Cyanide has updated their mythologically-inspired action rpg Loki to version 1.0.8.3 with this latest patch, available at Action Trip, GamersHell, The Patches Scrolls, and FileFront.  The changelog doesn't appear to be available yet.

Cyanide's action-rpg Loki recieves a new patch, taking it to V 1.0.8.2. You can pick it up at The Patches Scrolls, Atomic Gamer, and Filefront. 

A pair of negative reviews for Loki have hit the 'net.  The first is at 1Up with a score of 4/10, although the short text doesn't read so badly:

The grinding in Loki: Heroes of Mythology is hypnotic. We first saw it -- click repeatedly to kill all foes, get loot, move to next zone -- in the Diablo series. And, at first, Loki recaptures that magic well enough: Once you start, you'll click through a zillion monsters, and suddenly it's three in the morning. Like Titan Quest and other contemporary iterations of the style, Loki is attractive and includes some good new ideas, especially in character customization and skill growth. But it simply lacks the depth of more forward-thinking action-RPG alternatives, and "what Diablo did" isn't enough anymore.

GameVortex scores 25% but really seems stuck on the multiplayer:

All-in-all, I just don't "get" Loki: Heroes of Mythology. The control scheme seems to be a strange selection for this sort of a game, and the "GameCenter" online gaming application is not merely unintuitive, but is, apparently, broken. There aren't a lot of people out there playing the game (I saw three, consistently. The same ones, as far as I could tell) and it appears that almost half of the players in the online ranking are only first level. This indicates to me that a large number of the players who did actually play Loki online gave up before advancing past their first level. I can't really recommend this game to anyone. If you're not into online play and you're interested in game development and the idea of the strange mix of RTS controls (with a single unit) and an RPG game have you interested, then be my guest and give it a go. For the rest of you who are simply looking for a cool RPG game - especially if you're looking for online gameplay - move along... there's nothing to see.

The support for Loki rolls on with Worthplaying hosting a v1.0.8.1 patch:

This v1.0.8.1 patch, works for all versions of the game, adds an anti-cheat system, updated UI, an alt/tab bug fix and a few game tweaks.

ComputerGames has kicked up a review of Loki with a score of 66%, in part because of lots of bugs:

The game was criticized by the community because of the bugs; so far, 7 patches have been released, which solve most of Loki’s problems, but not completely. The most common and annoying bugs are those which create a form of lag (which is not dependent on the system’s requirements) when you issue a command to your hero, the sometimes weird pathfinding and the possibility of getting stuck in the environment. Not to mention sudden crashes to the desktop, usually in the in the middle of a confrontation, or after you’ve reached a new level with your character.

Cyanide Studios wrote to Blue's to update them on their projects, revealing a Loki add-on is in the works, although no word on the details:

They also mention this studio is working on an add-on for Loki, offering no other information, saying simply the studio is working on "an add-on to the 'Loki' hack 'n' slash."

It's nice to see this is being well supported.  A 1.0.8.0 patch for Loki has been released according to Worthplaying (130Mb):

PATCH 1.0.8.0

BUGS CORRECTIONS

- Fixed some crashes while using the Alt Tab key combination
- Fixed a bug that allow equipement of a weapon or an armor wich normally needs a greatest value of a characteristic.
- Some windows size adjustments in the Graphic User Interface.

MODIFICATIONS

- Added cheats protection : the players that have some game datas modificated will be unclassified in the ladder.
- Balance tweak of the jaguars characs.

Gamezone has posted a positive review  of Cyanide's action rpg Loki, giving it an overall score of 7.7/10:

 Cyanide and Dreamcatcher have tossed their collective hats into the ring with Loki: Heroes of Mythology, a title that revisits the glorious days of solo-player hack ‘n slash role playing. This is D2 and Titan Quest, with the same general formats in terms of finite zone maps, point-and-click controls, quests and treasures to uncover. You kill, you loot, you upgrade skills and armor.. .

...While the classes vary, the formula is more or less the same. Some of the classes are significantly weaker as you begin and it is much easier to take on the role of a balance melee class while learning the nuances of the game. Still, though, this is a relatively easy game to learn to play.

Expect load times – this game is not seamless and you will move from map to map through glowing blue barriers. Pathing is hit or miss. At times you will run through an area and not even trees can slow you down as you clip right through them; but then there are the times when you will get hung up on a rock, or trapped against the loading barrier or even boxed in by monsters.

Graphically, the game is played from the third-person perspective though the camera does rotate and zoom in to afford you a better view of the action. The combat animations are fine and the variety of monsters, though working off familiar themes, gets the job done in terms of the various mythologies presented.

