If we told you that an upcoming game was “Dark Souls meets Tetris,” you’d probably shake your head sadly and say something like “the games journalists are at it again.” But that’s literally how Slovakian developer straka.studio describes Loot River, an upcoming PC game that blends heavy real-time combat with the block-shifting space management of Tetris.
Loot River is an “island-shifting action-roguelike” that casts you as a warrior in a plague doctor’s mask who has the power to move chunks of the floor around in a dungeon crawling with horrible monsters. Using a magic relic, you can shift floating portions of the ruins in order to solve puzzles or mash foes into a fine paste. The island-shifting mechanic even works in combat, as you can shift the floor you’re standing on in order to dodge an enemy’s attacks.
“We are deeply interested in games focused on transformation of the world, as it is a powerful mechanic rarely used in gaming,” said Loot River developer Miro Straka. That’s clear from Straka’s other games, Euclidean Lands and Euclidean Skies, which centered around shifting the level around characters to create pathways through.
Here’s the trailer for Loot River:
The pixel art style is gorgeous, and straka.studio promises fluid animation, tons of items and abilities to unlock and discover, and some gnarly looking boss fights. From the trailer, there’s an exciting feeling of being overwhelmed, and it’s clear that shifting the floor tiles Tetris-style can be used to manage the threat you face from your enemies.
There’s no release date set yet for Loot River, but you can check out its Steam page and browse our list of the best indie games on PC just by clicking those links.