Game:

Power Fantasy (2023)

Category:

Discussion

Duration: 5:11

386 views

11

Full Review: https://youtu.be/DhgR0iKFUpA

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A dedicated gamer's YouTube channel celebrating gaming. The good, the bad, and the two polygon. Logical Leveling talks about everything gaming: news, upcoming games, and reviews. As well as some of the more obscure topics, like the impact of a certain game and why a game failed. If you're a lifelong fan of video games and everything about them, this is a home for you.

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#loopmancer #roguelike

Did you miss Gwent Rogue Mage? https://youtu.be/KwtY8nfZh1o
What Gwent Rogue Mage could mean for Gwent. https://youtu.be/QnSPmSTqLtI

The gaming industry can feel impossible to keep up with, even in years like this, where there aren't too many big releases. Yet still, with all the news, Indies, expansions, and updates to major games, it's easy to let something fly under your radar. So let me do the honor of showing you this.

This is Loopmancer, a hack-n-slash roguelike set in a dystopian cyberpunk world by indie developers eBrain Studio. Ok, I realize that basically sounds like a word bubble for the gaming industry of the past few years, but I believe Loopmancer will set itself apart with its combat and story.

Loopmancer combat is fast and visceral. You'll be equipped with a melee and ranged weapon, accessory, and special abilities. And using all these tools in tandem feels satisfying. It is a smooth transition from slicing off arms with a katana to taking down enemies above you with a pistol to grappling up and dashing through them sword first. All of this is complemented by the game's gory visuals. Doubling down on the video game power fantasy, making you feel like a badass for successfully combining your attacks and rewarding you with a spray of limbs, fire, and blood.

If you've played games like Dead Cells before, the gameplay loop will be familiar to you. During a run, you'll be collecting temporary upgrades and currency. When you die, you'll wake up in your bed again, having lost all your temporary upgrades from your previous run. But able to spend that currency on permanent upgrades. So you'll never feel like you're not progressing even if your runs haven't been going as well as you'd like. This may sound like you've been here before. And in some regards, it is. It's playing into the roguelike specialty of easy to pick up and have a few runs before bed but hard to master. I imagine we'll see Loopmancer YouTube videos of speed runs or insane boss fights. Where Loopmancer may have a leg up on other roguelikes is the story.

In Loopmancer, you play a private detective trying to uncover the disappearance of a high-profile journalist. While on the tail of a crime lord you suspect may be involved, you die. Admittedly not usually how the story goes. But you wake up again, starting the events of the day again, think Ground-Hog Day meets Beverly hills cop. Every time you die, you'll find yourself waking up that morning but able to retain your memories of the previous loop. There wasn't much further in the demo I played, but the writing and characters were funny and likable, and the narrative left me eager to solve the mystery. Hoping to solve the case I've found myself in and what that has to do with the time loop I'm trapped in. Except for Hades, most roguelikes don't emphasize the story but what I played here left me wanting to play more. Just to find out what happens in the end, if nothing else, which is a promising sign for Loopmancer's narrative. Adding to the intrigue is the fact that the studio behind Loopmancer has stated the game will have a branching narrative and multiple endings.

By watching this short video, I think you'll agree that the game looks phenomenal. While I don't believe this is something that sets Loopmancer apart from others in the genre the same way the combat and story does, I do think it's worth mentioning. The eastern architecture in a bright neon cyberpunk world looks impressive. And the particle and lighting effects just help compliment the chaotic and frantic gameplay.

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