Set in a series of procedurally generated labyrinths, Loot River is a challenging, dungeon crawling action adventure that combines tense, real-time combat and dark fantasy settings with spatial block-shifting. Armed with the power of the Relic, players can shift the ground beneath them, sliding floating ruins together in a series of tile puzzles. As players venture through these endless catacombs, they’ll encounter beasts, lost travelers, and demanding bosses. These cosmic grottos offer a wealth of new weapons and gear to discover, as well as unholy knowledge to unearth for permanent upgrades...

Loot River is an old skool top down dungeon crawler

Loot River is an old skool top down dungeon crawler that is easy to pick up and play, but at times can be fiendishly difficult.

Discover a rich combat system, a varied bestiary of cursed enemies, procedurally-generated labyrinths packed with a bounty of build-changing weapons, spells and other loot, and a rich, lore-filled, fantasy-inspired world to explore.

The game never holds your hand, rather it allows you to learn through trial and error how best to progress. As you start you immediately discover the game's main mechanics - that of floating platforms that you can move to get to new areas. It looks easy, but soon you'll need to move these platforms around to get to areas... because some won't fit and others are just getting in your way. Time to take a step back for a moment and think about your movements. And, as an additional challenge, there are some platforms (which you don't have to climb on to progress through the game) that hold hidden treasures for you to find.

You'll learn through trial and error how to progress

The next challenge is how to dispatch the various beasts roaming around the world. At first it's a case of simply attacking them... but the further through the game you go the more tactically you'll have to think. This is where the floating platforms can help. You can move a platform towards an enemy, attack it and then move the platform away so you can't be attacked. Or when there are multiple foes, you can move the platform towards them, let a few climb aboard and then move the platform so that you only have a few enemies to deal with at a time. However, sometimes it's best to just run and not engage the enemy.

Sometimes it's best to just run and not engage the enemy

You can upgrade certain aspects of your character as you progress (strength, vitality, dexterity, endurance and intelligence) by spending points that you collect throughout the game. And you'll need to level these up in order to ensure you have a fighting chance to take out the occasional boss.

Overall this is a fun, frantic slice of retro gaming presented in a more modern setting.

7

Nick Smithson