Half visible novel, half RPG, Loop8: Summer time of the Gods is an attention-grabbing thought which sadly finally ends up caught in a little bit of a rut. All of it begins off effectively sufficient, with the sport’s protagonist Nini transferring to a small city and one of many few protected havens left on Earth. Humanity has been pushed to the brink of extinction as a result of creatures from the underworld, referred to as the Kegai, consistently invading.
Regardless of imminent destruction looming over everybody, the ambiance is remarkably relaxed. Nini will spend his days going to class and hanging out with buddies reasonably than fretting concerning the finish of the world. However issues don’t keep peaceable for lengthy. Each 5 days or so a Kegai will handle to slide by means of the barrier surrounding the city and possess somebody. With Nini’s distinctive Demon Sight skill you’ll should make your approach by means of the underworld and face off in opposition to the demons.
You possibly can take two buddies with you to assist in the battle, and that is the place hanging out will come in useful. Somewhat than gaining ranges by preventing, characters will get stronger as you get to know them. This may improve their stats and unlock new skills for them to make use of through the simplistic turn-based fight.
You’ll solely be controlling Nini throughout battle; the opposite characters will resolve their very own actions based mostly on their bond with you. This may make fight a bit annoying at occasions, as your allies received’t at all times take advantage of smart of selections. And if your pals get killed, they received’t return till your subsequent time loop. This makes it actually essential to attempt to spend time with extra than simply a few your favourites — likelihood is a few of them aren’t going to outlive the summer season.
If Nini dies then the Gods will reset the world and also you’ll have to start out once more from the start of August. You received’t be beginning fully from scratch although, as any blessings you’ve been given by the Gods will nonetheless be lively. This provides you a little bit of a head begin in your stats and implies that you’ll be stronger each loop.
An excellent time loop mechanic is meant to present you adequate selection in order that repetition does not set in. Sadly, that is the place Loop8 falls flat. You’ll be going over the identical conversations and so they’re simply not attention-grabbing sufficient to make it worthwhile. It additionally doesn’t assist that there’s solely a small number of enemies, and that the underworld is generally simply the city with a distinct color palette. It is laborious to not get irritated once you realise that you simply’re nonetheless not robust sufficient to take out the subsequent boss, and haven’t any alternative however to repeat the previous couple of weeks.