LootLite | PS4 Review

I don't know if this is a late April Fools joke or what, but for what it is JanduSoft's "LootLite" misses the mark for a proper indie roguelike, severely ...

About as basic as they come this semi-top down arcade dungeon looter has the lone player or two players locally through co-op choosing from eight different hero classes with a melee, special, and ultimate attacks beholden to their base build. These classes each harbor a unique starter weapon, a certain stock of health, and specific attacks centered around said class archetypes. Dealing specific damage as well. 

Customizable to a light degree these adventurers can change their hairstyle, and race at the beginning of a playthrough. Checking off the diversity, and inclusivity quota in one fell swoop. Leaving the last option to that of class type. Classes being Warrior, Mage, Assassin, Apothecary, Barbarian, Dragon Knight, Scavenger, and Necromancer. It is their goal, from ship to the top of the biome covered peninsula, to kill enemies, loot boxes, open chests, and pay for runes with collected coin for added buffs. Making it as far as they can, percentage-wise, in a given run.

While the premise is simple the motivation, and plot is lost to nonsensical flavor text that holds no weight in the realm of gameplay. On the actual site though the developer does disclose that the heroes were robbed, and must regain their arsenal by looting the previously mentioned peninsula. Gameplay, itself, is very basic by design and features multiple pathways gated by locked doors in each maze-like biome that requires a key to access. 

Within each biome the goal is simple. Survive and loot the area for all it's worth while killing enemy creatures, avoiding hazards, and buffing up via rune stones that cost the coins you've collected. Allowing for a varied build outside of the base class. Along the way you'll also find weapons of the melee, magic, and throwing type with underlying stats, and stat enhancements. Added bonus features that play into, and depend upon the characters' mana bar. Something that either depletes upon magic use, or special/ultimate attack usage when wielding melee weapons. The throwing weapons, in particular, are also governed by their own usage measures, but are mainly tied to a number of uses before you have to pause and replenish via countdown timer to use again. When it comes to armor you'll find those things in chests as well with added benefits like extra health containers, and mana perks. Leaving the runes to add to defense, movement speed, throwing capacity, mana restoration, and resistances ... among other things.

There are several biomes to loot in "LootLite". Each with their own ecosystem of hazards, and creatures. You'll find a prairie, a cave, a dark forest, a swamp, a desert, a volcano, and other locales with their own unique thematic elements. The creatures, and hazards therein growing more difficult to deal with the more your character travels up the island. Progress along the journey, and through these inhabited habitats, is measured in percentages that are disclosed either upon death, or completion. And with each biome conquered your looted equipment, and runes carry over until death do you part. 

Where the game loses me, and will likely turn away most gamers, is the ridiculous loading screens between each biome, and the occasional game breaking framerate drops that should not be a thing in such an indie or offline game. The fact that it lags at all is suspicious. Leaving the excess loading screens to be a highly unwarranted addition that makes no sense at all in a small game this size, and structure. Even with the randomization of biomes accounted for it makes no sense why there are loading screens at all unless it is to take the piss ... 

The Verdict ...

For obvious reasons already disclosed I feel this game does not deserve gamers' money even at it's budget pricing of $4.99. There is something really off about the in-game lag that could easily go into conspiracy theory territory. Like the game having secretive online access tacked on. The game is offline, it's basic pixel design, and should not have framerate drops that bad. It's the type of lag graphically modern online games experience. Nor should it have long loading screens between biomes, especially considering their small size. It's a hard nope from me. Until they explain why the game acts like it does I'd stay far the Hell away from it. Even if you win it for free.