This month’s theme is DISCOVER. I was very excited to see some of my favourite franchises trailed: Rick and Morty, Harry Potter, and X-Files! I couldn’t quite work out how the theme related to them, but hey, I’m never going to complain about Rick and Morty. There was a fantastic Rick figure back in last year’s August box, so I had high hopes for this!
The open box looks promising.
Check out this fantastic Rick and Morty t-shirt!
You can see inside Rick’s brain! Fans of the show will instantly recognize this stuff, Cronenbergs, Mr Meeseeks, and Snuffles/Snowball. This amazing picture is by Anthony Petrie, created for a a special Rick and Morty show in January 2017. You can read more about it here.
Here’s the Harry Potter item: Harry Potter Socks. The design is of the Sorting Hat with the emblem of each house.
Bit blurry, but this is the label. 97% polyester. Hmmm.
The franchise that I didn’t mention above is Westworld. This is a Westworld SuperEmoScenes Diorama featuring Dolores and Bernard.
It comes well packaged, and you snap together the individual pieces to create the diorama.
The Bernard figure slots in, but the Dolores is freestanding.
OK, I was just having fun here because I don’t know anything about the Westworld TV series. But anyway, you can see the figures.
So, back to a franchise I actually do know and love.
At first I thought this was some kind of FBI badge replica, but it’s not. It’s actually an X-Files Card Game!
Two player, naturally. The instructions are very detailed, but it essentially involves gaining points and solving a mystery using the various cards.
It looks like a lot of fun, especially for fans!
Lastly, the Loot Pin. This month’s pin shows the maze symbol which is apparently everywhere in Westworld and has some kind of special significance. I don’t know what it signifies. Anyway, it’s a nice enough pin.
As in December’s crate, Loot Crate no longer include a magazine with the box. Instead there is a contents list.
If you want to see the magazine with the details about each item, you have to go online.
The crate is illustrated inside but doesn’t actually transform into anything, and it’s not mentioned in the magazine.
Anyway, value first.
Loot Crate claims that each box contains at least $45 (about £35) worth of goodies. Most if not all items are Loot Crate exclusive, so it’s difficult to assign a commercial value. However I can sort of find equivalents and guesstimate, though I don’t use eBay as I find their prices are not a useful guide to value.
T-shirt: geeky t-shirts are usually around £10.
Socks: Harry Potter socks are a dime a dozen now, you can get four pairs for a tenner, so I’m going to say £2.50.
Westworld scene: there was a Stranger Things version of this back in October’s crate, so I’ll say the same as I did then: £15.
X-Files card game: this is a total exclusive. There isn’t really an equivalent right now, though there was another X-Files collectible card game released several years ago. The 60-card starter pack retails for £6.95 on Amazon, so I’ll say the same here.
Pin: exclusive, but comic pins are around £5.
Total: £39.45
Well, this looks like pretty good value on paper!
Now my thoughts.
I was really looking forward to three out of the four franchises, especially Rick and Morty. Last month’s box was a very mixed bag, even though the franchises were promising, so I was really hoping for more this time.
Well, the t-shirt is awesome, I absolutely love it. It’s an incredibly original design, and it’s 100% cotton!
I like the card game way more than I thought I would. So many things are online now (like the damn magazine) so it’s fantastic to have a proper low-tech game to play. Plus there are lots of nice little nods to the series in the clue cards. It’s very well thought out, and a really fun thing to have around.
Now it gets sketchy (again).
OK, I’m not a Westworld fan, so I’m never going to get that excited about stuff from that franchise. But there have already been two of these SuperEmoScenes things, in the October box and the Stranger Things Limited Edition Crate. I love Stranger Things, so I kind of let it go, but enough already. The problem with these is that they all look the same. (I have the same problem with POP! figures as well.) One looks fine, but as a collection they are just way too samey.
As for the socks, these are a total filler item. The quality is really poor. Polyester is all very well for athletic socks, but for regular socks you need some cotton in there so you don’t get horrible sweaty stinky feet. I’ve got a couple pairs of other socks from Loot Crate, and they are the same, itchy and sweaty, so I never wear them because they are so uncomfortable. I’d feel slightly less cross about this if they looked good, but really? They’re a really lame design. All you have to do is google ‘Harry Potter Socks’ to see endless socks which are nicer than these. And also contain cotton. Dumbledore might say you can never have too many socks, but these are a pair I don’t need.
The online magazine is really annoying. I resent having to fire up my laptop to see details about the items. Having a magazine is a really nice tactile experience, and clicking through on a screen is not at all satisfying.
So once again, this is seriously hit and miss. The t-shirt is so spectacular it almost makes up for the things I don’t like, but even so, two out of five positives isn’t great. I am happy that it arrived before the end of the month (unlike the December box, which arrived halfway though January), and I love my new t-shirt and game, but it’s very difficult not to feel disappointed.
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Click here to read more Loot Crate reviews.
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LootCrate is a monthly box full of geeky awesomeness. As well as their classic original Loot Crate they have several other box types, including boxes for pets, gaming, anime, and wearables!
They have four subscription levels:
- 1 month – £24 p/m
- 3 months – £22 p/m
- 6 months – £21 p/m
- 12 months – £21 p/m plus a bonus t-shirt
- All crates include a t-shirt; you select your size when you order your subscription.
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A different version of this review was first published on allsubscriptionboxes.co.uk.
