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.
Premium Subscribers: 50,000 CheatHappens.com Reward Credits!
Cheathappens.com is offering our premium subscribers 50,000 reward credits this week. You must have a valid account with Cheathappens.com and must be logged in. Use the link below to claim these.
Key Giveaway For Premium Subscribers: SkyChart: Airline Executive
This week, we have a brand new and very special game for you, because it's from one of our own! The release of SkyChart: Airline Executive is designed and developed from one of our LootHappens subscribers who was gracious enough to reach out and give every premium subscriber a key. We tried it, and we love it.
The game is a detailed strategy and management simulation that puts players in charge of an airline spanning 90 years of aviation history, from the early biplane era of 1930 through the age of jumbo jets in 2020. Players establish routes between hundreds of real-world cities, purchase or lease historically accurate aircraft, manage cabin classes and airport investments, hire executives, and compete against rival airline CEOs with different business strategies. Historical events—including World War II, oil crises, airline deregulation, 9/11, and the COVID-19 pandemic—continually reshape demand and force players to adapt their operations. Show him some love!
Denshattack!: Key Giveaway For Free Subscribers
Denshattack! is a fast-paced 3D action-platformer that turns a gravity-defying train into an oversized skateboard. Set in a colorful Japanese dystopia, the game has you race through cities, oceans, volcanoes, and countryside while performing flips, grinds, drifts, and other spectacular tricks. Across more than 50 levels, you chase high scores, customize your train, battle rival gangs, and join a group of rebellious outcasts fighting to reclaim the railways from the sinister Miraidō corporation. With its anime-inspired presentation, energetic soundtrack, and blend of Tony Hawk-style trick mechanics and arcade racing, Denshattack! delivers a wildly original, stylish ride built around speed, precision, and controlled chaos.
If you would like to be in the running for a key, hit reply and just put 'dens'. We will pick a winner and send over the key in 48 hours
Life is Strange: Reunion: Key Giveaway For Free Subscribers
Life is Strange: Reunion is a choice-driven narrative adventure that brings Max Caulfield and Chloe Price together for the concluding chapter of their story. Set at Caledon University, the game follows Max as she discovers that a catastrophic fire will destroy the campus in just three days, forcing her to use her returning Rewind power to alter conversations, manipulate events, solve time-based puzzles, and uncover the cause of the disaster. Players also control Chloe, whose sharp wit and Backtalk ability help her investigate disturbing nightmares and memories from alternate timelines. Blending supernatural mystery, emotional relationships, exploration, and difficult decisions with lasting consequences, Reunion challenges players to save Caledon while determining whether Max and Chloe can finally build a future together.
If you would like to be in the running for a key, hit reply and just put 'strange'. We will pick a winner and send over the key in 48 hours
Historically Low Prices
This section of Loot Happens tracks historical discounts right now 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!
The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu - Deluxe Edition [Steam]
Co-op searching for treasure.$̶̶45.99 $25.80
A Boy and His Blob Retro Collection [Nintendo Switch]
Team up with an extraterrestrial lifeform named Blobert.$9.99 $4.49
Featured Game Review: The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu
The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu takes the familiar cooperative extraction formula and drags it into a suffocating world of fog, madness and 16th-century superstition. Developed by ACE Team and published by NACON, the game sends up to four explorers into a cursed South American jungle in search of treasure, with each expedition beginning aboard a decaying galleon where players select period weapons, armor and survival equipment.
The basic objective is straightforward: enter the island, gather enough valuables to satisfy the expedition contract and return alive. Completing that task is another matter. The jungle reacts to noise, meaning that sprinting, cutting through vegetation and firing muskets can attract increasingly dangerous creatures. Rain can ruin gunpowder, equipment deteriorates and limited resources make every confrontation costly. The result is a game that encourages players to move cautiously rather than treating the island like a conventional action-shooter map.
Teammates and Allies
What separates The Mound from most cooperative horror games is its madness system. As an expedition deteriorates, players begin seeing altered environments, false enemies and figures that resemble their teammates. Because different players can experience different hallucinations, the game creates genuine confusion within the group. A companion standing in the fog may be an ally, a monster or something that exists only in one player’s mind. The mechanic works particularly well with voice chat, transforming normal team communication into frantic arguments over what is real.
ACE Team’s art direction is instrumental in selling that uncertainty. The humid jungle, ruined settlements, heavy fog and painterly character designs give the island a distinctive appearance without relying entirely on photorealism. Strong silhouettes remain visible at a distance but are intentionally difficult to identify, allowing the scenery itself to become part of the psychological horror. The game builds fear through rustling vegetation, distant movement and changing weather rather than depending exclusively on scripted jump scares.
Combat is King
Combat is considerably less convincing. Muskets, bows, crossbows and melee weapons are deliberately slow and cumbersome, which fits the historical setting and reinforces the feeling that the explorers are outmatched. However, the combination of fast enemies, fragile weapons and large enemy groups can make battles feel frustrating rather than frightening. Early player feedback has also criticized the increased enemy density, limited melee damage and difficulty escaping creatures once an expedition begins to collapse.
The difficulty becomes especially noticeable when playing alone. Although solo expeditions are possible, many of the game’s most effective hallucinations are designed around uncertainty between teammates, and the encounters appear balanced primarily for cooperative groups. Progression can also feel thin compared with other extraction games. New equipment and accumulated knowledge help, but players looking for an extensive skill tree or a steady stream of permanent upgrades may find the long-term rewards limited.
There are technical concerns as well. Players have reported inconsistent optimization, crashes and performance problems during the launch period, while the initial Steam response has been mixed. These issues do not erase the game’s strengths, but they can undermine a horror experience that relies heavily on immersion and careful teamwork.
Final Verdict
Despite its rough edges, The Mound: Omen of Cthulhu offers something more ambitious than another cooperative game about collecting valuables while monsters chase the players. Its greatest weapon is doubt. The jungle does not simply attack the expedition—it manipulates it, encourages panic and turns teammates against their own senses. Combat balance, limited progression and launch-day performance prevent the game from fully realizing its potential, but its atmosphere and perception-altering mechanics make it one of the more distinctive cooperative horror experiences in recent years.
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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