Loop Hero review: The game is the hero, you are just the DM

Loop hero is a strategy game which is also a fascinating meditation on parenting. The game distracts attention from the hero’s direct control; instead, it’s your job to create their environment, weapons, and abilities to prepare them for the road ahead. You can’t do it for them, but you can improve their chances of success.

The game plunges you into a confusing configuration. The world is over and no one really knows or remembers what happened or why. A lone hero is stuck in a loop, but you don’t play like them; they operate completely on autopilot, fighting every monster they encounter, until they either die or you direct them to the camp to preserve their collected resources. Each loop they complete will heal a percentage of the damage they took, and their enemies’ potency and the loot they drop increase with each loop as well.

Loop hero reverses what you are used to paying attention to in a game. Your hero and the battles they participate in? You have no control over it, at least not directly; all you can do is arrange for them to be loaded. Meanwhile, the world itself? You create it. It’s someone else’s job to survive it.

I never felt a direct relationship with my hero; I saw them completely as someone else, and it was my job to prepare them for the battles to come by supporting them with better items and better care, while not taking too much of their time in terms of enemy placement and environment. This is the challenge I often face as a parent: I want my kids to feel safe and supported, but I don’t want to remove so many challenges that they fade away at the first major test of their skills or abilities.

The hero will win or lose depending on the environment you have created for him and whether he is well enough designed to help the hero grow and prosper.

Your world, your weapons, not your fight

Things just start at the beginning, with your hero starting the loop and taking on a few low-level beasts. Destroying the evil creatures that live on the loop earns you gear for the hero, as well as land or buildings that can be placed on the board to create some sort of map. World maps are arranged at the bottom of the screen, with your gear on the right, under your active loadout.

You create your world using the cards, and each one means something different to your hero. Placing mountains increases your maximum health points, for example. Each Prairie tile you place earns you two life points at the end of each play day, which scrolls quite quickly. Those are the Well cards. You also need to place cards that will spawn more enemies in the loop, but most importantly, you can decide where you place these cards and how far away they are from other cards. Once you’ve put enough squares on the board, the boss will appear.

Create enough environment in an area by connecting several of the same maps, and you might be surprised how the world comes to life on its own. Putting two cards next to each other can make enemies even harder to kill, or you can find cards to put in a particular order so that enemies generated have to fight against both you and the enemy. environment.

Nothing exists in a vacuum; everything interacts with everything else. If you don’t place the squares with some sort of strategy in place, balancing the need to keep your hero healthy and the need to strengthen them to be powerful enough to destroy the boss, you’re going to lose. During this time, the hero also collects different materials throughout this process so that you can improve your base camp, thus opening up more options for future races.

You’ll also earn gear as your hero fights for survival, and juggling your loadout is constant, never-ending work. Learning each magic effect requires experimentation, because Loop hero explains very little. What will this ring do with these stats when paired with this shield? What is even “vampirism”, and could it be good in that context? You have to try different things and find out what works just like parenting. Using trial and error to learn and figure things out is a great way to explore the world with your kids, and it’s almost a mandatory skill to perfect your stroke. Loop hero.

If you do well, your Automated Hero will continue on their way and win their battles, as you continue to trade in their weapons and gear for better loot.

If you hurt? Well, you die, you’re sent back to camp, and you lose a lot of resources. But you still have a chance to take a deep breath, see if you can improve your camp, and get back into battle.

Respect your time and attention

Loop hero has two states of play: adventure and planning. Your hero continues to move and fight during the state of adventure. During the planning state, the hero stops so you can consider your build and where to place your tiles. Switching between the two states requires a push of a button. There are also switches that can pause the game at the end of each loop, at the end of each battle, when hovering over units to learn more about them, or when hovering over items during a battle.

It is a game-changer, giving you full control to take as much or as little time on each decision as you like, removing the sense of urgency and time pressure that could make the game an overwhelming mess. Sadly, this part of the game is unlike parenting, although I have often wished I could call up an actual timeout to figure out what to do next.

This is not an idle or clicker game where you can look away and let it play for long periods of time; you are going to be crushed if you don’t constantly juggle world tiles and your inventory. But with the right settings, the game will pause at times when your attention is likely needed, making it an easy experience to multitask and play at a frosty pace when watching Netflix or juggling one another. activity. It is designed to captivate you when you can give it your time, and to conscientiously await your return if you get caught up in something else.

While I was sometimes frustrated with the number of systems that Loop hero does not explain, I always never want to search for the secrets of the game. Trying something new, or trying to break bad habits by placing tiles randomly, often had unexpected results. I used to feel like an adventurer who bravely set out to save the world, but never felt like the act of creating the world itself cast a spell, every tile and strategy overall making it be more or less. effective in keeping my hero alive.

With an emphasis on the need to create a world and a set of gear that will give your standalone hero the best chance for success, Loop hero created one of my favorite metaphors for being a good parent. I want my hero to save the world, and I can’t do it for them, so I’d better find the best way to prepare them to handle it on their own when the time comes.

Loop hero is now available on Linux, Mac and Windows PC. The game was tested on Windows using a download code provided by Devolver Digital. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not influence editorial content, although Vox Media may earn commissions for products purchased through affiliate links. You can find more information on Polygon’s ethics policy here.