 

A poor 5.9/10 is the score for Loki at Worthplaying, although most of the text probably reads a bit more positive:

The pace of Loki is somewhat slower than other action-adventure titles, which takes some getting used to but isn't entirely bad. However, the overall atmosphere of the world isn't particularly immersive, and the pace tends to draw attention to this. The level design wouldn't be bad if it weren't for the extreme overuse of it all. This is one of the more glaring flaws to Loki, but it takes awhile to really notice it. As you level up, the game doesn't get more challenging — it just gets longer. Much, much longer. This means that, while the smoldering underworld lava caverns are interesting at first, after five or more hours in the same cave over and over again, it becomes maddening. Hark, a new area! Ice caves! Five more hours of this new horizon ought to liven things up a bit, no? Basically, Cyanide have just crammed far too much of a good thing into this package. They could have chopped out easily half of the filler grind "content" and still had a game with enough single-player action to make it worthwhile. As it is, the endless repetition ultimately becomes self-defeating.

A US version of the recently released Loki v1.0.7.0 patch is now available from Dreamcatcher.  Apparently the different patch is because Securom is used in the US but Starforce in Europe.

The patch addresses "Multi-Player bugs".

GamersHell does one of its occasional PC  reviews on Loki , Cyanide's recently released action rpg with a mythological background, rating it high on sound and graphics and low on gameplay, for an overall 5.5:

When you set out to create a game that has effectively been done before, there is a bare minimum effort required to belly up to the bar. Loki: Heroes of Mythology does not try to disguise the fact that it is a dungeon crawling RPG in the vein of Diablo and Titan Quest. But it does overlook precedents of gameplay and quality that have been set before it.

Loki begins with a cinematic of a robed wanderer making his way through the desert (stop me if you've heard this one before). He makes his way into a tomb within a pyramid and awakens the god of chaos and evil. Oh you have heard this one before, sorry to bore you. Seriously, I'm all for the tip of a hat to those that have come before, but this just felt like plagiarism. You choose your character from one of four mythological heroes: An Aztec Shaman, an Egyptian Sorcerer, a Greek fighter, and a Norse Warrior. From there, you set out on one of four generic and forgettable journeys...

There was no single hook that encouraged me to even walk beyond the opening screen and the story seemed like it was being made up as it went along. What I took away from quests: "Hey um...I need some stuff. Would you go get that stuff for me? Because I want that stuff." Any number of paths could have been taken to make the introduction to Loki more enticing, but instead it ends up feeling like a watered down, single-player MMO.

Gamespot has a review up of Cyanide's recently released action rpg Loki. On the whole, it's a positive take of the mythogically inspired game, with a final score of 7.0 :

Even though the Diablo formula may seem awfully ho-hum these days--especially in this case, since Titan Quest covered the mythological-heroes shtick over a year ago--good mechanics and great atmosphere make up for the lack of innovation...

Despite the overall difficulty, everything moves along pretty quickly. Even though you have to repeat yourself a little too often, you still easily get into a killing groove balanced just about perfectly between addiction and monotony... As with every other good action RPG ever made, you know that you're just clicking mouse buttons over and over again, but the pace of combat and the collection of magical weapons and other goodies (the usual assortment of swords, armor, and potions, with some cultural characteristics tossed in mainly to differentiate one style of clothing from another) is so speedy that you can barely bring yourself to stop playing...

All told, Loki is one of those rare, totally derivative pleasures. A game that will inspire a lot of déjà vu but very little boredom.

 

Cyanide's action/RPG Loki is now available on Steam for the 16.43% of you who like digital delivery (according to our current poll).

Thanks, Asbjoern!

Thanks to Dark Savant for news on the Loki forums of a v1.0.7.0 patch:

This patch is for all languages and for the DVD version only.

To update the game, just run Loki and click Play button, then click Yes button.
To download manually the 1.0.7.0 DVD patch, please click here.
For online gaming, the 1.2.3.7 version of the Game Center is required.

PATCH 1.0.7.0 CONTENT:

BUGS CORRECTED
- Corrections to blockages which sometimes happen when changing levels.
- Correction to a bug on Thor's Anger skill which allowed player to kill NPCs by changing target just after activating skill.
- Correction to the passive skill magic damage bonuses (Glyph).
- Correction to Aztec heroine's "Spirit Power" passive skill.
- Change on calculation of damage inflicted by summonings.
- Correction to Odin's wolf which sometimes did not follow the hero.
- Corrections to a crash when a salesman is spawned for a player who is approaching level 200.
- Correction to Funeral Sacrifice skill.
- Bonuses gained from relics now function correctly.

CHANGES
- Booby-trapped chests now only explode once.
- The status of quest and portal tabs is now saved according to chapter being played.
- Loading of sound and skill files has been optimized.
- Limitation on maximum of 10 level difference between players in multiplayer mode has been removed.
- Adjustment to experience gains in Normal and Hero modes.
- Adjustment to display of items in the 3D interface.

News via Blue's that Loki has shipped in NA:

Egyptian God, Seth, once condemned to a sealed tomb for his evil and malice ways, has escaped to release a fury of pent up revenge onto the Norse, Greek, Aztec and Egyptian worlds. You have been chosen by the other gods to help bring order back. Play as a mighty Norse Warrior, a fierce Greek Fighter, a powerful Egyptian Sorcerer or a mystical Aztec Shaman in your quest, traveling through vast territories in fierce battle against hundreds of legendary and deadly enemies. Prepare yourself for fast-paced, action-packed gameplay where it is up to you to conquer all four worlds and put Seth back where he belongs.

