Loot Rascals

There are obscene levels of charm here. [Apr 2017, p.95]

It is a digital combination of an extremely difficult board game and deck builder, combined with some zany creatures and topped off with some insane levels of difficulty. Perhaps it is the requirement of balance that made me love a game with such randomness behind it, as balancing my turns or the cards made me feel powerful in a world of beautiful chaos. I think Loot Rascals actually taught me something, which isn't something I say often about video games.

Loot Rascals offers a great spin on the traditional rogue-like and presents a supremely strange and otherworldly setting to keep it all glued together. On top of that, it’s a game that’s finally managed to make inventory management fun!

Loot Rascals then is a decent roguelike with a very unique sense of humour. The sci-fi setting and the absurdist characters allow this to stand out from the general swords and sorcery crowd and give it a memorable style. The very random nature of the levels and pickups means that far too much of the game is dictated by luck, but the ability to seed specific levels to replay is a brilliant addition.

Colorful mix of turn based strategy and card organizing with a steep learning curve, a high challenge level and the typical rogue-like elements, that degrade the motivation over time.

Loot Rascals may have missed an obvious opportunity on the Vita and Nintendo Switch, but it's still worth playing on either PlayStation 4 or PC. It's a great deal of fun, it's charming, and it's highly addictive.

A cute visual style and great sense of variation turn Loot Rascals into a treat to play, though it's perhaps a bit too repetitive and frustrating to be considered an instant classic.

Loot Rascals sugar-coated visuals may be what catch your eye but sinking your teeth into it reveals the real treat. Bursting with sweet personality and sour gameplay mechanics, this innovative roguelike adventure may not be to everyone's palette but is an experience worth tasting at the very least.

Loot Rascals is a quirky turn based card strategy game that incorporates rogue-like elements. The off the wall presentation hides a surprisingly deep system to manage, but luck often hampers the best laid plans meaning progression feels limited at times.

While Loot Rascals isn’t the deepest roguelike I’ve ever played, I still adore its elegance and accessibility, and let’s face it, that artwork is charming as all hell. And besides, for a genre that’s generally known for being ultra-hardcore, I can’t help but appreciate an entry that takes a sunny, easy-to-grasp approach. My astronaut hasn’t recovered the terraforming machine yet, but I’m still trying to get her there and having a great time in the process.

Deceptively deep gameplay and a pitch-perfect style make Loot Rascals a treat to pick up and play, but its over-reliance on luck and its failure to impart a sense of progression make it just as easy to put back down.

With a deeper sense of strategy than most games of its kind, Loot Rascals might just be the thinking man’s roguelike you’ve been waiting for. Although slow and steady, it offers a lot to love.

Loot Rascals is a delightful yet frustrating experience. If it were a TV show then I'd watch it but as a game, it simply doesn't live up to other roguelikes. That being said, I'm looking forward to Hollow Ponds' future titles as they're clearly capable developers.

Loot Rascals is interesting, has good ideas and can be fun, but it can also be quite repetitive and not very rewarding.

Early on, the wacky art direction and bizarre monsters are enough to keep you going. Loot Rascals is a game with a very distinct visual style, and that inspires a need to explore and see just what else the game has up its sleeves. But for me, the appeal of that quirkiness was far outweighed by how repetitive and luck-dependent the game becomes.

Loot Rascals has potential, but the over reliance on luck and a lack of any real progression lets it down some what. I appreciate what Hollow Ponds is attempting to do with the game but without any tangible feedback that you’re improving it can feel like effort and time is being wasted. Still, the gameplay is actually fun, and the on-the-fly strategy aspect utilising cards is a system that has been implemented well. Loot Rascals looks great and plays well, and its style will appeal to some. If you want a game that is challenging, humourous, but very reliant on luck then Loot Rascals is for you.

Loot Rascals is an intriguing and infectiously charming roguelike. Its central mechanics are tense and engaging, and the meta-mechanic surrounding them provide a satisfying gimmick. Unfortunately, its card-based stat system offers little strategic variety, and its procedural generation can be frustrating.