As soon as I started up Heroes of Loot I was immediately drawn to the vibrant style. I’m a huge fan of looting in games like Diablo and Torchlight so this was a game I was excited to try. The main thing that surprised me was that not only is this a game that is about dungeon crawling it also serves as a twin-stick style shooter.
You start the game by selecting one of five different characters (the fifth being unlocked at a point in the game). You’re then dropped into a dungeon where you blast your way through hoards of enemies picking up, you guessed it, loot. Traditionally with a dungeon crawler you would expect to be using melee weapons but here you use a selection of ranged attacks. The pixel art is awesome. There isn’t much difference in the functionality of the weapons, but they vary nicely in terms of aesthetics. The enemies are drawn really well, and each has a unique attack.
At it’s core, Heroes of Loot manages to bring together a perfect blend of twin-stick shooting and dungeon crawling that really works very well. The controls are responsive and easy to use. You tap or hold the right side of the screen to attack, and use the left side of the screen like a joystick to move around. As I progressed through the game I would gain experience from killing enemies or picking up items around each dungeon. This game is simple in terms of gameplay but is hugely satisfying in terms of player engagement. You progress through the game by finding keys that are dropped by enemies. In later stages you take on harder foes that present a more challenging experience.
You find yourself diving deeper and deeper into chaotic dungeons that become increasingly more difficult. The pace of combat and number of enemies quickly ramps up and the game becomes more difficult. This is where the game becomes very addicting as you want to make it to the next section without dying.
It can be easier to survive if you manage to find magical runes that give you different abilities like a shield or potions. This is where the loot aspect of the game matters. You collect gold throughout the dungeons to purchase various items and abilities. Unfortunately that’s there is to offer for gaining all the loot. There’s certainly no question that this game is addictive and fun to play but I wish that there was a little more to offer in terms of upgrades or character progression.
The first time you start Heroes of Loot it’s a great experience but once you put a fair amount of time in you will have pretty much experienced all that the game has to offer. The novelty of randomly generated levels is quickly worn away when the same handful of enemies are tussling with you.
Heroes of Loot is good in the sense that it throws you straight into the fun, fast-paced action from the get go. While this lack of complexity remove the barrier to entry for many, it does hack away at the game’s lasting appeal. The “dungeon difficulty” also hangs around after you’ve died, so when I started again, this time around the difficulty was much higher.
Overall Heroes of loot is worth giving a go as it manages to capture a perfect blend of dungeon crawling and shooting that feels extremely satisfying. I find a good measure of a games quality is its ability to make me want to play it that little bit more. You will find yourself wanting to make it through each dungeon to see what awaits you in the next section. I would certainly recommend this game on the PS Vita. Happy looting!
REVIEW CODE: A complimentary Sony Playstation Vita code was provided to Brash Games for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to editor@brashgames.co.uk.
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