted as a liaison between Soulslikes and Tetris, Loot River delivers this intriguing combination with style. Every moment oscillates between sophisticated puzzle solving and fluid action. Players should expect to die constantly in Loot River’s darkly atmospheric levels, with each death throwing you back to where you started. However, the exciting gameplay and splashing pixel art make it hard to resist another run.
I start on a raft; a pathetic mattress and discarded junk are scattered around me. I know I’m in the sunken village, a miserable looking place with rotting wooden decks floating on murky waters, but not much else. The tone and cryptic story screams Dark Souls, especially when I find a note: “This isn’t a kingdom; it is a grave.”
To move from place to place, regardless of the level, I have to move around platforms of different shapes with the right joystick while controlling my character with the left. Navigating narrow corridors and platform-crowded arenas, I’m constantly shifting from one form to another just trying to find my way through. I was concerned that this might be unwieldy, but after a few moments of getting used to the controls, it feels instinctive and conveys a sense of out-of-combat accomplishment. The flowing pixelated waves that follow me also give the world a wonderfully dynamic feel.
The procedurally generated block slide mazes are never the same twice, and the designers also do an excellent job of ensuring that each level offers a unique challenge. Staggered platforms or traps that set my raft on fire add deeper and sometimes urgent layers to the traverse’s problem-solving design. I’m often surprised by enemies with unexpected abilities, like the insidious monsters that will hold onto a platform until killed.
The unusual movement mechanics lend themselves well to combat. I’ll often launch an attack, stopping next to an enemy’s raft and unleashing a devastating blow before gliding away unaffected or casting a spell to become temporarily invisible. Other than that, parrying is my preferred strategy. Getting the timing right opens up a devastating counterattack for my opponents, rendering me momentarily impenetrable. It’s amazing how powerful landing that perfect attack feels.
Loot River’s heart-pounding combat and traversal-by-puzzle design is built on a roguelike foundation. I fight my way through creative and distinctive areas until finally an opponent overwhelms me. Then the process starts all over again on the first level, losing most of my hard-earned upgrades. Progression doesn’t work like a Souls game, and giving up that expectation early on has helped me enjoy the experience more.
It’s tempting to equate Knowledge, an in-game currency sometimes dropped from defeated opponents, with souls from the game’s inspiration. But while I could spend the resource to permanently unlock better gear from certain vendors, I couldn’t use it to boost my stats. Leveling is entirely dependent on the number of enemies defeated in a run, and usually each stat reverts to its base level upon death. Just because I unlocked a new weapon or armor option with my knowledge didn’t mean I always had access to it. There are a few ways to influence what type of gear I would have at the start of a run, but getting hard-hitting weapons or stat-boosting accessories mostly came down to what loot monsters were dropped or what I had in chests could find. It can be a brutal and frustrating cycle, but it’s also so satisfying to find a groundbreaking item early on or have my stats perfectly matched to the needs of that run. Even with the hurdles of this system, I kept getting drawn into the fight.
It’s not all doom and gloom, however. Successfully completing a level or succumbing to an inevitable death brought me back to a tranquil hub called Sanctuary. The bright environment features chirping birds, a healing memorial, helpful NPCs, and pettable chickens (which I visited between each mission for good luck). My quest, my immortal state, and my ability to change the world beneath my feet are all tied to the relic at the center of this peaceful zone. The narration, while somewhat ambiguous, is thought-provoking. The characters attached to this wondrous and ominous object ask me to consider the cost of its power, even as I’m happy to exploit it to continue the repetitive gameplay.
It took me just over six hours to see my first victory screen, but that wasn’t the end of the game. Unlocking everything, uncovering mysteries, and piecing together the lore are all part of the almost inexhaustible experience. Being the victim of a first tier enemy after almost making it to the final boss on the previous run can be very irritating, but the game is hard to put down. Loot River reinvents some of the best elements of its inspirations, offering players the ability to cleverly sail through any environment, grow powerful enough to smash once-impossible threats, and unravel a story that intelligently blends into the gameplay.
