Loop Hero

You could be forgiven for thinking Loop Hero is a baffling Frankenstein of a game at first glance, a confusing mess of mechanics mashed together with little regard for narrative or mechanical cohesion. It doesn't take long for Four Quarters' latest entry to convince you otherwise. Beautifully styled and supremely challenging, Loop Hero is one of the premier hardcore experiences available on mobile.

Loop Hero is a mobile port of an incredibly unique tactical roguelike that mixes lots of gameplay elements, including deck-building, auto-battling, resource management, and city-building.

Loop Hero feels like a game that was always intended for mobile, and the conversion from Playdigious is almost perfect. At a fraction of what it costs on other platforms, not only does Loop Hero feel right at home on mobile, but it is the best version of the game. It is going to be a mainstay on my iOS homescreens for a long time. I just hope portrait mode can be added eventually because it would make Loop Hero absolutely perfect on mobile.

Loop Hero hasn't suddenly turned into a different game in the years since its release, but you can also see why there haven't been any splashy games like it since. At times, the game feels like lightning in a bottle. At others, it gives the feel of countless other games that are just random systems slurries. When you could play it somewhat idly (and when folks had a lot more idle time), I imagine it felt more magical than it does now playing on a device where you have to face its imperfections head on.

Loop Hero is a faithful release on Switch that plays well both with controller and with touch screen. The game is completely up to date, and for anyone who didn’t stick with it on PC, it’s a great game to play on-the-go and be able to stop or pause whenever needed. Even though the PC version game out nine months ago, I’m likely to have spent more time playing on Switch already, accessibility really does Loop Hero favours.

This game is endless and I’d like to add a bit more personality. But, honestly, that’s such a minor gripe compared to how satisfying the game is.