[News] Gory Tetris roguelike Loot River now has a demo

[Mr.Talha]

 

Swords and spells are all fine and dandy, but what if you could make the dungeon itself into a weapon? That’s the basic idea behind Loot River, a Tetris-inspired action-roguelike indie game that’s due out next year. If that sounds interesting to you, we have good news: there’s a demo you can try out right now.

The demo lets you play through Loot River’s tutorial and two short levels, which should be enough to whet your appetite. Developer straka.studio calls Loot River an “island-shifting action-roguelike” – the first part of that is based on the fact that you can move pieces of the dungeon floor around like Tetris blocks, while the second part refers to the fact that it’s all procedurally generated.

You play as a hyperviolent person in a plague doctor’s mask, using an ancient relic to control the movement of the floor. Even with the ability to move the floating floor tiles at will, you’ll still need to be quick on your feet: the dungeons are filled with terrifying beasts, nomads, and boss encounters.

Here’s a trailer that demonstrates how the control scheme works.

As you explore, you’ll collect upgrades, treasure, and a variety of different weapons, which each has its own set of moves to master. By default, you’ll move your character with the left thumbstick, while the right stick will shift the platform on which you are standing.

As you can see above, that creates space for interesting tactical decisions: do you kite a few mooks away from a central cluster, dive straight in with a slam and a heavy attack, or avoid the fight altogether?

The Loot River demo is available now on Steam, and the full game will launch in 2022.

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If you played any of Bossa Games’ weird and wonderful games – the likes of I Am Bread and its spiritual successor I Am Fish, and the brilliant Surgeon Simulator series – you’ve probably thought to yourself: just how did this idea get off the ground?!

Being a studio that deals primarily with what many would classify as ‘indie’ games, Bossa is always looking for new ways to discover its next game. One such tactic that has proven invaluable for the studio is the growing practice of game jams. This creative practice set the stage for a new initiative for the company – Bossa Presents. More on this later.

JAM HOT
“Game jams are very much in our blood,” says Henrique Olifiers, the studio’s co-founder. “We started jamming at the very beginnings of the studio, back in 2012 soon after we launched our first game, Monstermind. Just a year later, in 2013, the concept of regular jamming paid off, with Surgeon Simulator coming out of its prototype born at the Global game jam, where a couple of our teams took part.”

For those unfamiliar with the practice – the term has its origins in music and sees game developers come together to create game prototypes over a set period of time. Sometimes these are held like a competition – with a publishing deal for the best game at the end of it, other times they are more of a collaborative effort, with designers offering feedback on each other’s work. Some organised by Bossa Games have even involved external collaborators including voice actor Troy Baker and YouTuber Ashens.

“Game jams teach us that most ideas that are great on paper don’t pan out once they become playable,” says Olifiers. “It creates a sense of collaboration and ownership that permeates the entire development of a game once it gets picked up for production. You’re far more involved in the success of a game you helped conceive than a project that came from somewhere else, giving teams an edge, an incentive to make the best games they possibly can.”

Bossa has a good reason to believe in the process – every major game the studio has released originated from a game jam. “Surgeon Simulator, I Am Bread, Worlds Adrift, Hogwash, Surgeon Simulator 2 and most recently I Am Fish, all came from game jams,” Olifiers tells us.

The studio has now set up a special home for game prototypes called Bossa Presents. This area acts as a hub for prototypes, where players will be able to try out games and offer feedback.