Features:

• Endless possibilities – Experience your adventure as one of four different mythological heroes each with distinct strengths and combat styles. Worship different gods in order to gain access to more than 200 different skills. A powerful random level generator ensures that you never experience the same game twice.
• Create your legend your way – Embark upon your quests solo or with your friends as part of a group. Challenge others in PvP mode inside a dedicated online arena or dice with death by taking part in one of the online challenges.
• Collect and exchange thousands of items, including 500 unique objects, such as Thor's Hammer and Achilles' Armor. Customize your weapons and armor by visiting the blacksmith's forge. Disassemble and rebuild weapons with new attributes and increase their magical powers with runes.

Loki: Heroes of Mythology is developed by Cyanide Studio and has an ESRB Rating of M (Mature). For further information please visit our website at www.dreamcatchergames.com.

GamersHell has the version 1.0.6.7  beta patch for Cyanide's mythologically inspired action rpg, Loki available  here.

This patch addresses several crash issues and gameplay bugs and updates all language versions of the game. 

From the Loki site:

GameCenter Warriors, we are pleased to announce that a bunch of new features are on their way for the LOKI multiplayer mode.

As requested by many players, a chest system will be released this week on the GameCenter. This system will allow players to store items, above and beyond the limit of a hero's personal inventory, and to transfer items between their heroes!!

Very soon, a new patch with many improvements for the multiplayer mode will be available. This 1.0.7.0 patch, planned for the end of September will also see the start of an massive worldwide multiplayer tournament, « LOKI Battle Round #1 ». At the end of the competition, the best warriors will be rewarded with "Divine" level inventory items. The 2 best players on each ladder (level and duel) will, in addition, receive a Unique Item that can only be gained via this tournament.

Here are the rules of the "LOKI Battle Round #1": the ladder will be reset. But don't panic as heroes that have already been created won’t be erased: they will just, no longer, appear on this ladder.

Thereafter, players will have 3 months to create a new character and try to enter the Top 10.

After these 3 months of intense combat, the first 10 players on the ladder by level and the first 10 players on the ladder by duel points will receive the following:

- 1st: 4 "Divine" items (1 weapon + 3 pieces of armour) + 1 unique item
- 2nd: 3 divine items (1 weapon + 2 pieces of armour) + 1 unique item
- 3rd to 5th: 2 divine items (2 pieces of armour)
- 6th to 10th: 1 divine item (1 piece of armour)

No great love for Loki at Jolt with their review scoring 4.7/10:

We had a review version of Loki ages ago, but the disc didn’t work. Then the replacement went missing in the post for a while. When it finally turned up, we thought that might be the end of our woes with the game, but that was before we actually played it. It’s not that Loki is bad – it isn’t. A few months ago the game was shaping up quite nicely and would have probably gone on to bigger and better things – if only the development hadn’t seemed to have stopped there, because several months down the line the finished product is just okayish.

GamersHell has available a second English demo for Cyanide's action RPG Loki. It clocks in at 1.22 GB over the first demo at 1007.75. The release date for the U.S. of September 28 is also given. Here's the description:

A new English playable demo of Loki is now available for download, allowing you to try out this hack 'n' slash (action/RPG) that puts the player in key epochs of history surrounded by legendary heroes, powerful divinities and mythical creatures such as hydrae, dragons and minotaurs. Developed by Cyanide Studios, the game allows the player to take-on the role of one of four heroes - a mighty Norse warrior, a fierce Greek fighter, a powerful Egyptian sorcerer or a skilled Aztec shaman.

According to Worthplaying, which also has the download, while the first demo featured the Norse warrior, in this demo you can play the Egyptian mage.

Dreamcatcher has announced they have tweaked the title of Loki (now Loki: Heroes of Mythology) and the NA release of Loki will be September 28th:

September 11 2007. Toronto, Canada: DreamCatcher Games, a leading publisher of interactive entertainment software, today announced that it will publish the Action-Role Playing Game Loki: Heroes of Mythology for Windows®. Set for release in North America on September 28, 2007, Loki: Heroes of Mythology will have players taking on the role of one of four great mythological heroes as they confront hordes of evil minions, battle against great mythological beasts and defy the gods in an adventure bristling with rage.

Egyptian God, Seth, once condemned to a sealed tomb for his evil and malice ways, has escaped to release a fury of pent up revenge onto the Norse, Greek, Aztec and Egyptian worlds. You have been chosen by the other gods to help bring order back. Play as a mighty Norse Warrior, a fierce Greek Fighter, a powerful Egyptian Sorcerer or a mystical Aztec Shaman in your quest, traveling through vast territories in fierce battle against hundreds of legendary and deadly enemies. Prepare yourself for fast-paced, action-packed gameplay where it is up to you to conquer all four worlds and put Seth back where he belongs. “We think that both RPG and action fans are really going to like the frenzied action of this game built into an impressive storyline,” said Byron Gaum, Senior Project Manager at DreamCatcher Games. “Players will find loads of gameplay within Loki’s solo, co-op and multiplayer game modes!”

