Loot River - Procedural Grimdark Plague Roguelike RPG

Loot River Gameplay with Splat! Let's Play Loot River and check out a game where you'll dive into a plague stricken world to annihilate undead enemies with tight, responsive swordplay and loads of gear to loot.
Download Loot River : store.steampowered.com/app/14...
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[@NoName-ex4rf]

You're my go-to game reviewer on KZbin.

[@bernhardglitzner4985]

I second that notion.

[@RioCuperus]

You're my daad boogi oogi woogi woogieee

[@nickv1212]

He doesn't quite review so much as he does impressions, which I'm more than okay with. He gets to dabble in way more games that way, meaning we get more impressions for tons of games that don't get the shine.

[@idontwantahandlethough]

@@nickv1212 That's definitely true. But in a way I feel like his impressions usually double as a rudimentary review because he seems to always immediately understand the "essence" of a game (as well as developer intentions). Dude knows game design. On a really fundamental level. Obviously not as a programmer, but as a game _player,_ and that's important b/c it's really easy to lose perspective on that when you're making a game, so I'm sure the devs who send him games to look at really appreciate his opinions too Edit: and at this point, there's just so darn many indie games that I feel like I'd miss a heck of a lot more of the gems if I didn't have splat to guide me lol

[@soule187]

I agree, although I do miss some of the long series. It would be nice if he did that every now and then as well

[@matthuck378]

12:12 "Oh! He's on here with me!" I yelled basically the same thing when I went to kill a large spider with a dust mop, and the fucker ran up the thing right at my hands.

[@2XTheTapp]

Lmao

[@vforwombat9915]

you need the +1 mop.

[@2XTheTapp]

@@vforwombat9915 nah you need a +1 fire mop

[@IAmToyflish]

"Go ahead and swing" - gets absolutley destroyed. Game was like "OK, BOY, SIT DOWN!" :D

[@DamsdelDrennon]

The tetris-ing around of raft pieces is pretty fun, it can make good puzzles and at the same time influence how to approach some fights depending on how much space you need against different enemies.

[@awoken8infinite]

yeah dude, it's such a cool concept. I mean you need to come up with some unique now for your roguelite. no one had done tetris yet. ha ha. There's a panchinko one coming out next year. only there isn't much hybrid to it. the enemies appear on one side, and theres pachinko in the middle. you do pachinko to cause damage. it might sound a bit crap, but it's actually awesome. it's called pegle or something. sure there's a demo on steam.

[@dflatt1783]

*SplatterCatGaming:* "Go ahead and swing." Hammer dude SPLATTED the CAT

[@derekdrake8706]

_"I refuse to play the game by the mechanics that were established and now I'm being punished for it :("_ Now you're a true videogame journalist, Splat!

[@idontwantahandlethough]

I'm having a lot of difficulty relating that to journalism in any way. I thought it made sense at first but the more I think about it the less sense it makes lol

[@derekdrake8706]

@@idontwantahandlethough Videogame journalists are notoriously bad at playing videogames. Often enough they'll give a game a lower score because they don't understand the mechanics of a game and are punished for it.

[@baron-von-masky]

@@derekdrake8706 the most infamous case of that is that cuphead reviewer that couldn't complete the tutorial because of the dashing part

[@SurprisinglyDeep]

While I don't disagree, apparently one of the issues is that the bosses at the review websites send many videogames journalists to interview games they freely self- acknowlege that they have no business reviewing due to their lack of skill playing that genre of computer/video game. (Like apparentpy the guy who failed reviewing Cuphead was actually a decent FPS and sports game gamer.)

[@baron-von-masky]

@@SurprisinglyDeep I understand, however that they are sending unqualified individuals to rate games that don't appeal or that they don't understand. It still leads to the same problem, of the games being not properly reviewed

[@MyrdinAnnoth]

Splat: "Go ahead and swing!" Big guy swings Splat goes splat XD

[@Havvran]

it gives you a sick ass hat right from the get-go 10/10

[@nerored6235]

I absolutely love that the floor is as much a puzzle as it is a maze. And like you said, the differing sizes makes the combat aspect look far more interesting and risky.

[@badgercdlyons]

Okay, somebody may as well be that guy and go ahead and say it: "Press 1 to cast invisibility spell."

[@mrdumb-fq2ul]

Prolific creator. Inspiring how you can pump out so much content that keeps along the same lines of many of us who have similar interests

[@anthony2507]

You could probably kite onto a tile and move it to prevent being overwhelmed by a group.

[@juanQuedo]

Some of the enemy hits on you seemed that you were way out of their range but still damage you. Apart from that, the idea is interesting, hopefully they are able to keep it that way for the duration of the game and won't feel that the moving platforms of the river are hindering you.

[@Khay-77]

I've been waiting for more info on this game for a long time.

[@godoftwinkies574]

Yeah baby! Combat Tetris!

[@Tonedriver]

I feel like this game would just toss me between forced Tetris and dedication to detailed combat.

