Loop Odyssey Is The Idle RPG You Thought Loop Hero Would Be

On the surface, Loop Odyssey and Loop Hero are remarkably similar games, though it just might be that despite Loop Hero’s success, Loop Odyssey might better achieve the idle RPG goals many players thought its precursor might have been aiming for. They’re both indie-made RPGs using 2D pixel art, and both are focused around a loop which breaks convention by taking direct control of the hero away from the player. However, a closer examination reveals two fundamentally different games. While some players may have found they had to pay a lot more attention to Loop Hero than the concept might have suggested, Loop Odyssey is the perfect second-screen companion.

2021 saw the release of a number of loop-related games, from Modern Storyteller’s critically acclaimed The Forgotten City to Annapurna Interactive’s bizarrely twisting Twelve Minutes and plenty of other titles by AAA studios and indie developers alike. Four Quarters’ Loop Hero sought to bring the loop conceit (though notably not a time loop) to RPGs with exploration mechanics, skill and gear upgrades, and roguelike progression. While the game has become quite popular thanks to a wide breadth of content and its intriguing game design, some players may have ultimately thought that it was more of an idle game that required less input from players, which is very different from how its gameplay actually works. For others, the initially appealing mechanics could become tedious given the game’s the necessity for immediate engagement. Loop Hero seems like an idle game, akin to other fantasy-themed idle RPGs like D&D-based Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms, but it ultimately isn’t; while time-sensitive decisions aren’t constant, they are still present and very capable of ending a run if one isn’t paying attention.

Perhaps more certain about its identity, Housemade’s Loop Odyssey stands where Loop Hero’s idle aspirations stumble. Built from the ground up deliberately as an idle game, Loop Odyssey is designed around mechanics and features that embrace its genre by focusing on creative automation rather than tedium. Players seeking an idle RPG will find solid gameplay and an overall more satisfying experience with Loop Odyssey – assuming an idle RPG is what they’re actually looking for.

Loop Odyssey Offers A Completely Different Idle RPG Experience From Loop Hero

Loop Odyssey follows the usual idea of time loops, presenting a gameplay hook that alternates between sequencing actions and watching the consequences play out without ability to intervene. While this may feel like a removal of agency, the game’s strengths lie in its automation and repetition – as the player watches their plans fail or succeed, they learn what to adjust in the next iteration of their loop (and when to just let the loops endlessly run on their own). It doesn’t have some of the features that make Loop Hero worth buying, but trades these for a variety of interesting twists of its own. Thusly, the game’s demand for attention is predictable, as the outcome is entirely out of the player’s hands once the action begins.

Despite this, and even because of it, Loop Odyssey manages to engage when it needs to. The game’s idle and time loop mechanics manage to augment traditional RPG standbys – exploration, combat, and the gathering of resources. Perfecting a loop is satisfying, making mistakes is enlightening, and clearing the fog of war that hides much of the game’s map keeps players coming back for more. Progression is slow and time-consuming, but these are givens in any idle game. Here, they maintain long-term engagement as the player becomes comfortable with the game’s systems, whereas Loop Hero’s classes and card-based exploration may push players away as experimental mechanics become stale or make increasing demands on player attention.

Loop Odyssey isn’t for everyone – no game can be, especially idle games. But with its deliberately-paced idle grinding sections interspersed with thoughtful moments of strategy and planning, Loop Odyssey is sure to appeal to fans of idle games, in particular those who also enjoy a good RPG. It may not be 2021’s flashiest time loop game, but Loop Odyssey fills its specific niche surprisingly well, and may be a better fit for players that have exhausted their time with Loop Hero.

Loop Odyssey is available now on Steam.

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