Despite its interesting idea, Loop8: Summer of the Gods gets stuck in a rut. Nini moves to one of the few safe havens left on Earth as the game’s protagonist. Due to creatures from the underworld, known as the Kegai, constantly encroaching, humanity has been driven to the brink of extinction.
Despite imminent destruction looming over everyone, the atmosphere is remarkably relaxed. Nini will spend his days going to class and hanging out with friends rather than fretting about the end of the world. But things don’t stay peaceful for long. Kegai will manage to snare through the barrier surrounding the town every five days or so and possess someone. Demon Sight is Nini’s unique ability to see the underworld and fight demons.
If you want two friends to help in the fight, hang out. Characters will gain strength as you get to know them, rather than gaining levels by fighting. They will be able to use new abilities during the simplistic turn-based combat system.
You’ll only be controlling Nini during battle; the other characters will decide their own actions based on their bond with you. In some cases, your friends may not make the best decisions during combat, and if they die, they won’t return until the next time loop. If you don’t spend time with more than just a few of your favorite friends, some of them won’t survive the summer.
In the event that Nini dies, the Gods will reset the world, so you’ll need to begin again in August. However, any blessings you’ve received from the Gods will remain active. You’ll be stronger every loop because of this head start on your stats.
Loop8 doesn’t provide enough variety to prevent repetition. You’ll be going over the same conversations repeatedly, and they’re just not interesting enough to make it worthwhile. The underworld is mostly just a different colour scheme for the town, and there aren’t too many enemies. Being stuck repeating the last few weeks is hard not to get annoyed when you’re still not strong enough to take out the next boss.
Pros:
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Stunning settings.
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Interesting story set-up.
Cons:
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A lack of variety.
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Shallow combat.
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Repetitive time-loop mechanic.
Five out of ten for this game.
