Introduction

Hey it's Tarrmu and welcome to another episode of Indie Hour where we talk about the latest independent video games that may have passed you by, and in today's video we're going to be talking about Loop Hero a An interesting intersection that is auto-battler, meets deck-builder with some sprinkled rogue-lite elements developed by Four Quarters.

The Hook

Loop Hero is an interesting mesh of genres that creates both a refreshing and interesting take on many pre-established genres. Loop hero will have you sending your hero out on this path that is generated at the start of the run that you loop around, and engage with activities in an auto-battler. The hook of Loop Hero stems from how typically in a rogue-like your gear, items and weapons you acquire all benefit your character. Loop Hero flips this on its head, providing you cards, which are the major player that modifies and evolves the terrain that you walk, shaping your run, the risk reward, the overall difficulty, and overall boons that you acquire. Yes, your hero will acquire gear which will shape their survivability on a given run, but the cards are the play makers and game changer.

You'll have a finite and ridged set of cards that you can use, which limits how much you can loot and bring back to your base of operations. Which is another key component to the gameplay loop, when you aren't setting out on a run, you'll be at a base where with the materials that you acquire from a loop can upgrade and unlock new buildings, and settlements that provide more cards, and boons that you can take into subsequent runs that feeds into this loop where you're setting out fighting, surviving, and acquiring as many resources as you can. Loop Hero's biggest enemy is player greed, as many times at least for me I will overstay my welcome, enemies will become tougher each time you make a full loop and all this result with me being humbled many times. It's an immediate hook that invests you into wanting to upgrade your base to become stronger for runs, and maximize your runs so you can upgrade your base.

The Moment

The Moment where Loop Hero began to click was on my first solid run where I was beginning to get the hang of the games core mechanics, had a notion of what materials I was chasing and had some decent cards that I could acquire and an overall game plan for how I would layout the map. The first few loops will take some getting used to and the game does take a bit of time to really reveal its cards, but once you come to grips with the overall loop, the game opens up and becomes an addictive cycle with more additive cards, and upgrades that makes a feedback loop where every action feels rewarding, and an element of strategy to knowing when to greed and when to flee from a run, and the big surprise that comes when overstaying your welcome in a run for an extended period of time.

The Features

As I have discussed at this point there are two main features that do underpin Loop Hero the Rogue-like runs where you go out lay tiles and fight enemies, the base of operations where some character moments and stories unfold, on top of facilitating new forms of progression that you can take into a run. But on top of this is the way that you tailor your difficulty where the tiles that you bring into a run shape your playstyle and also the overall difficulty and chances of survival, but will with it net the best rewards. There is also a feature that is built around strategically knowing when to retreat. When you retreat at a bonfire you will keep most of the resources that you have gained during the current run, however dying will see you lose most of those resources. There are also bosses too along with quests and special moments that will occur when engaging with particular tiles or making it to the end of a run.

The Presentation

The presentation for Loop Hero feels heavily inspired from the dungeon-crawlers of old that you would find on an old PC, but back at the base characters will have character cards with some nice sprite work, and overall the use of color in Loop Hero and its choice on when to use and not use color really does make for a nice sense of space and comfort. The base is bright vibrant and cozy, and it is always a nice stop-off before going back to the more neutral colored world of the loop.

Who This Is For

Who is Loop Hero for? Loop Hero is a game for someone who loves the loop-based nature of a rogue-like but loves something that is more built around strategy and auto-battling rather than a focus on snappy combat like say Returnal, or deck-building that isn't character focused like Slay The Spire. Loop Hero offers this unique spin on a genre that does feel pretty oversaturated and still manages to prove that there is a wealth of fresh ideas and gas in the tank that this genre can explore. If you're someone who loves everything and anything rogue-like this is something that may feel both fresh and familiar in its approach to this genre, and is absolutely a ton of fun, the more you open up many of the mechanics and avenues this game to offer.

Closing Thoughts Outro

Let me know your thoughts down below or if there are any games that you'd like to see me cover on the channel, as always I am Tarrmu and this has been Indie Hour, if you enjoyed the video consider giving us a like and if you really enjoyed the video consider subscribing. Thanks for watching.