A big welcome back to all Loot Happens subscribers. Loot Happens is a weekly newsletter that is emailed and posted on LootHappens.com.
It's important to note that for premium subscribers, game offerings and in-game content, every week is different. Sometimes it's in-game codes, Steam keys, and giveaways, but premium members will always get something special every mailing. We also occasionally get mind-blowing early access or premium games that pay for an entire year's subscription.
Each newsletter is generally structured as Premium Loot > Free Sub Giveaways > Game Feature > Game discounts.
Key Giveaway For Premium Subscribers - Choose Your Game!
Song of Farca
Song of Farca is a dark, Black Mirror–tinged detective thriller set in a surveillance-soaked future ruled by corporations, lies, and quiet cruelty. Playing as Isabella Song, a private investigator and hacker, you solve crimes remotely using drones, hacked cameras, darknet searches, and invasive digital tools—never leaving your apartment. As cases intertwine and moral lines blur, Song of Farca turns investigation into a tense psychological puzzle where every conclusion has consequences, and the truth is rarely clean.
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Wetory
Wetory is a striking 3D roguelike that follows a discarded child in a world drained of color, where movement itself becomes the weapon. Built around a tile-based system with no direct attacks, combat relies on positioning, avoidance, and clever interaction with the environment as vibrant enemies burst against desaturated landscapes. As you reclaim stolen colors, each one unlocks new abilities and skill paths, letting you reshape your playstyle run after run in a game that turns strategy and visual contrast into its defining identity.
Ashes of Creation: Key Giveaway For Free Subscribers
Ashes of Creation is a high-fantasy MMORPG built around a living world that reacts permanently to player action, where cities rise, fall, and reshape entire regions based on how communities interact with them. Through its node system, trade caravans, large-scale PvP sieges, and player-driven politics, Verra evolves differently on every server, turning exploration, conflict, and cooperation into world-altering forces. Rather than telling a fixed story, Ashes of Creation asks its players to write history together, through ambition, war, commerce, and the long-term consequences of their choices.
If you would like to be in the running for a key, hit reply and just put 'ashes'. We will pick a winner and send over the key in 48 hours
Sea of Thieves: Key Giveaway For Free Subscribers
Sea of Thieves is a shared-world pirate adventure that drops you into an open ocean where every voyage is shaped by player choice, chance encounters, and sudden chaos. Whether sailing solo or with a crew, you chart your own course—hunting treasure, battling sea monsters, trading blows with rival pirates, or forming uneasy alliances that may not last long. With a constantly evolving world, seasonal updates, and stories written through player interaction rather than scripted paths, Sea of Thieves turns piracy into an unpredictable sandbox where your legend is earned, not assigned.
If you would like to be in the running for a key, hit reply and just put 'thieves'. We will pick a winner and send over the key in 48 hours
Historically Low Prices
This section of Loot Happens currently tracks historical discounts on games and throughout the industry. Our tireless web crawlers scour the web daily, sniffing out the best deals across the gaming landscape.
These aren't just any games – they're titles we adore and highly respect. And right now, you can grab them at prices we've never seen before!
Ultimate Admiral: Age of Sail [Steam]
A truly unique naval wargame experience.$̶̶34.17 $12.99
Hollow Knight: Silksong [PS5]
Adventure through a kingdom ruled by silk and song.$19.99 $15.99
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach [PS5]
Embark on an inspiring mission of human connection beyond the UCA.$69.99 $49.69
FINAL FANTASY VII [Nintendo Switch]
FINAL FANTASY VII, the timeless classic loved by a legion of fans.$15.99 $6.39
Featured Game Review: Octopath Traveler
Great RPGs often reveal their true nature at the very end. Dozens of hours can build a promising foundation, only for the final stretch to either crystallize everything into something unforgettable—or unravel under the weight of its own ambition. After spending just over 100 hours with Octopath Traveler, it’s clear this is a game that saves its best ideas for last. While much of the journey is solid, sometimes uneven, and occasionally familiar, the final chapters transform it into something quietly extraordinary. What begins as a traditional HD-2D RPG slowly evolves into a confident, emotionally layered epic that rewards patience in ways only games of this scale can. Freed from its mobile origins and stripped of gacha systems and microtransactions, Octopath Traveler emerges as a fully realized console RPG, pairing its refined turn-based combat with a sweeping narrative, painterly visuals, and a soundtrack that elevates every triumph and tragedy along the way.
A world takes its time to bloom
Octopath Traveler doesn’t rush to impress. Its opening hours lean heavily on genre familiarity, with a tragic prologue and a trio of villains whose motivations initially feel broad and almost theatrical. Dialogue can be uneven, and some early plot beats lack the nuance needed to fully sell their stakes. Yet the game rarely lingers too long on any one weakness. Instead, it keeps moving forward, confident that its structure will eventually pull everything together. That confidence pays off as its three central story paths—built around themes of power, fame, and wealth—gradually converge, giving shape to a world where betrayal is commonplace and institutions quietly rot from within.
What makes this structure work is how the second half reframes what came before. Just when it feels like you’ve reached a natural conclusion, Octopath Traveler pivots, expanding its scope and deepening its themes. Political conflicts widen, personal motivations sharpen, and the consequences of earlier actions ripple outward in unexpected ways. By weaving its narrative threads together instead of juggling multiple disconnected character arcs, the game tells a tighter, more cohesive story. The result is a slow-burn narrative that gains momentum steadily, culminating in a final stretch that feels purposeful, emotionally grounded, and far more daring than its opening hours suggest
Systems that reward commitment
Combat remains one of Octopath’s greatest strengths, and Octopath Traveler builds confidently on that foundation. The familiar Boost and Break systems return, encouraging careful planning around turn order, enemy weaknesses, and resource management. Early encounters can feel repetitive as you probe for vulnerabilities, but once battles click, the system shines. Timing Boosts, lining up Breaks, and unleashing coordinated bursts of damage creates a satisfying tactical rhythm, especially against bosses capable of wiping your party in a single misstep. It’s turn-based combat that rewards foresight rather than brute force.
Party composition adds another strategic layer this time around, with eight active members split between front and back rows. Managing such a large roster can be overwhelming, and individual character depth is thinner than in previous entries, but the flexibility it offers keeps battles dynamic. Skills can be mastered and shared, allowing experimentation without forcing constant re-specialization. Combined with cinematic flourishes—slow-motion Max Boost attacks, dramatic camera cuts, and powerful limit breaks—combat consistently feels engaging deep into the late game. While random encounters can wear thin, the satisfaction of overcoming a seemingly impossible fight more than compensates
Bottom line
Octopath Traveler is a game that asks for time, trust, and patience—and repays all three generously by the end. Its journey isn’t flawless, and its early hours won’t convince everyone to stick around, but nearly every system, character, and narrative thread eventually serves a purpose. By the time its final chapters unfold, what once felt familiar becomes bold, poetic, and emotionally resonant. With its refined turn-based combat, striking HD-2D presentation, and one of the most powerful soundtracks in modern RPGs, Octopath Traveler proves that scale, when paired with restraint and intention, can still deliver something special. Not everyone will see it through to its true conclusion—but those who do will find an RPG that lingers long after the credits roll, blossoming into something genuinely unforgettable
Next Week
Every newsletter has a lot to look forward to, and we are in active communication with several developers and studios. More to come next week!
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