One of the most unique and exciting games revealed during Friday's ID@Xbox indie game showcase was roguelike Loot River. Just the name Loot River conjures ideas about dungeon crawling, gear gathering, and a river theme to abstract progression. Yet Loot River itself is quite a bit odder than that, capturing a Bloodborne-esque aesthetic with a plague doctor and dark beat around every corner. Then, it mixes that with a 2D puzzle game involving shifting tiles that only move in certain directions.
To start, calling Loot River's aesthetic reminiscent of Bloodborne isn't an exaggeration. It opens with a cinematic show of a sparsely lit city of towers along a climbing cliff, akin to the climb to Dracula's Castle, with a river running through it. The levels themselves are dilapidated and littered with coffins, skeletons, dripping blood, dark traps, and mysterious sorceries. There's even a peaceful central hub area.
Only half of the gameplay fits the Souls-like description, however. Loot River has melee combat with high-risk/high-reward attacks like a Souls-like game, but that's just a part of the equation. Players also control the movement of platforms under their feet. These platforms can be shifted in cardinal directions, creating new paths to approach or avoid enemies. It adds a curious layer of gameplay that's both puzzle-like and strategic. Then, as a whole, Loot River takes on a roguelike progression structure.
Loot River has been officially announced for just PC and Xbox consoles, though it is not one of Xbox's many day-one Xbox Game Pass launch titles. That may change in the future, either as developer Straka Studio furthers its relationship with Xbox or partners with other console platforms, but for now a trailer and some early details are all gamers have to consider.
Loot River is in development for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.