Features:

        • Endless possibilities – Experience your adventure as one of four different mythological heroes each with distinct strengths and combat styles. Worship different gods in order to gain access to more than 200 different skills. A powerful random level generator ensures that you never experience the same game twice.
        • Create your legend your way – Embark upon your quests solo or with your friends as part of a group. Challenge others in PvP mode inside a dedicated online arena or dice with death by taking part in one of the online challenges.
        • Collect and exchange thousands of items, including 500 unique objects, such as Thor's Hammer and Achilles' Armor. Customize your weapons and armor by visiting the blacksmith's forge. Disassemble and rebuild weapons with new attributes and increase their magical powers with runes.

Loki: Heroes of Mythology is developed by Cyanide and will sell for a suggested retail price of $39.99 USD. For further information please visit our website at www.dreamcatchergames.com.

NZGamer  has posted a rather harsh review of Loki, the mythologically focused action RPG from Cyanide, giving it a score of 5.0 (Mediocre):

 The interface for Loki is a mixed bag. Many of the familiar keys (such as “I” for “Inventory”) are present, however a large number of usability problems (ranging from the annoying to the downright horrible) are present, such as an unpredictable loot interface, horrible camera controls, an archaic inventory system, a bizarre inability to talk to NPCs from time to time, massive load lag (despite installing a whopping 7GB onto your hard disk) and many other issues abound....

...The gameplay itself is, in a word, dull dull dull. I know that’s technically three words but they’re all the same so I figure that’s close enough. There’s nothing interesting happening, you don’t care about the robotic, jerking townsfolk that the monsters are threatening and the super boring, no-AI-whatsoever enemies are quite possibly the single most boring (they’re all the same, they just look different) enemies ever imagined. Ever. EVER.  

Another review of Cyanide's mythologically inspired action rpg Loki, this time from Strategy Informer, likening it to Diablo 3 and implying it would be better as a console title:

Acquiring patronage from the likes of Sony and/or Microsoft is no small or inexpensive task, so it’s easy to see why Cyonide opted for the PC route. But “easy” doesn’t always cut the mustard, and the nagging feeling of impropriety that pervades Loki is inevitably realised. This simply isn’t a PC game. Were it given an extra sheen of gloss, it’d make a very decent home console game that many a casual gamer would find a regular window in their schedule for. But PC gamers are generally a different breed, looking for at least some form of immersion and expansion possibilities in their extended play time. Loki provides none of this, and the limited mouse based attacks quickly become an unsatisfying button mashing practice.

...and thanks to Dark Savant for pointing out another Loki review, this time at YouGamers with a score of 68%:

A poor story can be partially forgiven if the gameplay is good enough. After all, the meat of an action RPG is engaging in wanton carnage, collecting loot and upgrading. After selecting a character (I chose a Norse Warrior), the fighting commences almost immediately. Following a brief chat with a NPC for some story setup, it's off to save a town from imminent destruction by hordes of invaders. Along the way, various NPCs will offer up bits of story and quests. Quests consist mainly of clearing out dungeons and collecting items (why are NPCs always too lazy to do the footwork, anyway?). Since quests drive the gameplay, it would be nice to see some variation to the quests. At times, completing quests in an RPG can feel a bit like crossing items off a weekend chore list, and Loki doesn't break any new ground in this regard.

Loki has been reviewed at gameSlave, finding the title too streamlined for the PC but awarding a reasonable 7/10:

The easiest way for the particular features and balances of Loki to be explained is this - it's on the wrong platform. Loki is a fine game, but would nearly certainly be far more at home on your home console. Cyanide went to great lengths to put the Hack and the Slash back into this RPG genre, and have succeeded by the bucket 'o blood full. The beasts come in wave after wave, and on any stage you can expect to slaughter your way through hundreds. Your character does have a weight limit to the loot their can haul, but compared to any other RPG its huge. When do get full, your Scroll of Town Portal analogue is infinite and will pop you to and from the potion and poleaxe shop with utmost convenience. The inventory system is quick and convenient, with equipment easily toggled on an off and potions automatically assigned quickslots.

Damned by faint praise is how Eurogamer describes Loki in their review, which carries a score of 5/10:

The problem, as you may have gathered, is that there's not a lot to actually like about Loki. Our primary fear, when we previewed the game, was that its shameless aping of previous games in the genre would overpower the general competence of its execution. This is indeed the case; and the results are deeply, deeply, almost crushingly average.

Thanks, Dark Savant. 

