Loopindex Review

If you’ve paid much attention to the Microsoft Store in recent months, then chances are you’ve noticed more than just a handful of titles that come attached with the Ratalaika publisher branding. Loopindex is the latest title to join the list of releases, but can the work done here by developer Somepx do what it takes to engage fans, or are we simply looking at another easy gamerscore haul for the achievement hunters out there?

Loopindex is a game in which its focus is pure simplicity. The premise sees players take on the role of two robots through either solo or local cooperative fashion, with the goal being to reach an elevator within each level which acts as the exit point. Do this, whilst avoiding death from the many well-placed traps and hazards such as spikes, lasers, etc, and you’ll eventually take on the boss and come out victorious.

To do this you must first master the core mechanic of looping.

Looping is how you take your two characters through the games many levels and puzzles by way of forcing them on a continuous pattern of behaviour, such as running a set path, activating a button, or pushing a block for example. Whilst this feature is the key focus of the game, achieving it comes down to simply holding the X button whilst doing the action you want to loop. Stopping the loop is also a manual requirement, with our protagonists holding no thought for themselves or their safety should you forget to halt their actions.

Causing a loop can help to open up new paths for your second character such as creating a bridge or opening up a previously inaccessible area via the use of bombs, treadmills, pressure plates and so on. This then allows you to have full control of the second character to then make the next steps through the level.

There are 70 levels overall to work through, although it seems only 50 levels were originally intended with the full achievement list unlocking once you master level 50 and beat the boss. Stick around a little longer however and you’ll soon find an additional 20 levels that introduce a new mechanic in the form of easily coerced mice that you can usher onto pressure plates or wherever else you need them.

Despite the puzzling focussed of this release, there isn’t all that much in the way of any real challenge. Even for me, as someone who rarely manages well in a puzzle game beyond the opening few levels, the overall completion of all 70 levels took no more than an hour. Whilst this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it would have been nice to see an increasing challenge as I worked my way through, yet even the increase in the number of traps and hazards wasn’t difficult once you figure out how to get around them once or twice and the path through each level begins to feel a little obvious.

That’s not to say the traps are at all at fault. In fact, the clever placement of lasers and spikes was something I found impressive throughout as I fell victim to many brushes with death thanks to taking my eye off the ball from time to time within levels. Instead what this should be attributed to, is the introduction of a new mechanic every 10 levels.

Whilst we always appreciate a new toy to play with, be it moving boxes, using bombs, or even some rather helpful frogs that will lend a hand, each mechanics introduction caused levels to be made a little easier. This ensures you get used to how they work, but trades this off with no real consistency to the difficulty increase, therefore causing a struggle to feel challenged as you progress, and this can make things feel quite repetitive by the time you’ve reached the boss.

As mentioned before there are further levels after this point, however, levels 51-70 don’t help with the challenge increase at all and instead feel much easier than what came before them, as well as feeling less polished as the mice they introduce can sometimes make even the basics difficult when they decide to take their own path. Fortunately restarting a level is as simple as holding the Y button for a fresh run.

Of course, we aren’t looking at a triple-A release here, and at just £4.99, Loopindex isn’t a bad game. The basics are achieved enough to warrant the attention for the hour or two the gameplay provides, and the pixelated visuals provide enough detail to figure out what’s going on within each level. There is also the audio to think about, but that comes down to a mostly repetitive synthetic stylised soundtrack as you play through the game, but with no communication between your characters or any dialogue to focus on, you’d probably be better off chucking on your favourite Spotify playlist instead.  

Conclusion

Overall and If you want a challenge, then Loopindex may prove a little too easy. If you’re after that satisfying Gamerscore increase, then you’ll likely be in your element, as an hour is no gargantuan task for any player. As for general quality, Loopindex isn’t a standout performer. It gets the basics completed but you shouldn’t hope for anything more.

This game was tested and reviewed on Xbox Series X/S. All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by publisher.