The newly released game Loop Hero made by Four Quarters and published by Devolver Digital is a surprise hit. Sure, they were expecting the game to do well, but it’s really blowing up in terms of copies sold. And, a major reason for that has to do with its unique approach to the roguelike format. With a new roguelike coming out what seems like every month, developers really have to put work in to separate their game from the rest of the pack.
It’s not a game that immediately explains everything to you, which is why there’s so much that new players have to figure out before it really clicks. In general, there’s just a lot that Loop Hero does differently from other memorable roguelike games such as The Binding of Isaac or Hades, so let’s talk about it.
10 Tile Combinations
There are always item or mechanical synergies in rogue-like games, it’s part of the foundation. Certain Boons become Duo Boons in Hades, specific guns evolve in specific situations in Enter the Gungeon, and so on.
But, Loop Hero’s approach to synergies feels especially unique. This synergistic approach comes in the form of Tile Combinations, which are when you place two different cards/tiles next to each other to create something entirely new.
9 Its Incredible Nihilistic Tone & Atmosphere
Because this genre of games essentially requires that you die over and over to experience all their content, the tone, more often than not, is a bit dour or nihilistic. The main character usually makes snide remarks about dying over and over and certain NPCs may even comment on it.
This is true for Loop Hero as well, but its nihilism is something deeper and more, individual. Reality itself is basically gone and all the characters see around them is blackness, for the most part, even their memories are destroyed. So, when these NPCs are nihilistic, it’s because it isn’t just the end of their world, but the end of all worlds.
8 The Concept Of The Loop
One of the hardest parts of creating a roguelike game is figuring out how exactly to get the audience to play through the same game over and over again, while also enjoying themselves. In some games, this is primarily achieved through the sheer amount of potential items, like The Binding of Isaac. In others, they diversify each run with a variety of potential paths or biomes, such as in Dead Cells.
Yet, Loop Hero has neither. No, in this game, players will be staring at a small loop of road surrounded by abyssal darkness in every single expedition, every single time. Yet somehow, this is a game we’ve already spent 30+ hours on, how is that possible? Well, while the loop may look mostly the same each time, the way the map is built and the way your build varies differs greatly, and that’s where the replayability comes in.
7 You Can’t Voluntarily Get Rid Of Gear
Sure, there are other roguelike games where you can’t turn old weapons or armor into currency, but Loop Hero is a bit different. Basically, any gear you switch out is “erased” from existence, yielding no resources whatsoever. But, if you let your inventory fill up completely, the last item at the bottom right gets dismantled automatically once a new item is picked up, and is turned into Scrap Metal.
This loop continues as long as you keep a full inventory, so it’s actually a decent enough method of farming Stable Metal. But, the lack of an ability to “choose” when to break down useless armor is absolutely something you don’t see often in these types of games.
6 It’s An Auto-Battler
Probably the most obviously unique feature of Loop Hero is the fact that it’s an auto-battler. This means that your Hero controls themselves, and you just tell them where to go and what to use. Making Loop Hero an auto-battler is beneficial for the game in a myriad of ways, and by far makes it more accessible to a wider audience.
It’s obvious that the dev team was more focused on the concept of having you build the map yourself, and an intricate combat system would have just taken away from that. It’s not the most visually exciting auto-battle system, but we still loved the end result.
5 Getting In & Out With What You Can
The standard format for games of this type is that while you’re in the “dungeon” or out on an “expedition” none of the buffs, armor, or weapons carry over between runs. Basically, you’re building your character up from scratch at the start of each attempt. You always start with the same weapon in Enter the Gungeon, but by the end, you’ve gone through tons of different guns.
In any case, there’s usually a type of currency you bring back to the hub with you, even after dying. But, in Loop Hero, the “currency” is a wide variety of different materials that are used to craft different buildings and upgrades. And, the option of retreating with what you’ve gathered or staying to see things through is completely up to you.
4 A Very Creative Take On Necromancers
The Necromancer Class is a bit special in Loop Hero. For one, it doesn’t really act like a mage normally would. Rather than casting spells, the Necromancer summons a variety of different minions. Normally, when building a mage character in these sorts of games, their builds center around magic damage, mana cost, and their overall MP.
But, for the Necromancer in Loop Hero, Attack Speed, Summon Quality, and Summon Level are the priorities. The faster the Necromancer’s “attack” is, the quicker they can build an army of skeletons, and none of the standard stats such as damage, evasion, or magic damage apply to their skeletons, which is a pretty inventive way to tackle a character like this.
3 The Difficulty Of The Game Is Entirely Up To You
Loop Hero is not an easy game by any definition. Upgrading your camp takes a ton of grinding and the first boss alone is no joke. After all, you’re a “normal” knight/rogue/necromancer going up against a Lich who destroyed reality as we know it, so of course, it would be a bit of a tough fight. In any case, Loop Hero is centered around the mechanic of “building” your loop out with spawners, terrain, and more.
The difficulty of each Expedition or even each cycle of your loop is entirely dependant on you. You can horde cards and fight slimes for 15 loops if you want, but the scaling difficulty will eventually catch up with you. This delicate balance is part of what the game so painstakingly addicting and isn’t something we’ve seen from many other games in recent memory.
2 Using Resources To Unlock Lore
The Encyclopedia Entries in Loop Hero are something special. You can tell that the developers love coming up with stories and ideas about creatures and materials in this world they’ve created. But, accessing this Lore is a bit of a struggle, as players have to build both the Intel Center and the Library to even get the Encyclopedia in the first place.
Then, they need to spend a specific resource, a Book of Memories, in order to “unlock” the lore for each item, card, monster, or material in the game. It’s not often you see lore details locked behind progression like this, and thankfully the writing is absolutely worth the grind to unlock.
1 It’s A Bit More Grindy
Speaking of grind, let’s cap things off by talking about how grind-y Loop Hero is. At first, it doesn’t seem like building everything in the camp will be all too bad. But, after you get to about the halfway point, you’ll notice just how much Steel, Rations, and rare Orbs these buildings start to take.
Then, once you finally reach the top of the building chart, you’ll notice that most of the buildings you’ve crafted also have multiple levels of upgrades, which require even more rare materials. The endless grind gets a bit too monotonous near the end-game but is still a pretty enjoyable time regardless.
NEXT: 10 Games To Play If You Like Loop Hero
