Loot Hound™ Reviews

Poor optimization leads to massive lag spikes when "a lot" is happening on screen (rain or leaves), which really spoils the experience. However, the worst flaw of this game is its reliance on grinding the same areas over and over, with a high failure rate if you have not min-maxed your stats correctly from the beginning (which all new players will not know to do). Two hours in, and the game works like this: You have three dogs; one that's good at digging (and the only one who digs in rock), one that's good at detecting (and the only one that fits in small gaps), and one that's... I don't know, yet, but seems fine at everything (and the only one who can scare away stubborn animals). You're bound to dump all your points (XP) into your first dog, since you don't know any better, instead of focusing on digging for when the detection dog comes. The problem with not knowing that dogs are specialised is that you end up being too weak to make any progress later on - the digging dog can't find anything, the finding dog gets distracted, and the third dog... I don't know, isn't specialised enough to be better than the others? Unfortunately this rock-paper-scissors approach to gameplay means that you have to enter a map with the detection dog and begin to dig things up but fail, since he isn't good enough, then return with the digging dog to finish the job (since he can see the pre-dug spots), inherently leading the game to repetition. The problem the failure grind then comes from the stone-digging dog not being able to find stone-tresure (which the finder can't dig), the finding dog not being able to dig up treasure in small spaces, and whatever the third one's deal is. Not having the ever-increasing points to upgrade your dogs means grinding earlier levels, which themselves carry the risk of failing to dig something up, except this time the locations and loot aren't saved between attempts, so you can't switch dogs. I'm not sure I'm at this point yet, but I fully beleive it is possible to upgrade your dogs in such a way as to make the game unprogressable. All I wanted was to walk around a dig things up, but this stat meta really spoils the experience for me, turning relaxing and easy into frustrating and boring.

If you're searching for a cute little game for in between then you can't do much wrong with this one. It is a casual game that's perfect if you want to play something relaxing. Basically you're just walking around with your dog who sniffs out and digs up loot. While doing so you have to watch out for guards or distractions (your dog can't search for loot if he's distracted). Cons: - gets a bit grindy the longer you play it since you find less new loot - in rare occasions the dog stops searching as soon as the exclamation mark appears above its head, for no apparent reason, at the same spot over and over again, can get a bit frustrating when it happens Pros: - cute, cartoony graphics - great humor - nice looking maps - every dog has one special ability - very relaxing Neutral: - only three dogs (I would have loved to get more) - you can't rename the dogs

We have a family dog and this is more relaxing than taking her for a walk. Fun little game, surprisingly good audio and if you're into achievements and collections then it seems like there's plenty here.

If you like playing a game about walking dogs and having them dig up treasure, this is the game for you! Just don't get caught by the park ranger. Geese and joggers can tattle on you or give your position away. Squirrels and joggers also distract your puppy from his treasure hunt. You have 3 dogs, and only the smallest can navigate into some tight areas (but at least the little guy should be pretty well hidden while in there). There are several parks to visit, with varying amounts of "treasure". Many of these treasure items would be trash if you actually found them. But this guy is weird: he collects bottlecaps and other odd stuff.

Had this in my library forever, just got around to playing this utterly charming game. Hunting for stuff and upgrading dogstats is a really nice way to spend some time, only wish there was more. Playing on deck, plays fine so far.

Loot Hound is an extremely fun exploration puzzle game. It has very nice graphics, good sounds, controls great and an interesting announcer, lol. There is plenty of loot to be found and you have three different dogs to help you. Each dog has their own unique special talent that you must utilize in order to complete each level and find all the loot. Each dog earns points that you can use to improve their stats. I really enjoyed treasure hunting with Marley, Wifi and Mr. Anderson! Be careful of the guards! I highly recommened this awesome little game!

Adorable dogs and a charming concept! Menu navigation is a little awkward, but the core gameplay isn't impacted by it in any way, and it's really clever. Definitely worth it.

This is a wonderful little casual scavenger hunt that for some may not offer enough in the way of interesting gameplay, but for me, the wonderful, crazy, whimsical, hilarious items you can dig up (and their descriptions and the voice overs!) absolutely made the game. I found the different parks interesting enough too (plenty of funny details!), and the dogs are so cute!

This game is a delight to play, it is very charming and quite a bit of fun. There is lots of different loot to find and you are still rewarded for finding doubles. You upgrade your dogs skills to overcome different obstacles, for example squirrels will distract your dog, but you can avoid this by upgrading you dogs concentration skill. I really recommend this game for anyone looking for a simple anf fun exploration game.

Cute game but unfortunaly i'm just not their target demographic. Loot Hound is a casual scavenger game (emphasize on casual) which revolves around a man who collects seemingly useless trinkets, no 'loot' here. You start of with Marley, a cute labrador who you take for walks in the park. You guide Marley by tugging on it's leash and let her explore by giving the leash slack. Simple mechanics which only require you to use WASD to move and Shift and Crtl to give slack or tug on the leash. The starting stages are incredibly easy with no obstacles except for a few distractions which don't let Marley focus on digging. You can easily circumvent this by upgrading stats to gain things like better concentration, better digging, better finding, more stamina, and better luck. Each loot hunt only lasts as long as your dog's stamina or until you get caught by the park guards. There is a total of 10 stages, each with their unique challenges and loot to find. By the third stage you will need Wifi, a small chihuahua who has the special ability of fitting into tight spaces to find loot. You will also unlock Mr.Anderson by stage 5 and he will bark at any animal that stands in your way of digging. There are a few secret areas within each level but the overall variety and scenery seems a tad boring with the most interesting moments finding weird trinkets or running from the few guards that roam the perimeter. At this point you maybe wondering why you're going through all the trouble of finding these useless trinkets...well i don't have a good answer for it other than to unlock more stages. When you find a trinket you gain three things: money to upgrade your dogs' stats, gets you closer to unlocking a new stage, and at your apartment you can read a little excerpt that alludes to the main character's background and story while pushing a few silly puns and jokes into the mix. Unfortunately the descriptions don't give you much information and there is no storyline outside of what you read from the trinkets. So what's the point of all this??? I'm not sure yet, i've unlocked 7 out of the 10 stages and all the game has done is made me enamored with the dogs and the cutesy art style. There is not much substance here. It's an interesting concept but it needs to have a bit more depth to keep me interested. The description on steam has a final point that says :"What's landed in the Buxton Wheat Field?" I'm hoping it's something interesting. Overall i think this game is targeted towards young children and feels more of a tablet game than a pc game. The screen resolution is even limited to 1920x1200 which is a shame since 1440p and higher res displays are becoming more common place but that's just a small thing to nitpick at. Art: 8.5/10 Sound:6.5/10 Design: 7/10 Game play: 6/10 Story: 4/10 Replay value: 4/10 Charm: 9/10 Verdict: a passable casual title that leaves something to be desired when it comes to gameplay and story. Casual shouldn't mean watered down story and lackluster game play, you can make things interesting without loosing the appeal of an easy game. I would recommend this for younger audiences and those who just love dogs. I will update this review in case the game becomes interesting.