Hack, Slash, Loot

1. MrWarMachine

   Apr 9, 2012

   10

   I don't think this game deserves all of the zeroes that it's been receiving. Granted, the game can certainly be frustrating and luckI don't think this game deserves all of the zeroes that it's been receiving. Granted, the game can certainly be frustrating and luck definitely plays a factor, but I think some people are coming into this game with the wrong mindset or may not see how the developer handled the progression and difficulty in this game. First off, characters are not permanent and they do not level up; your stats increase through loot, and permanent buffs (permanent until you beat the dungeon or your character dies). This innate hardcore mode suits the game because at longest a map is going to take a couple of hours to complete so it's not super frustrating to die; I actually found it to be the opposite - where I have been progressing well and things started to get really hairy and intense, knowing how hard it can be to clear a map and how easy it is to die made for some very suspenseful and intense fights. This game with 8 bit graphics evoked more suspense than something like Skyrim ever did for me because there is no form of save at all.
   
   There is no real character progression. If you think you're going to beat every map with the base starting characters (which I think a lot of people are angry when they can't) then you are playing this game wrong. The difficulty between the maps are not the same (the first one is not the easiest) - some are much easier and some are much harder; it's up to you to figure that out and to choose the best class for the job if you want the best chance of success. By beating maps and dieing a lot, new classes are unlocked which are a little bit more powerful than the previous ones. This lets you do a little bit better each unlock until you are beating those ridiculously hard maps. Also, beating some maps will result in "artifacts" which are then given to new characters when you start a new map, giving you an advantage which is honestly needed to make it past some of the harder maps.
   
   As for there not being any strategy or balance, I am going to have to say I disagree with this statement. Every map has a set type of mobs IE "The King's Castle or whatever" is going to always have lots of mobs using poison. Knowing this when playing the map, my top priority is to find poison resist gear and hold onto it for dear life - otherwise I know I'm not going to make it far. Yes, luck plays a role in finding the gear you need, but once you have put in some time, unlocked some artifacts and new classes, luck has less and less of a role. If you think you need to clear every level of a map to beat the dungeons then you are wrong. There are times where because of bad luck, you won't be equipped to fight the mobs on your level, so it may be prudent to take what you have and head straight for the boss instead of clearing levels and levels looking for loot and buffs. The game asks you "do I keep exploring, or do I try to bring this to a conclusion? What are the benefits and risks of one over the other?" Sometimes if you are lucky with gear drops these questions are irrelevant, but more often than not you have to decide to cut your losses at one point and just go for the end goal of the dungeon.
   
   The second point I want to make about strategy is that it does get deeper when certain item enchantments drop. You can't plan for this, but when it happens, some of these items absolutely change how the game is played IE regenerating health, or gear that lets you have 2 turns to the mobs 1 turn. Usually it just results in you moving around more to stay alive better, but you do then need to take into account what your environment is like and how it can benefit you even more. In conclusion, don't let the lack of a leveling up system make you think that there is no method or progression to this game - there most certainly is. The more thoughtful you are about it, the easier of an experience you will have. This is not a heavy game, but is good for some quick light-hearted fun. I think it's deserving of a 7 or 8 but it's getting a 10 to try to counter-act a lot of the zeroes it's been receiving.… Expand

   • 3 of 8 users found this helpful
2. vitto

   Aug 14, 2013

   9

   Initially, you'll die again and again, be patient and the game will praise you with a lot of fun and characters, the more you die, the moreInitially, you'll die again and again, be patient and the game will praise you with a lot of fun and characters, the more you die, the more you recive new characters to be used. It's a classic RPG with a nice pixel art with a simple and deep gameplay, full of secret and artifacts to collect. For me, it's an outstanding game.… Expand

   • 1 of 2 users found this helpful
4. Rewe

   Aug 4, 2012

   7

   Hack Slash Loot is a good dungeon crawler, but nothing else. A fine time waster, but it fails to provide a particularly deep experience.Hack Slash Loot is a good dungeon crawler, but nothing else. A fine time waster, but it fails to provide a particularly deep experience. Still, it's worth the small price tag and nearly every should be able to get a kick out of it.… Expand

   • 2 of 7 users found this helpful
5. violentine

   Mar 7, 2013

   2

   If you're looking for a graphical roguelike this is not it. 'Hack, Slash, Loot' has only what the title says, tho even that is dumbed down.If you're looking for a graphical roguelike this is not it. 'Hack, Slash, Loot' has only what the title says, tho even that is dumbed down. That's why the title has hitting enemies mentioned twice. You hit enemies, they hit you. One of you dies. Actually there isn't looting since what ever items you find you may choose to swap them with your old gear and that's pretty much it. This is to boost your damage since majority of the items just add to your stats without giving you any new options how to play the game. There are several "quests" that you may choose from with themes varying from descending into a dungeon to dungeon descending. Very bland and boring. The game is so bad that it gives you more characters as you die so that you don't want to touch the old ones ever again. So bad that it's insulting to call it a roguelike.… Expand