Ouch.  2/10:

My main problem with Loki is that it's absolutely no fun to play after the first level. Firstly, it's too difficult, even on the easiest setting. It's not difficult in a challenging way, it's difficult because there are so many enemies you will die constantly because of the massive odds stacked against you. Secondly, it requires zero skill to play. The gameplay consists of you clicking on the screen to move your character and then clicking on the enemy you want to hit/shoot at. If you miss, it's not decided by your skill as a player, it’s decided by a couple of computerised dice somewhere in the game working out your percentage To Hit ratios. Most RPGs get away with this because of the wealth of skill options available to you, you can usually invest skill points in every facet of your character – from different types of attacks to how good they are at cooking. But not in Loki.

No, in Loki, you level up spells occasionally and physical attributes regularly. There are no choices to make because they've already been made by your choice in character. As a warrior, you will upgrade your strength and toughness. As a wizard, you will upgrade your magic reserve and movement speed. You do choose how many skill points to add to each one but the choices are so generic; you may as well not bother. This all means that it is not your skill getting you through the game, it is those computerised dice. This throws any sense of achievement you feel through levelling up out the proverbial window.

From the official site:

Focus Home Interactive and Cyanide Studio are equipping gamers for a fantastic adventure with the release of this single-player demo for Loki, the legendary hack 'n slash RPG for PC.

In this 991 MB demo, players will jump into the blood-soaked boots of the Norse Warrior, one of the four characters available in the full game. The Norse Warrior is the toughest and most brutal character in the game, and prefers to deal death with two-handed weapons - including his trademark battle axe. As part of the demo campaign, players will have to collect elements needed to defeat Fenrir the legendary giant wolf and will also be able to level their character up to a max of 20 - which means several hours of hack ‘n slash fun for those who will want to explore the skill tree of the Scandinavian hero (200 is the maximum level you can reach in the game). In order to do this, players will face hundreds of enemies, wild beasts and other dangerous creatures that live in Myllkwoord forest, in the volcano and in the dungeons of the goblin city.

The demo is available at the following mirrors:

GameSpot
GamersHell
Filefront
Metaboli
Fileshack

...and Gameguru Mania also wrote to us with a mirror.

Worthplaying has a v1.0.6.0 patch for Loki, although there is no news of the actual fixes or what languages this may suit (126Mb).

[Update]: Thanks to Sir Brennus, here are the notes:

LOKI

===========================================
PATCHNOTES   1.0.6.0
===========================================

BUGS CORRECTED
- Optimisation of memory when changing level.
- Some of Egyptian's spells froze the game.
- Apply Poison and Apply Ice skills of Greek heroine applied no state.
- Various problems existed with speed of attack.
- The Tabasco Delta level (Aztec world) was missing a teleportation portal.
- The arrow indicating the "Voyage into the Underworld" quest was not correctly displayed in the "Passage into the Underworld" level.
- The arrow indicating the "Voyage of the dead" quest was not correctly displayed when hero returned to speak with Charon.
- Correction to a display problem when XP reached 200.
- Henceforth, when a hero comes back to life his/her mana is restored to max and cooldown levels are reset.

BALANCING
- Slightly less raw material required when reforging/overlaying weapons/armour.
- Slightly less likelihood of coming across unique items in chests.
- Improvement to system enabling objects to be obtained that corresponded to hero's profile (Aztec, Egyptian, Greek, Norse).
- Hero gains more XP when killing certain classes of monsters and all types of boss.
- Suppression des dgts physiques supplmentaires de la comptence Bull Charge.
- Additional physical damage removed from Bull's Charge skill
- Increase in duration, bonus and mana cost for Giants' Strength skill
- Decrease in bonus / Increase in duration and mana cost for Aesir Armour skill
- Revision of quest rewards : more XP and gold, more random items generated as rewards.

Cyanide's Loki has been reviewed at games xtreme, with a score of 7.5/10:

It is a generic RPG in many ways, but it doesn't paint itself to be anything but. Loki is one of the few Diablo-clones that I've liked for a long time, it's got a few rough patches (or the code we had did) and might not interest people who're looking for depth of story and breadth of character. This is action and adventure in an ancient world, pure, plain and simple.

Cyanide's PR guy Joe Ryan has been interviewed at GameZone about Loki, covering fairly general territory:

What do you consider to be the best features of the game that will, initially, attract gamers, and then hold them?

Joe: There are plenty of features that will attract and hold players. We've seen from initial reactions that the multiplayer is a major success. The numbers connecting took us a bit by surprise and we had to ramp-up server availability overnight. Today, Loki far outweighs all our other games in numbers of players connected. Outside the various multiplayer modes, we expect the thousands of collectable items to motivate many players. We put special care into the graphics to have as many 3D representations of such things as weapons and armour. Some of the rare items are really spectacular ! And, of course, a player can visit the forge and take weapons apart; build new ones or reforge existing items with new metals. The skills system should also appeal to many people. Not only does the player have to make a trade-off between growing his XP versus his skills, but once skills are acquired, they have to be actively managed. There are few passive skills so there is plenty of work to adapt skills to the current opponent. And, of course, there is the random generation of levels to guarantee maximum replayability.

