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.
50,000 Reward Credits for CheatHappens.com for Premium Subscribers
CheatHappens.com is giving 50,000 Reward Credits for premium subscribers this week. You must have a CheatHappens.com account (free or premium) in order to claim these credits.
Key Giveaway For Premium Subscribers: Woodle Tree 2: Deluxe+
Woodle Tree 2: Deluxe+ invites you back into a colorful, sprawling world where exploration and challenge go hand in hand. Roam freely across forests, deserts, mountains, and oceans, tackling redesigned platforming sections, clever puzzles, and tougher enemies as you work to restore balance. This Deluxe+ edition sharpens the experience with smoother controls, reworked levels, new abilities, and extra challenges, including the Sleepin’ Flowers DLC, while local co-op lets friends join the journey. Beneath its cheerful surface, Woodle Tree 2 rewards curiosity, precision, and persistence.
Mai: Child of Ages: Key Giveaway For Free Subscribers
Mai: Child of Ages follows Mai through a broken world shaped by time, memory, and loss as she searches for her true origin. Shifting between past and future, you explore dungeon-like ruins, solve time-bending puzzles, and watch the world transform around your choices. Gameplay evolves alongside Mai herself, blending precise platforming with fluid hack-and-slash combat as new abilities unlock across different stages of her life. At the heart of it all lies the Uroboro Stone, a powerful relic that lets you freeze moments, rewrite history, and shape what comes next.
If you would like to be in the running for a key, hit reply and just put 'mai'. We will pick a winner and send over the key in 48 hours
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves: Key Giveaway For Free Subscribers
FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves brings SNK’s legendary series back to South Town after more than two decades away. Built around the new REV System, every match rewards aggressive play and momentum from the opening bell. Flexible control schemes welcome newcomers while preserving depth for veterans, and a bold new art style gives both classic fighters and new faces real presence. With a strong roster and a story-driven RPG mode to carve out your own legacy, City of the Wolves feels like a confident revival: rooted in history, but ready to push forward.
If you would like to be in the running for a key, hit reply and just put 'fury'. We will pick a winner and send over the key in 48 hours
Historically Low Prices
This section of Loot Happens tracks historical discounts on games and across the industry right now! 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!
MIO: Memories in Orbit [Steam]
A mesmerizing, intertwined, decaying world awaits.$̶̶23.40 $15.62
Featured Game Review: Arknights: Endfield
Any game built around gacha systems lives under quiet scrutiny. It’s not just about mechanics—it’s about trust. Players are being asked to return daily, to invest time, and potentially money, so there has to be a reason beyond habit. Arknights: Endfield enters that crowded space with a more ambitious pitch than most, offering not only an expansive sci-fi world but a slower, more deliberate loop built around exploration, squad combat, and base construction. After spending a considerable stretch Endministrating on Talos-II, it’s clear Endfield wants to be more than another login-driven experience. While its early hours stumble under heavy exposition and familiar genre friction, the foundation beneath is surprisingly compelling, one that invites curiosity rather than demanding commitment upfront.
A promising world, revealed at its own pace
You step into the role of the Endministrator, returning to the hostile planet Talos-II after a decade-long absence and a conveniently inconvenient case of amnesia. The setup is familiar, but the tone isn’t overly dramatic. Instead, Endfield leans into atmosphere: abandoned infrastructure, strange ecosystems, and a sense that this world is only partially understood, even by those trying to tame it. Unfortunately, the opening hours struggle to get out of their own way. Dense dialogue and halting pacing make early story beats feel more like briefings than lived experiences.
Stick with it, though, and the game gradually opens up. The world design does much of the narrative work once you’re free to roam, with striking cyberpunk-industrial vistas and enemy designs that reinforce the planet’s instability. You spend most of your time venturing into the wilds with a squad of Operators, gathering resources, solving light environmental challenges, and pushing back hostile forces to reclaim territory. The objectives themselves aren’t especially inventive, but the cohesion between setting, tone, and progression makes the loop easy to fall into—even when you’re aware of its simplicity.
Characters that sell the gacha fantasy
As expected, Endfield introduces a growing cast of Operators, initially through story progression and later via gacha pulls. While the systems surrounding currencies and passes are dense—as they often are in this genre—the early game avoids hard pressure to spend. Progression remains smooth enough that curiosity, not frustration, drives engagement. Whether that balance holds long-term remains an open question, but the opening stretch earns goodwill rather than burning it.
Where Endfield excels is character design. New Operators aren’t just visually distinct—they’re immediately expressive. Personalities come through in dialogue, animations, and combat style, making it easy to grow attached faster than intended. This emotional pull is clearly intentional, but it’s handled with care. Even players wary of gacha mechanics may find themselves charmed despite their better judgment, thanks to thoughtful worldbuilding and consistent aesthetic identity.
Combat is the game’s strongest hook
Combat is where Arknights: Endfield feels most confident. Battles unfold in real time, with players actively swapping between squad members to string together combos, dodges, and special attacks. Each Operator brings a clear role, and their personalities extend into how they fight—making combat feel expressive rather than mechanical. Visual feedback is strong, turning even missteps into flashy moments that feel earned rather than accidental.
Enemy encounters are straightforward but satisfying, built around momentum and coordination rather than complex tactics. You charge in, break defenses, juggle foes, and call in teammates for cinematic follow-ups. It’s accessible without being mindless, and while it lacks the precision depth of dedicated action RPGs, it compensates with fluidity and spectacle. Simply put, it’s fun, and that matters more than novelty in a game meant to be played daily.
Verdict
Arknights: Endfield doesn’t reinvent the gacha formula, but it meaningfully reshapes it. Its opening hours demand patience, and its systems can feel dense before they click. Yet beneath that friction lies a thoughtfully constructed world, expressive combat, and a progression loop that encourages exploration over compulsion. Whether it maintains that balance in the long run remains to be seen, but as a first impression, Endfield succeeds where many of its peers falter—it makes you want to stay, not because you have to, but because you’re genuinely curious about what lies ahead.
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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