[@KhaosElement]

This looks...unique. Don't know about good, but unique.

[@Senior666]

"Your consistency is only out weighed by your perfection" ~ Me.

[@andreato7333]

Gpu prices have become a grimdark souls-like fantasy world.

[@EzekielHateable]

Wow this is a great idea for a game mechanic, the slide puzzle aspect is really kewl. I really want to see what the late game is like.

[@zappedguy1327]

The raft idea looks fun.Thanks Splatt

[@CoolSs]

I remember finding out about this game . And my first thought was "this is extreme tetris"

[@grilledpasta6083]

Hey splattercat! I'm actually watching your 40k space marine series. I'm really happy to see you still making vids! Are you excited at all for the space marine 2 announcement? This is the first recent video I'm on so I feel like this is the best place to put this.

[@johngrey5806]

With the game level shifting like a Tetris puzzle, this game is pretty unique. Interesting!

[@ScreamingTc]

Tetris-Borne?

[@awoken8infinite]

Best way to describe it is a dungeon crawler/Stealth puzzler hybrid, where the dungeon is made up of a game of Tetris. Also dude, a lot of the moving about is to actually avoid groups that would annihilate you. from the footage I've seen of the game a while back, a lot of it is puzzling your way around combat, or to get round the back of enemies and sneak up on them, or use some other sneaky way to beat them underhandedly. I know it's your thing to not read tool tips and what have you, but the game tells you this stuff. You're supposed to use a mixture of the shifting platforms and invisibility to get the jump on them. you're not meant to face them head on, and you're not meant to dodge roll like a dark souls dex-weeb neither, ha ha. I mean you have a parry for the big guys if you want to use it, but 9/10 there's a clever way to dispatch these groups of enemies using a mixture of stealth, environmental hazards and that kind of thing. I would suggest to anyone that is maybe a little stuck on how to play it, to watch the video that came out a while ago of the way combat is supposed to play out. It's absolutely beautiful to see unfold. It is very much a puzzle hybrid (and not just because the ground is like tetris. the combat is designed to be a puzzle as well)

[@eschelar]

One mechanic that might make this more interesting would be if they had some monsters that hated each other and you had to fight them by moving the rafts around and connecting them. Especially if there were some enemies that were otherwise very difficult to kill. Ie aerial enemies, ethereal enemies, heavily armored enemies, dodgy enemies or even invisible enemies. It seems they are leaning towards the idea, but it doesn't seem to be super important. Would be interesting if there were 3 weapon slots, but maybe several weapon types and you weren't able to get enough weapon types to cover all enemy types... So you would eventually be running around in a dungeon where you couldn't kill everything you encountered... Or you could, but you might have to bring up tactics to kill some enemies that your weapons couldn't handle... Some of the defensive abilities like double dodge and the magical shields could play into this as well, since you might have no choice but to stay on the same raft as an enemy that you can't attack as you move it into position for a strategic npc v npc kill. Also, since it's also called a river, maybe having some flow and some mechanics for tying rafts together or to immovable objects... Not to mention having traps... That fire trap with destructible rafts This one could get *very* in depth if they fleshed it out.

[@MandaloretheSavage]

Tertis dungeon crawler...love the original concept.

[@awoken8infinite]

really looking forward to this game. not only is it a great concept, but the art is beautiful as well. what did you think, splat? I'll watch this later anyway dude. I'm just hooked on melvor right now.

[@benjamincvcvcv7]

Press 1 to go invisible...

[@edwinjeremiahkyleparadina3063]

Sheesh 🔥

[@randomwilds3403]

Reminds me of a Tetris battle platform. I dig it.

[@jeice13]

I would prefer attacks to default to aiming at the mouse than at the characters current facing considering the only way to change directions is moving

[@idontwantahandlethough]

Definitely. Either that, or a toggle would be fine too, but I'm pretty sure 90%+ of people would prefer to aim at mouse. Unless there's a specific game mechanic related reason, but I don't really see any here

[@coreytaggart128]

If I'm getting this correct attacks are on the keyboard, and movement is on the mouse. I assume wasd was for moving the segments you stand on but that is still very odd for controls if that is.

[@pbsixgun6]

22:54 it was one of the blue things, whatever those are.

[@jimdaniel1103]

This game looks dope! I wish it weren't a roguelike though cause I got no time for those. But i might give it a shot.

[@LiqnLag]

Very interesting game concepts, not my cup of tea but I really like the direction they have going on.

[@bobbusc]

I'm sure theres a design reason (probably to prevent players from getting stuck), but I do wish the platforms were more like ice block puzzles. So the platforms would only go in one direction until they hit a wall or other object.

[@kanati]

Not sure if the mechanics of wandering around a river on movable rafts can hold me for an entire game... but it's definitely a new idea that I haven't seen before. I'm just not sure it wouldn't be better served in a more diverse RPG as one or two levels.