Loki has been previewed at Strategy Informer:

Pretty standard fare in terms of a hack’n’slash RPG, Loki has a rather elaborate (and often unpronounceable) back story which attempts to introduce several millennia of religious ethos from all over the globe; including Greek, Norse (obviously), Egyptian and even Aztec! These belief systems and their multitude of pantheons then had their stories rewritten and woven together; forming a kind of divine community of warring factions, each divided into various good and bad splinter groups.

Cyanide has released a new patch for Loki, taking their action/RPG to v1.0.5.0.  The 120Mb file can be found at Gamer's Hell, where they say this suits all languages, although the notes appear to only be in German at this point at World of Players (thanks Blue's).

Eurogamer has kicked up a preview of Loki and they seem reasonably impressed despite the bad press out of Germany - but of course, this isn't a review:

From what we've seen so far, minute-to-minute gameplay in Loki pans out pretty much as you'd expect from a hackandslash, and the bulk of the quests and objectives really boil down to an excuse for some fairly solid dungeon-crawling. That said, the game also boasts city and village environments full of various characters, and at least one quest we've undertaken saw us having to defend a village from an attacking force. It's a nice change from the all-too-common RPG mechanic of plodding through endless underground tunnels killing oversized rats.

...and Jolt:

Although there is currently a glut of hack’n’slash RPGs, most of which are pretty mediocre, Loki’s offer of not just one but four fantasy settings is an intriguing one. Hopefully the interface and some of the dialogue presentation will be cleaned up in time for the game’s release at the end of September.

We received the following press release on multiplayer in Loki (minus the corporate stuff):

Write Legends with Your Friends

The Loki solo mode makes for a great gaming experience, but there is nothing better than setting off on an adventure with a few friends.

Join in with Loki’s multiplayer modes, which allow for an incredible variety of adventures on LAN or online.

Co-op
Up to 6 players can advance through the game.

Duel
One-on-one duels (PvP) in a dedicated arena.

Battle
2 teams of up to 4 players each fight it out in a dedicated arena.

Challenge
20 different challenges against some of the game’s monsters – can be played with up to six players.

Ladder
An online ranking system allows players to see where they stand compared to other players.

Closed mode
Online heroes, used in multiplayer games, can be saved on the Cyanide GameCenter meaning that a network character can be guaranteed not to have been modified locally and then uploaded to the server. This enables "honest" combats for the greater pleasure of all concerned.

A 1.04 patch has been released for Loki, with the notes in this forum post and mirrors at Gamer's Hell, Filefront and The Patches Scrolls.

Loki previews are still dribbling in despite review release elsewhere.  Here's Bit-Tech who made me reach for a dictionary:

Through the preview we got to control a Norse character, a Viking with a penchant for axes in the snowy climes of (one presumes) Norway. He was easily controlled and moved around with clicks of the left mouse button and holding it down and moving it in the distance allowed him to be guided whilst moving forwards. The right mouse button activates the selected skill, but we'll get back to that later.

You may notice that I'm referring to my player character in the third person, not talking about how I guided myself as the character. There are two reasons for this. The first is that the game is played through the third person, so a certain amount of deictic distance is automatic (the linguistics degree pays off finally!) and the other is that players are never really offered a chance to customise the character very much.

Blue's has news that a French demo for Loki has been released.  If you speak French or perhaps if you just want to check the game out, you can grab the 687Mb file from Gamer's Hell or Strategy Informer.

Cyanide has announced a new Loki trailer:

For those who prefer invocation invocation rather than decapitation, flaming enemies instead of mincing them, discover the magical touch of Loki with this video introducing the Egyptian Sorcerer and the Aztec Shaman.

Though they are less efficient in melee fights than the Norse Warrior or the Greek Fighter, these two characters are still quite powerful, especially when it comes to magic. Admire them evolving through this last video and discover the power of their spells.

The Aztec Shaman is a heroine gifted with magic and devoted to nature whose impressive invocations will be quite helpful in front of dozens of enemies that you will have to face across your adventure. She also has the ability to change into a panther to gain speed and power in melee.

The Egyptian Sorcerer has a darker personality and is well decided to write his own destiny thanks to dreadful spells and magic. He is the one with the most important learning curve as he looks so weak at the beginning of his quest.

See the video in streaming (Gametrailers)
See the video in HD streaming (Gametrailers)

Nokturnal wrote in to point out a German review of Loki, with Eurogamer.de handing down a lowly 5/10.  My Google-fu says they called it a "weak" action/RPG and found it repetitive, with some levels simply mirror-images of others.

Cyanide's Thomas Veauclin has been interviewed at GameSpot about Loki in a conversation that again stresses the hack'n'slash over story or other elements, which I guess is refreshingly realistic:

GS: We understand that Loki is being billed as an "open-ended role-playing game." Most action RPGs are very linear in nature, so what does the open-ended gameplay let players do? How does this translate into a better gameplay experience?

TV: We would not compare Loki to a classic role-playing game. The game is pure hack-and-slash.

