Dicey Dungeons

I initially bounced off Dicey Dungeons, for a number of small reasons. One such reason was that it was sold to me as a roguelike and a deckbuilder, and I don't think it properly lives up to either label. Dicey Dungeons does fit into the roguelike genre, I guess. You send your character (of which there are six) through a dungeon of monsters, filled with treasure chests and shops. You (and your enemies) use dice-powered equipment, their efficacy depending on what you roll at the beginning of your turn. By collecting more powerful equipment, and upgrading them intelligently, you can become a force to be reckoned with by the time the boss rolls around. So far, so roguelike. The issue I had was that runs (with the same character, on the same "episode") did not feel diverse. Everything felt railroaded. You'd get equipment on level-up, and it'd always be the same: perfectly tailored to your character. The equipment you get from chests seemed to come from a tiny pool, all of which would be good for your character. The equipment from shops would come from a slightly wider pool, but it was difficult to get any synergy more powerful than your starting equipment, level-up equipment, and chest equipment. So, why bother equipping it? The end result? Not much replayability, which is total anathema to roguelikes. As for deckbuilding? With the exception of one character, there is no "deck" to speak of. But, I am very glad I gave Dicey Dungeons another chance. Despite the lack of replayability, there is more than enough quality content to justify the price. Most of the six characters have huge, core-mechanic differences, and each have six "episodes", where the mechanics are changed again. Most episodes feels very different to each other. But, again, each run of a given episode can tend to feel samey. Dicey Dungeons is a quality game, yet another from Terry Cavanagh (who could be surprised at this point!). Just know, it's a series of 36 hand-crafted challenges, not a roguelike.

I was waiting a lot for this game. After I finished it (all chapters, the 95% of the achivements and the halloween update), I can say it gives you so many good moments. There also bad moments until you understand how to play the character (Witch!). It's good that way the game let you love it in the first levels. Has a little number of sound tracks, but its very well done and it doesn't become repetitive. The controller support is a good plus. And the best of the game is that the harder a level become for each character, you have a complete set of new rules, and when I say new rules, is that they are sooooo different that they seem a new game. It's NOT just +10% of HP, everything changes. However, the bad is that it's too short. I was expecting more replay value, but after 50 hours of gameplay, it doesn't motivate me to start again. There aren't fun+multiple ways to beat each game as Slay the Spire. Does I recommend it? Yes. 50 hours for 10€ (5€ on sales) does worth it. And quality hours, not grinding hours. It's a solid game.

All in this game is top notch, the art of Marlowe Dobbe is beautiful, differents mechanics for each contestant, variety of enemies and bosses, you can update the cards/dice and make them more suited to your playing strategy. etc. All the enemies are adorable and each one has a little backstory. Terry Cavanagh has taken care of even the smallest detail and with more than 70 hours of play I have not yet obtained 100% of the achievements. I was hesitant to buy it because it seemed like a children's game but I couldn't be more wrong. Dicey Dungeons has great gameplay, is not easy and something I really appreciate what every run don't take more than half an hour. In this pandemic my great discovery and hobby has been Dicey Dungeons. If you see it on sale, do not hesitate, and it is also a great gift for Christmas for example.

Dicey Dungeon, I got it more then two years ago, still playing it. That's should tell how much gorgeous this game is, from someone that usually hates playing the same thing more then a month. But, if you want to know why, the answer is simple yet complicated: DD is not only one of the most well design dice experiences, but also it's constantly changing the rule in which this kind of games are played. Gameplay wise, ''dice game'' , roguelike or even ''card game'' ( you'll know after a certain boss) can't really describe how well everything was thought. Every single aspect has been pushed and explored in order to achieve a 360 view on this genre (let's call it a ''meta'' experience) with more than 5 character, every single one with a distinct gameplay and various mission to fulfill. Such missions, or episodes, as the game calls them, change completely the gameplay, making the game always fresh and truly give a fun time while exploring all its features. Speaking of the other features, story is ingenious and hilarious, soundtrack (by chipzel) is amazing and extremely well connected to the game, while the design and graphics are full of colors and cute little drawings, again perfectly synced with the whole game. So, Worth it? YES. P.S. no, really. Sometimes I add in my reviews some final note.. but this time you just need to...ROLL WITH IT ( didn't expected it, right?)