ReviewsSPOTLIGHT

Loot River is one of those games that you want to play from the second you see it. The art style and the unique gameplay mechanics were enough to instantly grab me. Actually playing the game made me glad I trusted that instinct. That being said, the game does have some issues. The art design in this game is top-notch. The pixilated effect on what felt like 3D models works very well and looks great. The little details in “The Sanctuary” - like the pile of bones, and the head and hands statue in the middle of the area are all great for world-building and atmosphere. The water animations in the river whenever you move a platform are very pretty and satisfying. I would just move my platform back and forth every now and then because something about the rippling waves tickled my brain. It also does a great job of emphasizing your speed when you're moving platforms.

“BITGUN is an action rogue-lite zombie shooter with difficult and satisfying combat you can learn and master. Guns break quickly and you lose all your gear when you die,” according to the game's Steam page. A pretty accurate description for this top-down point and click shooter. However, I’ve found it to be quite misleading. I don't know if I would call this game a rogue-lite. Typically in rouge lites there is a steady, noticeable improvement in how powerful you are and how powerful the hordes of enemies are. Usually, that gameplay is balanced by either giving the player more power the more they progress. Other times it’s mitigated by the player having to learn the ins and outs of each combat encounter. I find that games that strike a fine balance with both are the most successful. BITGUN, sadly, does not find that balance. I did not regret the time I spent with BITGUN. On the surface level, it is a quick pick-up-and-play that would fit right at home on something like the Switch. The controls are responsive and pretty satisfying. Getting right up in front of a group of zombies and blasting them with my shotgun was always my personal favorite way to clear hordes. The UI is pretty simple, though I found myself actually kind of impressed with how much the game's interface actually makes sense. It's really easy to know when you're being poisoned without having to take your eyes off your character since your health bar turns green as your life is draining. And you can just tap ‘q’ to take a medkit until the poison damage stops. There were a couple of times when I was in intense situations with a horde chasing me while I realized I had been poisoned, and I was able to notice quickly without having to stop running.