Loki is a mixture of linear and nonlinear. The "linear" comes from the fact that there is a framework to each chapter with quests that have to be completed. It's "nonlinear" because the four chapters (mythologies) can be played in any order. Once the player gets through the opening chapter (the mythology of the chosen hero) he ends up at a place called the Thresholds of Time. From there he can go in and out of any mythology. That means he could do a few Aztec levels, then return to the Thresholds of Time and pass into the Norse world. There are no constraints, save that all levels must be completed before the final outcome can be played out. And even at the end there are several possible outcomes.

German players of Loki had head to Worthplaying to get the first patch, which addresses several multiplayer issues (65Mb).

Cyanide's Patrick Pligersdorffer has been interviewed at Pro-G about Loki and get's straight to the point about the action qualities:

Pro-G: We've seen several different interpretations of the action-RPG recently. How did you approach mixing the various merits of the two genres?

Patrick Pligersdorffer: I would say we have developed more of an action game. There is not too much dialogue and we wanted to make it that way. Of course the RPG elements come with the weapons and spells and experience points and so on.

Worthplaying has a 26Mb trailer for Cyanide's Loki.

With the recent release of Cyanide's mythological action/RPG Loki in Germany comes the first review we've heard of and some cause for modest hope for those interested in this title.  My German doesn't go beyond following the "Something is rotten in the state of Denmark..." opening line but the score is a reasonable 83%.

Thanks, Nokturnal!

The Loki site is pointing out a new gameplay trailer featuring the norse warrior class:

Focus and Cyanide are pleased to present the first gameplay video of Loki introducing the Norse Warrior.
Check out this new video and discover the Norse Warrior, the first of the four characters you will be able to play in Loki. After his village is laid to waste, this rugged follower of Odin takes axe in hand and begins his journey to defeat the evil Seth, the god of chaos. On his way, he will have to face gigantic enemies such as Fafnir the dragon, the Hydra but also many other creatures made of fire, ice, etc.

The trailer can viewed at Gametrailers (HD version also available).

News via Worthplaying that Cyanide's mythological action/RPG Loki has gone Gold in Germany. They also have eight new screens on offer.

Eight new screens for Loki are up at Worthplaying.

Six Loki screens can be grabbed at Worthplaying.

Nine new Loki screens can be found at Worthplaying.

Strategy Informer let us know they have posted some new screens for Cyanide's mythological action/RPG, Loki.

RPG Vault's second Peek at Loki is online with an in-character Q&A with the Aztec shaman:

Can you tell us something about your background and how you got your role in Loki?

I've always been very close to Nature, especially animals. I can remember having a pet guinea pig from a very early age... but he didn't last long once I discovered that I could change into a jaguar! It's quite a skill, but it was never something that I put on my résumé, just in case I got typecast. I really couldn't see myself doing things like The Jungle Book. When I heard about Loki and the sort of character they were looking for, I leapt at the chance.

The Loki site is promoting an "official" trailer:

After the short teaser broadcast 2 weeks ago, Focus Home Interactive and Cyanide Studio are glad to show you more of Loki with its official trailer.
This stunning one and a half minute video will allow you to enjoy the graphical style of Cyanide’s Hack & Slash, its atmosphere, its universe, the fury of its fights and some of the numerous creatures and mythological characters that are part of the game.

You can stream it here or download here (19.4Mb).

ActionTrip has a preview of Cyanide's Loki, which includes an inserted note from the editor saying "On paper, this game sounds so incredibly generic, it's not even funny", although they acknowledge it may all be in the execution.  Here's a clip on classes:

Each character embodies unique folklore, fighting styles and abilities. The Norse fighter, for instance, represents a near equivalent of a warrior class in standard fantasy lore. Relying on pure strength and his versatility in close combat, he's quite a resilient and capable combatant. He's certainly the right choice if you prefer muscle over brainpower. Going for the Greek character means you've chosen a skilled female archer, adept at setting deadly traps for unwary foes. She was also instructed by the warrior Achilles, who sends her on quests to help the Greek Pantheon. We were told that the Egyptian character is closely tied to the main plot - a lot more than other characters. His chief abilities are spells and magic. Finally, the Aztec shaman (another female character) strives to save her own people from extinction and mostly relies on skills linked to nature.

Hooked Gamers has a preview of Cyanide's Loki.  It appears to be a hands-on article although the actual gameplay details are fairly light.  Here's an early excerpt:

Loki is a hack&slash RPG that takes players through several different ages and does so by putting them smack in the middle of some of the most interesting of ancient mythologies. At various intervals the player will be confronted with the age old stories of the great civilizations of old like the Aztec, Egyptian, Norse and Greek. The game sports four different playable characters. On top of the more mundane Fighter and Warrior classes, the familiar Magician and not so familiar Shaman are available to you upon starting the game. They each have a unique playing style, drastically altering the way you play the game which should help with the replayability factor.

Six new screens from Cyanide's mythological action/RPG Loki are up at 3D Gamers.

