Loot River review – the dungeon crawl reconfigured

Gary Chang lives in a tiny apartment – 344 square feet – in Hong Kong. And Gary Chang is an architectural designer, so he’s taken a space that’s just about suited to a single room and allowed it to become every room in the house as needed. Bedroom? Pull down the bed. Kitchen? Pull back a wall to reveal a range and a sink. Bath? Pull aside a different wall. Laundry and utilities? Pull – you get me.

I watched a brilliant documentary on Chang’s apartment last night. And by the end of it I thought: cor, maybe we’re all thinking about this home stuff wrong? Maybe Chang’s etch-a-sketch lifestyle is the way to do it. Focus on what you love and conjure the idea of rooms around that and that alone. Opt for a house that slides into place only when you want it to be there.

Harmoniously – a suspicious kind of harmony really – I then spent today playing Loot River. Loot River is an inventive and deeply satisfying roguelite, a top-down affair with a touch of Souls to it. There are a lot of these. But Loot River has a big idea, and it’s an idea Chang might approve of. The game plays out on dungeons made of floating tiles – tetrominos put you in the right headspace, but there are lots more shapes – and as you move around with the left stick, you can move the tile you’re on with the right, sliding it through the water from one spot to another.

Read more

Source

About Author