PLATFORM: PC, SWITCH (REVIEWED) | RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
The inhabitants of Loop Hero‘s world are stuck in an endless cycle where time no longer exists and all memories have been forgotten. An unnamed hero (that’s you) wakes up one day in an unfamiliar camp and sets off along the only path they can find – a neverending circular path, along which the hero will battle fearsome monsters, meet other survivors, gather resources and slowly rebuild not only their camp but also the world itself along with their own memories…
Loop Hero is super easy to get to grips with, but there’s a huge amount of depth to its deceptively simple gameplay. The hero walks along the path automatically and fights monsters without any input from the player at all, leaving you free to concentrate on your main objective – placing tiles around the path and surrounding area to build up a variety of villages, outposts, traps and monster lairs. These tiles then spawn specific enemies and resources which in turn supply the hero with handy loot and supplies. Enemies get stronger as you complete each loop, so you’ll need to keep an eye on your inventory and quickly equip any new weapons and armour to make sure your hero’s up to the task. If things get too much, you can head back to your base to take a rest and maybe use some of your hard-earned resources to rebuild the camp (unlocking new abilities, tiles and character classes) before heading out again.
Many tiles have hidden effects when placed next to each other, often offering almost essential bonuses but also adding to the overall threat level. For example, placing a three by three block of rocks will create a gigantic mountain which provides a massive health boost to the hero, but it also gives the local harpies a place to live which means they’ll now appear randomly along the path, giving you an extra enemy to contend with. While you’re given a tiny bit of control over how things will pan out (you’re able to select a “deck” of available tiles at the start of each game, useful for runs based on collecting specific resources), Loop Hero always manages to keep you on your toes by handing cards out at random when defeating enemies or opening chests, so you’re never totally sure what might happen next.
To say too much more about how the game works would definitely spoil the fun for those coming to Loop Hero for the first time. It can be a bit of a grind at times, but if you’re looking for something charming and chilled out yet still supremely addictive and engaging (your brain won’t stop working for a single second while playing), Loop Hero absolutely hits the spot.
