LORT

Introduction

LORT, released into Early Access on 21 January 2026 by Big Distraction, is a 1-to-8 player co-op action roguelite that sends teams raiding camps across a cursed fantasy world for loot and stacking power-ups. It sits Mostly Positive with a sample of around 2770 reviews, and reading widely through them reveals a release whose genuinely chaotic, generous co-op core draws frequent, specific comparisons to Risk of Rain 2 sitting alongside a widely corroborated complaint this review treats as central to its overall score.

A generous co-op loop, specifically compared to its inspiration

The clearest, most consistent praise across this sample concerns how LORT distinguishes itself from Risk of Rain 2, its most obvious point of comparison. Reviewers repeatedly and specifically note an abundance of loot chests, removing the resource-sharing tension that title requires and replacing it with something more openly generous. Multiple reviewers describe genuinely memorable, funny co-op sessions built around reviving fallen teammates and absurd power imbalances between players, one detailed reviewer describing an entire run spent "kissing the floor" while a single overpowered teammate carried the group, framed affectionately rather than as a complaint. This review reads that specific, comparative praise as evidence the core loop genuinely succeeds at delivering chaotic, memorable co-op sessions.

A specific, widely corroborated scaling problem outside full groups

Set against that praise, this review found the single most repeated and specific complaint across this sample concerns how the game handles anything short of a full team. Multiple reviewers independently describe the game as not feeling built for solo play, citing barren maps, enemy density with no effective counter when playing alone, and bosses reviewers describe as tediously drawn out without a full team's damage output. One detailed reviewer specifically states the game "desperately needs player scaling," and another reports needing a full team and active matchmaking to have a reasonable experience at all. This review reads the consistency of that complaint, specific and volunteered independently by many reviewers rather than a single loud voice, as a genuine structural design gap rather than simple difficulty tuning.

A specific complaint that melee is mechanically disadvantaged

This review also found a separate, specific and detailed complaint concerning weapon-type balance. Multiple reviewers independently report that melee builds are meaningfully weaker than ranged options, citing area-damage attacks that punish melee positioning, enemies that visibly telegraph and counter melee approach specifically, and death penalties, dropped weapons and lost maximum health, that compound the disadvantage further. This review reads that level of mechanical specificity, not simply "melee feels weak" but a list of concrete, related causes, as a credible signal of a genuine balance gap rather than a play-style preference.

A contested balance patch that removed a praised mechanic

This review found a specific, well-corroborated complaint concerning a documented balance patch: multiple independent reviewers report that an update removed a secondary-attribute system, which they specifically credit with having provided meaningful late-game mobility, one of the game's strongest points prior to the change. Reviewers frame this specifically as a "reductive method of balancing" rather than a thoughtful difficulty adjustment, with at least one detailed reviewer stating they would no longer recommend the game unless the change is reconsidered. This review treats a documented, dated patch change that reviewers can point to directly as a stronger, more concrete complaint than a general "the game got harder" sentiment.

Itemisation reviewers describe as underwhelming

Beyond the mechanical complaints above, this review found a separate, specific pattern of reviewers describing the reward loop itself as unsatisfying. Multiple reviewers specifically describe clearing difficult camps for a reward that amounts to a small flat stat increase, with one detailed reviewer asking pointedly why that reward isn't simply granted by default character leveling instead. This review reads that complaint as distinct from, though related to, the scaling and balance issues above: even players succeeding at the core loop describe the moment-to- moment reward structure as underwhelming.

A specific multiplayer desync bug during a critical encounter

This review also found a specific, detailed bug report worth flagging directly: one reviewer describes a final boss encounter where area-of-effect attacks rendered correctly only for the host player, preventing non-host teammates from avoiding damage or being revived once downed, effectively ending a session the group had built toward over multiple play sessions. This review treats that as a serious, specific technical concern for exactly the kind of full-team play this game is otherwise built around and best suited to.

Why this review still credits the core loop despite real, specific problems

It's worth being direct about how this review weighs a genuinely fun, generous co-op core against the scale of complaints documented here. The praise for LORT's chaotic team sessions is specific and consistent, and at its current low price, several reviewers frame the purchase as low-risk even accounting for its rough edges. But the scaling problem for anything short of a full team is unusually well corroborated and structural rather than cosmetic, and the melee-balance and patch-regression complaints are each specific enough to weigh seriously rather than dismiss as typical Early Access noise. This review scores LORT as a game that delivers real value for the audience it's built for, three-plus players in a full session, while genuinely underserving anyone outside that specific use case.

Final Verdict

LORT delivers a genuinely chaotic, generous co-op roguelite session that reviewers repeatedly and specifically favour over its clearest inspiration for its looser, funnier approach to loot and team dynamics. What holds this score down is a widely corroborated complaint that the game barely functions outside a full team, a specific and detailed melee-balance disadvantage, a documented balance patch reviewers say removed one of the game's strongest mechanics, and underwhelming itemisation. Worth it for a full group at this price; solo and small-group players should wait.