Loopmancer – Review
Loopmancer, an eBrain Studio and Yooreka Studio creation, is a 2.5D action-platformer of the Rogue-Lite variety, and it was released on July 14. If failure means having to start from scratch again, your hero will develop and become stronger with each attempt. The software is set in the year 2046 in the cyberpunk city of Dragon City, and it is always driven by the obvious aesthetic know-how of Chinese creatives.
Several other films, particularly those of the series B cinematic ilk, may be felt to have had an impact on both the setting and plot of this one. While adopting the established cyberpunk aesthetic language. When it comes to gameplay, Loopmancer will resemble games like Strider and Dead Cells by Motion-Twin more and more. The game is presently only available in the English language. Console ports of games now accessible on Steam could be on the horizon.
Situation for evaluation. We used Steam to access the game from our computers. Life expectancy is hard to estimate, since it will be based on your abilities. To go to all the possible endings, more time will be needed if a single loop can be finished in a few. It will take you at least ten hours and perhaps closer to fifteen to explore it thoroughly.
Loopmancer puts us in the shoes of investigator Xiang Zixu as he investigates the kidnapping of a well-known journalist in a cyberpunk version of Dragon City that is pulsating with life and a certain beauty. The net is starting to tighten around the prime suspect, but our hero will be slain in the line of duty. Then, after each rebirth, he would awake in his apartment, as if he had never left. He was stuck in an endless time loop. You must now devote time and effort, day after day, to investigating and collecting clues in the hopes of solving the case and identifying the loop’s source. A number of your decisions, though, will have lasting consequences for Dragon City.
Keeping with the spirit of its premise, the programme throws us headfirst into its universe and gets us started right away. The studio places a premium on the story, which is told with plenty of conversation and cutscenes that serve to break up the action. Such a feature is appreciated in a game of this type. Especially considering the setting. The artistic direction of the decorations can be rather stunning. The attention to detail, especially in the backdrops, is astounding. Down low, one is reminded of Dragon City or the bright streets of Asia. That’s because the areas closest to the camera, where the action actually takes place, have received comparatively less attention.
The atmosphere is so real it’s practically tangible, and that’s what really sticks out. It displays the Loopmancer canon with pride. He has a hero who doesn’t stand out due to his charm, and his supporting cast isn’t much better; this is due to a character design that’s not up to par, as well as technical issues with the modelling of faces that aren’t very expressive. Furthermore, this issue would not exist if the scene and language were more creatively crafted. Aside from the strong narration, the title’s ambitions and potential cyberpunk themes don’t translate into a compelling story.
Although the voice performers do a serviceable job overall, the B-movie dialogue is sometimes uninspiring and the plot twists are tepid at best. A realisation that must be reached in the summary sections of the tale. It goes without saying that the small number of possible paths and the few meaningful options available do not make up for these variations. The plan’s execution leaves something to be desired, though. There’s not much to look forward to in the cutscenes either because neither the setting nor the adventures are really interesting. These components, for once, tend to ruin the experience for the audience.
It makes sense that the gameplay has been improving. You’ll face up against a wide variety of foes, from ninja to laboratory-created creatures to robots, and you’ll have to learn to beat them all while avoiding traps. Most of the levels can be explored in a right-to-left or vertical fashion, with some exceptions at grapple points or jumpable walls. You’ll be able to pick your next destination from two different levels depending on the hints you gather in different parts of the game.
Your investigation gear includes a melee weapon, a firearm, and a device (an object to throw). Without your mechanical arm, which will act as a basic shock wave, the little extra is a specialised overkill for each bladed weapon in the game. There are outlets for frustration, with a minimum of a dozen weapons available in each equipment subclass. The bouts are quick and punchy, allowing us to feel the force of the hits while maintaining a sense of fluidity. In Rogue-Lite, you’ll be able to upgrade your gear and learn new talents to make your movements and attacks a little more varied.
Some issues become apparent soon if this ensures smooth advancement and provides us undeniable joy in revisiting familiar stages while easily slaying enemies. Problematic shallowness in gameplay right off the bat. You’ll have access to a wide variety of weapons and a wide variety of skills. However, there are still very few of the former, and just a handful of particularly potent weapons. Because of this discrepancy, they will be wasting their time in their quest. No combinations are to be expected, and instead you should simply jam the melee weapon and switch to the others. This is carried out mechanically, with little need for human intervention.
More of a regret than a serious problem, we can easily overlook this one. The repetition is emphasised, and the motivation to increase the number of loops evaporates a little too rapidly. It’s not hard to keep going to the bitter finish, to make it through Loopmancer without losing your temper. There are three tiers of challenge, but if you’re looking for a serious test, the hardest setting is where you need to be. It’s not like the software is very simple in the first place, but we have no trouble hitting our targets because it doesn’t require any special abilities or reflexes. However, we experienced a number of technical difficulties that destroyed our runs.
Even if patches fix hit box accuracy and off-field enemy attacks, they are too glaring to overlook now. Whether it was intentional or not, it can lead to an unjustifiably harsh experience. The addition of a coolant would be welcome. The game’s repetitive nature is exacerbated by the level design, which is so bad it defies description. Every location you go to will be constructed in the same orderly fashion, making the procedurally-arranged level dynamics seem like a sham. There isn’t enough of a shift to make it feel like you’re rediscovering the area.
Fortunately, Loopmancer also possesses several notable advantages. Immediately, we are immersed in the atmosphere thanks to the brilliant artistic direction and the striking decorations of everyday life. And it’s a joy to hold the controller in your hands, with a rather fluid and energetic gameplay experience. Then, there are a few clever borrowings from existing apps. To bad the rest of it is so out of hand. The use of narration adds a layer of mystery, which is intriguing, but the rest of the writing and the production fall flat and make the experience forgettable. Even if the battles are enjoyable, we can’t overlook the genre’s inherent redundancy or the unimaginative level design, and we’re disappointed by the game’s lack of complexity and the relative ineffectiveness of its weapons. A fun game that’s worth checking out and should keep fans happy, but it has several little issues that, when added up, weaken the overall package.
