10 Apr 2025
There’s a fine art to crafting a good dungeon crawler. It’s not just about throwing players into a pixel pit with swords and loot - it’s about tension, reward, and rhythm. Lootbound, the upcoming rogue-like from indie studio ArtDock, seems to understand this better than most.
From the moment you boot it up, Lootbound feels like a game made by people who get what makes short-session dungeon diving so addicting. Built in Unity and drawing heavy inspiration from games like Megaloot, Shogun Showdown, and Moonlighter, it wraps strategic decision-making in a fast-paced, loot-driven loop that invites you to just play one more run - and then another.
According to Dmitry Komarov, ArtDock’s Marketing Lead, the team set out to build something compact, stylish, and satisfying both in short bursts and longer sessions. “We wanted players to feel like clever treasure hunters,” he says. “Making snap decisions, adapting on the fly, and growing stronger with each run.”
While the moment-to-moment gameplay may feel seamless, Lootbound’s development was anything but simple. ArtDock used a combination of Aseprite for frame-by-frame animation, Photoshop for textures and UI, and Blender for more cinematic sequences - blending pixel precision with dynamic motion. That mix gave the team flexibility, but also created one of their biggest production challenges.
“Keeping everything in sync across tools without losing fluidity or style required a lot of iteration,” Dmitry explains. “With pixel art, especially in a rogue-like setting, it’s easy to overcrowd the screen. So we had to be really intentional about visual clarity, contrast, and feedback.”
That attention to detail shows. Lootbound’s world feels alive - thanks in part to the team’s storytelling and atmosphere design, which takes cues from the likes of Sea of Stars. The game isn’t just another pixelated dungeon; it’s a vibrant, dangerous universe where every enemy, corridor, and shiny object tells a story.
Despite its polished visuals and smooth mechanics, Lootbound never loses its sense of chaos. It embraces unpredictability without overwhelming the player - rewarding bold choices and punishing greed in equal measure. It's snappy and strategic, but never takes itself too seriously. That tonal balance - playful but not childish, colorful but not chaotic - helps it stand out in a crowded genre.
Whether you're min-maxing your build or recklessly lunging for that glowing chest in the corner, Lootbound always gives you room to experiment, adapt, and grow. And if you die? Well, that’s just part of the fun.
Keep Calm and waka waka...
