Hack, Slash, Loot

About

Hack, Slash, Loot is a single player casual hack and slash game. It was developed by David Williamson and was released on April 5, 2012. It received neutral reviews from players.

"Hack, Slash, Loot" is a turn-based dungeon crawler where players explore randomly generated dungeons as a lone hero, fighting monsters and looting valuable treasures. With 32 characters to unlock, six quests, and thousands of items, the game offers high replayability and depth. The streamlined roguelike gameplay and modern control scheme are wrapped in cute retro-style graphics, ensuring an enjoyable experience for both new and experienced players.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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50%

Audience ScoreBased on 617 reviews

graphics29 positive mentions

gameplay11 negative mentions

Challenging gameplay that rewards persistence and strategy.
Retro pixel art style that appeals to fans of classic games.
High replayability due to random dungeon generation and unlockable characters.

Heavy reliance on RNG makes success feel unfair and frustrating.
Lack of inventory management and character progression diminishes depth.
Controls can be awkward, leading to accidental actions and deaths.

gameplay
90 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
77%
12%
The gameplay of "Hack, Slash, Loot" is characterized by its simple mechanics and accessibility, making it easy for players to pick up and play. However, many reviews highlight a significant reliance on luck, leading to frustration due to the lack of depth and strategic choices, as well as cumbersome inventory management. While some players appreciate the retro aesthetic and the potential for fun in short bursts, the overall consensus suggests that the game suffers from repetitive mechanics and insufficient complexity to keep players engaged long-term.
- “Achieved my first win at the 8th run by playing the 'wizard' character, which helped me understand the game mechanics and provided satisfaction during chill gameplay.”
- “A challenging roguelike adventure: Hack, Slash, Loot offers a deep and complex gameplay experience set in a retro-inspired world.”
- “The gameplay is both extremely simple and very deep.”
- “Navigating menus and managing inventory can be cumbersome, detracting from the overall gameplay experience.”
- “The gameplay itself is just stiff grid-based click, hit, and get hit, trying to outmaneuver in cramped corridors, a type of gameplay you'd expect from an entry-level dungeon crawler.”
- “What ruins it the most, though, is the awful game mechanics where constant misses send your character to the grave randomly, and most of the time prematurely.”
graphics
89 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
58%
9%
The graphics of the game are predominantly described as simplistic, retro-inspired pixel art that evokes nostalgia, though opinions vary widely. While some players appreciate the charming 8-bit aesthetic, others criticize it for being overly basic and lacking variety, with issues like poor resolution scaling on modern displays. Overall, the visuals are seen as a defining feature that may appeal to fans of retro games but could deter those seeking more modern graphical fidelity.
- “The retro-inspired pixel art style of Hack Slash Loot adds a nostalgic charm to the game.”
- “The graphics are a nice old-school pixel style and the controls are simple.”
- “The graphics are charming and it's rather enjoyable to play.”
- “Audiovisuals are bottom of the barrel 2D indie.”
- “The graphics are horrid for even 8-bit and you can't heal at all, unless you rarely find something to help you out.”
- “It's a random number generator with Atari 2500 style graphics.”
story
74 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
89%
4%
The game's story aspect is minimal and lacks depth, with players primarily engaging in a series of quests that offer little narrative progression or context. While there are various characters and quests to choose from, many players find the storytelling simplistic and repetitive, often feeling like a collection of random dungeon runs rather than a cohesive narrative experience. Overall, the quests provide basic objectives but fail to deliver a rich or engaging story, leaving players wanting more in terms of narrative depth and character development.
- “Find artifacts, unlock new characters to play, and work your way through all the 5 different storylines.”
- “Depending on what quest you choose, you are given a backstory to give you a sense of what your goal is in your adventure.”
- “Within each of the different quests, you encounter various creatures and characters that have roles in the story, or provide dialogue pertaining to what's at hand.”
- “I picked a mission at random and was just dumped in a dungeon without ceremonies, cutscenes, or even flavor text.”
- “Winning the quests simply does not feel rewarding and fulfilling.”
- “What I mean to say is that the art style isn't the only part about this game that is retro; the storytelling is straight out of 1980 as well.”
music
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
31%
16%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its nostalgic 8-bit style and immersive quality, while others criticize its sporadic playback and lack of continuous background music. Some players find the soundtrack enjoyable and reminiscent of classic games, but feel that the limited looping detracts from the overall experience. Overall, while the music has potential and enhances the ambiance, improvements in its implementation could significantly elevate the game's atmosphere.
