Lootbound

Completed a 2.5hr run on the demo and nearly done with a run on the full game. The dev team has done a great job. Here is what I liked and disliked: GREAT potential, the elements are familiar to Slay the Spire and are seamless. Recruiting companions throughout the game gives it a lot of depth. I also like the rng dice idea. The enemy scaling seems accurate and it doesn't become too difficult when leisurely playing. The abilities are simple, and the items don't vary much. They definitely focused on inventory management, which is still a great aspect to the game. I hope they add more features to synergize with the companions to make the game more challenging.

This game is great, and the roguelike elements are really well done. The difficulty feels just right—not too easy, but not frustratingly hard either. That said, the gameplay is pretty repetitive, and there isn't a whole lot of depth to the moment-to-moment gameplay. It's a relatively slow-paced and straightforward game, which honestly worked for me. Sometimes you just want to turn your brain off and play something relaxing. I wouldn't call it completely mindless, though, since you still need to make smart choices when building your character. That said, I found myself playing more Tetris with my inventory than actually reading through stats and optimizing everything. I had a ton of fun with the game, but unfortunately, that fun wears off pretty quickly. I played for about six hours on my first day, and by the end of it, I felt like I'd seen most of what the game had to offer. At that point, you're mainly experimenting with different builds and seeing the remaining plotlines. Unlocking new aspects of the game doesn't really change the experience all that much. You essentially need to beat the game six times to see and unlock pretty much everything, which isn't particularly difficult. I managed to do it back-to-back with the Paladin and Warrior. The other two classes feel considerably weaker, and honestly, they seem more like a challenge run than something I want to spend another six hours exploring. A relaxed run takes around an hour, while a rushed run can be finished in about 30 minutes. That's worth keeping in mind when considering how much playtime you're going to get out of the game. Overall, it's a really fun game with a great roguelike foundation. Just don't expect a huge amount of variety or a long-lasting experience. I had a great time with it, but I also felt like I'd seen almost everything it had to offer after my first six hours.