PAX: Loop8 truly believes in the power of friendship
Social links are a popular tool in modern RPGs. But Loop8: Summer of Gods doesn’t just settle for a side serving of socialization. Rather, Loop8 builds its house atop the bedrock of friendship, affection, and yes, even hate.
Developed by Marvelous and published by XSEED, Loop8: Summer of Gods is a “coming-of-age” RPG set in the quiet rural town of Ashihara, in August 1983. You are Nini, a “newly earthbound” teen. And it’s one month until the world ends. You and your friends must loop through the eighth month of the year until you either overcome the Kegai, an otherworldly threat, or humanity becomes doomed.
It’s a really high-concept set-up for the story that, in all honesty, I’m still not 100% clear on. The mixture of time-looping and alternate-world monsters felt like something that I’d probably understand a bit more in the full game, rather than the quick 20-minute demo I got on the showfloor of PAX East 2023. What I did look at, and what has me eager about Loop8‘s potential, is its social system.
A core part of Loop8 is forming and reinforcing relationships with others in town. I saw this right away when, as soon as I launched into the demo, I was tasked with getting an ally to help me take on a formidable foe. I needed to recruit the right person, and crucially, it wouldn’t be based off their level or experience.
Rather, Saru—my demo-chosen companion—was effective because of his relationship with the person we’d be fighting. This was the first hint of an overarching theme, as different characters’ relationships all intersect with each other in good or bad ways. A special screen showed the bar chart of everyone’s feelings for each other, with varying intensity levels of Friendship, Affection, and Hate.
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