- “Additionally, the haunting soundtrack enhances the sense of immersion, contributing to the game's overall ambiance.”
- “The music is very reminiscent of some other games I love (the title screen reminds me of Castle Crashers, dungeon themes remind me of Zelda) and serves the game well.”
- “The soundtrack, however, is quite enjoyable.”
- “This is actually the only thing that bugs me: the music doesn't consecutively play throughout the game but rather plays one sound loop on occasion.”
- “I'd have wished for a soundtrack that stayed with me for the entirety of a playthrough whenever there is no occasion for a loop.”
- “There's little to no background music, which makes the game completely devoid of atmosphere unless you play your own.”
replayability
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
33%
20%
The game is praised for its high replayability, attributed to its unique runs, diverse playable characters, and the inherent nature of roguelikes that encourage experimentation and discovery. While some reviews note a lack of depth compared to other titles, the variety of starting conditions and gameplay mechanics still provide significant replay value. Overall, it is considered a highly replayable experience, though some players recommend alternative roguelikes for even greater variety.
- “That's why every single run offers a unique experience and makes this game very replayable.”
- “The beauty of a roguelike is its nigh infinite replayability, the ways you can experiment with builds, the magic of discovery as you find something that works, figure out the tricks of the game, and get further every time.”
- “It's a great little roguelike and will offer hours of enjoyment and a lot of replayability.”
- “Not much depth, yet a lot of fun, with a significant enough variety of starting conditions to boost replayability.”
- “That little shift really helps to extend the replay value, and encourages you to try and take different approaches to each dungeon.”
- “Don't buy this, buy Dungeons of Dredmor instead, it's a better roguelike with more replayability.”
grinding
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and frustrating, describing it as boring and unfair. Many feel that it detracts from the overall enjoyment and fails to capture the engaging elements typical of roguelikes, compounded by poor user interface and repetitive mechanics.
- “This game is both brutally difficult, incredibly unfair, really annoying, and very tedious.”
- “It just feels tedious and boring and not fun, and if a game fails to be fun, it has failed at what it has set out to do.”
- “It's boring, tedious, and in my opinion doesn't understand what makes roguelikes work.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The game's atmosphere is praised for its detailed character sprites and visually appealing environments, evoking a classic feel. However, the lack of background music detracts from the overall ambiance, leaving players to rely on their own music to enhance the experience.
- “The detailed character sprites and atmospheric environments create a visually appealing experience.”
- “It is as close to a classic in terms of atmosphere and feel as you can get.”
- “Old-school game with excellent graphics and atmosphere conveyed.”
- “There's little to no background music, which makes the game completely devoid of atmosphere unless you play your own.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is described as charming and occasionally hilarious, particularly in the context of its roguelike mechanics. However, some players feel that the humor can become stale over time, with mixed opinions on its overall effectiveness. Overall, while the retro aesthetic adds to the comedic appeal, the enjoyment may vary significantly among players.
- “Roguelike permadeath games that reward you for trying and trying are quite hilarious.”
- “While the aesthetic is retro and funny, the fun you'll have with this will dry up quickly.”
- “Small, not simple, and so funny! :) Great game, I like it.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate a lack of character development, with players feeling that survival relies solely on luck rather than any meaningful growth or progression of characters.
- “There is no character development at all, and any chance at survival is completely based on luck.”
- “The characters feel one-dimensional and lack any meaningful growth throughout the game.”
- “I was disappointed by the lack of depth in the character arcs; they don't evolve or change in any significant way.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's monetization model is straightforward, as it lacks in-app purchases, which some players appreciate, likening it to a casual iOS game with hardcore elements. Overall, it delivers on its promise without the typical monetization pitfalls.
- “This game's title is the perfect example of 'truth in advertising', and 'exactly what it says on the tin'.”
- “In some ways, HSL feels like an iOS casual game, with a veneer of hardcore trappings, minus the in-app purchases.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report occasional glitches when resuming earlier games, such as flickering between torch and blood spot sprites, but these issues appear to be infrequent and do not significantly impact overall gameplay stability.
- “One or two glitches occur when continuing an earlier game, including torches blinking between torch and blood spot sprites.”