An in-character interview with the hero is the subject of RPG Vault's first Loki Peek.  Here's the opening "question":

What is your background?
I never knew my parents, and at a very early age, I was taken in by a priest of the Seth cult. My education in the ways of magic and the dark arts therefore began early on. When I reached adulthood, it was natural for me to continue in the cult of Seth and to perfect my knowledge.

When I auditioned for the role in Loki, it was clear from the word "go" that I was made for the part. My mastery of pyrotechnics and my skills with chaos immediately appealed to the director of casting. The only obstacle was my devotion to the cult of Seth. But I wasn't going to let religion get in the way of my career and, to tell you the truth, I haven't looked back since.

The Loki site is offering a new trailer (35Mb), showing off some in-game action as opposed to the cinematic piece released recently:

Focus Home Interactive and Cyanide are pleased to unveil a new gameplay teaser trailer for Loki, the Hack 'n Slash RPG for PC in development by Cyanide studio. This short video gives you a taste of the game's gorgeous graphics engine, and showcases some of the creatures, environments and beautifully rendered bosses in the game.

The Loki site has kicked up a bestiary, which offers around 50 monsters from the mythological action/RPG and their attack animations.  It's a Flash-y site so no direct link is possible - head to the site and click the link on the left-hand menu:

Some of you have maybe noticed it already, but a new column has appeared in the menu a few days ago: the bestiary. It’s a sort of a monster gallery made just for players. You will then be able to discover creatures and bosses that you will have to face in Loki with more than 50 animated 3D renders available.

Meanwhile, 3D Gamers has a new trailer with 1 minute of cinematics.

The second part of RPG Vault's interview with Monte Cristo on Loki is online, covering everything from combat to multiplayer:

Jonric: Can we expect to fight a broad assortment of opponents, and what are some interesting or unusual examples?

Yannick Fleurit: There are more than 150 monsters in Loki, mainly based on the mythological bestiaries. Each world has its own bestiary, plus a base of standard enemies that can be found across all the worlds, such as soldiers from Seth's army. There are monsters of very different sizes and powers as well as elite ones that are a lot tougher to defeat, and against which you can really benefit from using special attacks.

The most powerful monsters are the bosses. They are very often gigantic and fearsome. You will face the Minotaur, Fenrir the giant ice wolf, or Fafnir the dragon. They all have impressive powers, and some will require a degree of cunning to defeat.

The Loki site seems to have revamped since we last looked and is pointing out an interview with AceGamez. The conversation is undated but isn't in our database, so hopefully it is new. Here's a sample:

ML: In terms of gameplay, how would you describe Loki overall? Does it basically stick to action RPG conventions with plenty of linear dungeon crawling and mouse-click hacking and slashing, or is there more to it than that, like environmental puzzles, non-linear level designs and/or elaborate quests to keep the pacing fresh?

Cyanide: An action RPG fan will easily find his feet and there are plenty of main and secondary quests to keep him busy. However, there are a few subtleties that give Loki its own identity. The highly developed system of weapon and armour personalisation, mentioned above, is something that sets Loki apart from many action RPG games.

The same goes for the skill system. There is very little that is automatic about skills, so a player will have to be very much involved in how they are built up and used. Each of the heroes worships 3 gods and each god confers a given set of skills. Skills vary from hero to hero, so, for example, within the Aztec heroine's 3 skill trees there are spells allowing her change shape or to move into the spirit world, whereas the Egyptian can call on an arsenal of fire and lightning.

It should also be noted that generation of levels, and their concomitant items and monsters, is random except for the final bosses. This means that the game can be played over and over again without ever following the same route.

A short 5Mb trailer for Cyanide's action/RPG Loki can be found at Worthplaying.

Killer Betties has an interview on the action/RPG Loki with Patrick Pligersdorffer, who is presumably from developer Cyanide.  Here's an excerpt:

How important is story to the game and how will it unfold (voice acting, cutscenes, etc.)? Is the story of Loki more to set the action hack and slash up, or will players genuinely care to see what happens in the story next?

Loki is an action RPG at its core and the focus is on the action. However, we wanted an interesting story to keep pushing the player forward. So that it is not just: kill this monster, then the next one. The story is more complex than it appears. There are different endings at the 3 different difficulty levels and each character also has its own ending. There are a few twists too but I cannot elaborate on this obviously without spoiling the surprise. The story will unfold through a few cut-scenes and there is voice-acting for all the main quests. We certainly hope that the players will care about the story more than for most of the games in that genre.

The official German site for Loki has some new screens on offer.

A new batch of screens from Cyanide's Loki is available at 3D Gamers.

PC Pointer.de has half a dozen apparently new Loki screens on offer.

Cyanide Studios has updated their product page for Loki with some new screenshots.

Ten new screens for Cyanide's action/RPG Loki are online at Worthplaying.

Ten new screens from Cyanide's action/RPG Loki are up at Worthplaying.

Four screens from Cyanide's action/RPG 'Loki' are up at Worthplaying.