LootLite [Xbox]

Isoca Games’ LootLite is an arcade-styled roguelike where you must recover stolen treasures. Playable in single player and co-op, there are a variety of different classes available to choose from, including (but not limited to): Warrior, Assassin, Barbarian and Necromancer - with some classes requiring you to unlock them over the course of the game. Once you’ve selected your class, you can slightly alter your characters appearance via their hairdo and skin colour (again, with some of these options being unlocked later).

Depending on your chosen class, you’ll have different attack types, such as the warrior having a sword to begin with (and a dodge roll), or the Mage having a staff that they can use for melee attacks, as well as a ranged magic attack to go alongside it (but no dodge roll this time). Exploring levels thoroughly will allow you to find treasure chests, with useful items such as alternate weapons and armour - though sometimes I did find that multiple chests within a short distance of each other all held the same (fairly crappy) item.

Different weapons have different levels of effectiveness or other benefits to using them, such as Mjolnir, which summons lightning strikes when you swing at your enemies - though this seemingly can hurt you too. Throwing axes (and other weapons that are tossed) have a limited number of uses before you need to wait a short time for them to replenish. You can collect runes that will give you different buffs, such as increasing your reload speed with throwing weapons, or giving you quicker movement, and these will lead to your character having a better chance at success.

There’s a percentage meter that increases as you defeat enemies within a level, unlocking the level exit upon the meter filling, though alternate exits can also sometimes be found within the level, leading to other locations for you to progress onto. Enemies are usually spread out across levels, so you might need to wander a little to find them all - but more often than not it’s fairly straightforward to find everything. Sometimes you’ll find yourself getting swarmed by enemies, and frustratingly there is a lack of invincibility after taking a hit, meaning you are totally vulnerable to repeated damage in these situations.

The simple pixel-art visuals are decent, with fun enemy designs across each area. Each of the locations has slightly adjusted visuals and enemies available, ranging from the Dark Forest, filled with bees and spiders - to the alligator-filled Swamps, though unfortunately you will notice that some areas look almost identical to each other. As you progress through the levels, you will often be given the choice between two new areas to move on to - so weighing up your options (especially if you already know what you might be facing) is key. The soundtrack is slightly bland, and is almost entirely drowned out by the sounds of you swinging weapons and attacking enemies - as well as the pathetic little ‘ch’ when you take damage.

A few issues arose during play - such as the controller running out of battery causing the initial menu to randomly appear again, and even with a new battery put in, left me stuck on this screen and unable to continue with my run. The combat felt unsatisfying for the most part, and whilst exploring the small world was fun to begin with, it eventually became a little repetitive. Overall, LootLite is still fairly fun despite its short length, and unlocking new skins and classes is rewarding. If you’re looking for something cheap and cheerful to pass the time, then LootLite might be worth a bash. It’s definitely a budget-friendly title - which does help its case considerably, so if you want to pick it up you can find it for £4.19 on Xbox.

In the end, we decided to give LootLite the Collecting Asylum rating of 5.5/10.

Are you interested in LootLite? What do you think of it?
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- V x

Thank you to JanduSoft for the LootLite Xbox review code!