arvie

This is a game that requires you to forget about your expectations. If you are an RPG fan and are expecting an RPG you will likely be disappointed. If you are a fan of roguelikes and are expecting a deep roguelike, you will also likely be disappointed. The disappointments that RPG fans will have are the same as those they would have for any roguelike. The randomness often leads to completely unfair situations and inevitable death. This is part of the game, though, and it is something that players must get used to in roguelikes. In regard to the graphics, many roguelikes are played entirely in ascii so very basic graphics are entirely common. As far as tile set roguelikes go this isn't the prettiest I have ever seen, but this style of game isn't really about graphics. The very basic story is also common in roguelikes. The paragraph of story just exists to let the player know that they are in the dungeon for a purpose, outside of that the story is unimportant, these kinds of games are more about the gameplay. Roguelikes are already a bit of a niche game style; and Hack, Slash, Loot fills a niche within this niche. Where some may call this a watered down roguelike, others may prefer to think of it as a streamlined roguelike. Most of the complexities of other roguelikes can be time consuming or intimidating to players new to this style of game. The lack of inventory makes this game less about planning for the future and more about responding to the current situation. It changes the momentum of the game. The lack of complexity in fighting and managing your character's inventory and equipment allows for a faster gameplay style with more action. The lack of a need to plan for the future also makes the game more accessible to anyone who isn't used to playing roguelikes. The lack of variety in classes is a little disappointing. I haven't played a lot of different classes yet, but if it is true that they essentially boil down to different sprites for ranged and non-ranged characters, that really doesn't offer a very wide selection in the end. If that is the case my guess for why they included a lot of classes is so that stats on equipment will be more complex than simply having attack and defence ratings. Some items will clearly be for one class more than another and so you will likely want to leave behind any item that isn't for your class. Even so, it is hard to see why they would make so many classes if they all have the same gameplay. I recommend playing this game without any preconceived notions as to what it should be. There are many different kinds of RPGs and there are many different kinds of roguelikes. There are no absolute rules about what either should be.