[@SoulWhite]

#ZeldaDidItFirst

[@bobandjima]

Love the Chanel would definitely like if you could some personal rating on these games, 1 - 10 since I’m mostly can hear videos going home or after kids go to bed, but usually don’t have the time to see 30 min videos so I score system would be amazing due to you experience

[@bluefire19965]

How did you menage to change the movement to the mouse? i tryed to search for that and in setting even if it says mouse and keyboard i cant find any mouse support for movement :

[@blakegrimes3557]

I just think it’s cool that they made the game name with only straight lines

[@harleypoppitypop3817]

24:00 based.

[@siett1335]

What if Tetris was blended with Diablo and watered down a bit? Better yet this is tetris in wreck it Ralph universe during the covid 19 lock down

[@misterfrost5649]

Interesting game for those who have enough patience.

[@MarkDeSade100]

The game has "loot" right in the title so I thought it would involve collecting a lot of stuff and getting rich. But in the actual gameplay, whenever the character got a new piece of equipment he dropped the one he was already wearing. So you don't even have an inventory, can't carry anything or sell items you don't need? Looks like you definitely won't be collecting a lot of stuff or getting rich. In fact it looks like this game has significantly less looting than an average RPG.

[@sebastianvrsinsky8199]

i checked this video out due to "Loot" in the name. I am currently trying to find a game similar to Vampire Survivors with a bit more loot. Was dissapointed.

[@MarkDeSade100]

@@sebastianvrsinsky8199 I bought Vampire Survivors immediately after watching his video on it! If you like getting lots of loot I'd recommend Dungeonmans, it's a turn-based RPG so it's not exactly the same as VS but you can collect a lot of stuff. And it is a roguelite with permadeath but the runs are pretty long.

[@chandl34]

Klotski + Hyperlight Drifter

[@Mercento]

Rogue-lite splat. If not TB, then it is rogue-lite

[@mbielcik]

🖤

[@isg9106]

I always end up being so confused by the time you get into the gameplay, trying to remember everything you’ve said while my brain tries to make its own conclusions based off of what I’m seeing. I hope I’m the only one who experiences this issue, but if I’m not, a good solution to this could just be the old “show, don’t tell” or show then tell, or show while telling, but never tell then show.

[@zengrath]

This game looks like would be way better with a controller, says full controller support on steam, wondering why you decided to play with keyboard. My fingers don't work right anymore myself and it's actually painful to use a keyboard so i'd be playing this with a controller

[@Nakedhampster1]

LINE BLOCK

[@ohnoitisnt666]

Game seems to need a little more work to work if you know what I mean.

[@sanahoi3785]

17:40

[@fwdcnorac8574]

Looks like top down Darksouls

[@wrongthinker843]

The boating mechanic looks like it'll become irritating very quickly.

[@WhatWillYouFind]

The boat mechanics allow you to control who or how you fight. You can cheese melee only bosses by frame swinging on him and the swimming the dredge away before he can even retaliate. It also would allow you to coral enemies and move them between the boats to choke them off from surrounding you as examples . . . . It's worth trying before making assumptions. ;)

[@tyrindel]

nope on the puzzles , i play arpgs for mindless violence and looting

[@falestales2261]

i just spent 1k for a 399msrp gpu lol

[@NattosoupStudio]

Western games tend not to have animation cancelling like eastern games do.

[@Hunhaar]

sorry, they took and made a game out of a puzzle mechanic everyone wants to skip in a rpg

[@QualeQualeson]

Gimmick alert. Moving the map pieces around does not a game make. In fact, it's fairly trivial.

[@sandwedge]

was looking forward to this but the combat looks terrible.

[@KittiLumpo]

Grimdark Scale: 4/10. *some* aesthetics are grimdark, but i think the devs need to revisit what grimdark means; mostly i see "rust-punk" and "mideival dystopia" with only that semi-sentient head (in the iphis area) and the pictures in the loading screens *actually* being grimdark.

[@Teeb2023]

Pixelart is fast becoming as "meh" as zombies.

[@seth468]

NOT A ROGUELIKE. Man I've tried enjoying your videos for what they are, and just being at peace with the service you do for the indie gaming community, but as your reputation has grown, other people have started taking cues from your videos on which games belong in which genre. It is no secret that you are terrible at placing games to a genre, but it's gotten out of hand. This game is not a roguelike. A lot of games you review aren't roguelikes, or tactical RPGS, or a lot of other things, but you call them these things anyway. When I go searching for a game, I don't want every game under the sun coming up in my results because one popular youtuber can't keep his genres straight. Please man, get it right or dispense with the genre-naming altogether.

[@niallrussell7184]

I'm not even sure what Roguelike even are anymore, and my experience goes back to 80s/90s, like nethack, omega, moria, angband, etc. Used to be procedural dungeon crawls with permadeath.

[@jeice13]

@@niallrussell7184 roguelite is probably more accurate here as i think that means it has between run progression of some sort

[@phoenixfeiren7639]

@@niallrussell7184 Then you know exactly what to compare this game to. My rule of thumb is simple - if it's not turn-based, it's not a roguelike.