   • 2 of 3 users found this helpful
6. Kiebler

   Jul 20, 2012

   1

   I knew, going in, that the graphics were just "retro" pixel animations. That said, even early to mid 90's games had better developed pixelI knew, going in, that the graphics were just "retro" pixel animations. That said, even early to mid 90's games had better developed pixel graphics.
   
   There is no character development at all and any chance at survival is completely luck. The developer obviously jumped on the roguelike bandwagon, but failed to understand how the genre operated.
   
   All in all, the game is horrible. The soundtrack, however, is quite enjoyable.… Expand

   • 2 of 4 users found this helpful
7. greenmagi

   Jan 24, 2014

   0

   I give this game a zero simply because it is unplayable. It is based purely on luck and nothing else. If, within the first few floors, andI give this game a zero simply because it is unplayable. It is based purely on luck and nothing else. If, within the first few floors, and some might argue, within the first floor alone, you do not find a regeneration item, the game is simply over. It is unplayable without that tiny stroke of luck. I have been playing it for nearly two hours and have yet to find a single item or method that effectively heals me. The most I've ever healed in one game was about 20 points total spread across about 10 scrolls/ potions.… Expand

   • 0 of 2 users found this helpful
8. mar3usmc

   May 7, 2012

   0

   mar3usmc
   Apr 7, 2012
   0 After playing this game for a couple hours I felt compelled to write a review for this game. Originality (0/10): Theremar3usmc
   Apr 7, 2012
   0
   After playing this game for a couple hours I felt compelled to write a review for this game. Originality (0/10): There is zero originality in this game. This game adds nothing knew to gaming in the slightest. If anything the maker of this game attempted to do things that were done in the early 90s, but failed miserably in the process. Graphics (0/10): 2D Highly pixelated graphics. I think one of the sprites, the archer, may have even been copied and pasted from "Realm of the Mad God" *edit* or as one poster noted is using using free sprites, and therefore reducing the games value even more. Story (N/A) Gameplay (2/10): Game play is always most important in any game. A game can be completely unoriginal, have horrid graphics, absolutely no story, and still be a very fun game. However, this game is all the former but NONE of the latter. You can start this game as one of 3 classes, all play somewhat differently from each other and have different starting stats. There is the Knight, Archer, and Mage classes; pretty generic. There are also a variety of dungeon types, all what I believe are procedurally generated within certain parameters for that dungeon type. All pretty simple and that is fine. However, you will die in this game, OFTEN! The mage is pretty much impossible to play unless you get very very lucky with drops and loot at the start. The Archer is almost in the same boat. The knight really is the best and most viable class for this game. This is a major problem. The way the game plays out the mage and rogue just get destroyed. The rules sound fine on paper but the implementation of the items and their stats sorta defeats the purpose of how damage is dealt in the game. BALANCE, in other words, is very very lacking in this game. On the note of difficulty, and you will simply have to believe this or not, I have played games since atari, I am a hardcore gamer, I have the gameplay pretty much all figured out in an hour or less, and always play all games on max difficulty. Genre is irrelevant. Unless a person just likes seeing their character/sprite/etc... die repeatedly, perhaps they find it amusing, you will loathe this game. I have died within seconds of starting a level in the game, SECONDS! (or really I should probably say 1 turn since the game is turn based, BLAH!) "Oh look, I start the level and am surrounded by 3 spawns, 1 turn, dead" I hope you get the point. The one saving grace the game play has is that the AI isn't completely retarded, not that it is all that hard to produce an AI for such a simple turned base game. The AI will most definitely do its best to kill you, guaranteed. Conclusion: Don't buy this game, and don't waste your money or time. I actually feel like I have been scammed. 5 USD isn't too much, but considering the 100s, that right, 100s of hours I got of out Binding of Isaac (GREAT SOLID GAME BTW!!!!), which was also 5 USD this game should have brought much more to the table. I like to support independent developers, but these guys, imo, give them a very very bad name. You are better off downloading an emulator for NES, SNES, SEGA, etc games and downloading roms FOR FREE than wasting your time with this pathetic excuse for a game. /end rant *edit* Soon after writing this I did beat one of the dungeons with the wizard just to make a point, and I still say this is a horrible game.… Expand

   • 5 of 9 users found this helpful

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