Hack, Slash, Loot

About

"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 Play through the game's story or campaign solo

50%

Audience ScoreBased on 615 reviews

graphics29 positive mentions

gameplay11 negative mentions

The game has a charming retro pixel art style that appeals to fans of classic roguelikes.
It offers a high level of replayability with different quests and unlockable characters.
The simple mechanics make it easy to pick up and play, providing a casual gaming experience.

The game is heavily reliant on RNG, making success feel more like luck than skill.
There is no inventory system, which limits strategic gameplay and makes it frustrating to manage items.
The difficulty is unbalanced, often resulting in unfair encounters that can lead to quick deaths.

gameplay
94 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
78%
12%
The gameplay of "Hack, Slash, Loot" is characterized by its simplicity and accessibility, making it easy for players to pick up but often leading to a repetitive and luck-based experience. While some players appreciate the retro aesthetic and the potential for strategic choices, many criticize the lack of depth, cumbersome mechanics, and reliance on RNG, which can result in frustrating gameplay. Overall, the game offers a casual experience that may entertain briefly but lacks the complexity and engagement found in more polished roguelike titles.
- “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.”
- “Fun little roguelike, it has simple mechanics but remains compelling nonetheless!”
- “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
90 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
32%
59%
9%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a simplistic, retro pixel art style that evokes nostalgia, appealing to fans of old-school aesthetics. However, many players criticize the graphics for being overly basic and lacking variety, with some describing them as outdated even for 8-bit standards. While the charming art style may resonate with some, others find it detracts from the overall experience due to its limitations and scaling issues on modern displays.
- “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 embarrassingly bad, with teeny sprites that have no animations.”
- “It's a random number generator with Atari 2500 style graphics.”
story
78 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
88%
4%
The game's story aspect is minimal and lacks depth, with players primarily engaging in a series of quests that feel repetitive and often frustrating due to randomization and reliance on luck. While there are multiple quests and character options, the narrative is largely absent, with little sense of progression or meaningful storytelling, making it feel more like a collection of objectives rather than a cohesive adventure. Overall, players seeking a rich narrative experience may find this game lacking, as it focuses more on gameplay mechanics than on developing an engaging story.
- “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.”
- “You also choose the quest you want to play from the main menu, and each has its own story.”
- “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
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
35%
15%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising its nostalgic 8-bit style and immersive quality, while others criticize its sporadic play and lack of continuous background tracks. Some players enjoy the soundtrack's resemblance to classic games, but feel that the limited looping detracts from the overall experience. Overall, while the music has potential and is enjoyable at times, it could benefit from a more consistent presence throughout gameplay.
- “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%
Overall, the game is praised for its high replayability, attributed to its unique runs, diverse playable characters, and the roguelike mechanics that encourage experimentation and discovery. While some reviews suggest it lacks depth compared to other roguelikes, the variety of starting conditions and the challenge of gameplay contribute to its enjoyable replay value. However, a few reviewers recommend alternative titles that offer greater replayability for a similar price.
- “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.”
- “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 with excellent graphics. However, the lack of background music detracts from the overall atmosphere, 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 a mix of charm and retro aesthetics, with some players finding it genuinely funny and enjoyable. However, others feel that the humor can quickly wear thin, leading to a less favorable experience overall. Overall, opinions on the humor are mixed, with some appreciating its lightheartedness while others find it lacking.
- “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.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
The game's monetization model is straightforward, lacking in-app purchases, which gives it a feel reminiscent of casual iOS games while still incorporating some hardcore elements. Players appreciate this transparency and simplicity in its approach to monetization.
- “The monetization model is fair and doesn't pressure players to spend money to enjoy the game.”
- “I appreciate that the game offers plenty of free content without forcing players into microtransactions.”
- “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
300%
Users report minor stability issues, such as occasional glitches when resuming saved games, including visual inconsistencies like blinking between torch and blood spot sprites.
- “One or two glitches occur when continuing an earlier game, including torches blinking between torch and blood spot sprites.”
- “The game crashes frequently, especially during intense moments, making it frustrating to play.”
- “I experienced several freezes that forced me to restart the game, which really disrupts the flow.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Reviews indicate a lack of character development, with players feeling that survival relies solely on luck rather than any meaningful growth or progression of the characters.
- “There is no character development at all, and any chance of 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 remain static and uninteresting.”