Post-Game Game Post: Dicey Dungeons

The Roguelike renaissance may be well into its second or third era at this point, with releases stretching to incorporate more disparate genre and style hooks into Rogue’s grand web, from Dead Cells’ brazen Metroidvania inspiration to Void Bastards’ mix of System Shock and Chex Quest. While both offer satisfying core loops and remarkably different experiences, there’s something to be said about a roguelike where the core loop is both immediately understood and incredibly approachable. I can’t speak with certainty, but it’s always struck me as harder to make a game that could serve as an entry point into an entire genre: how do you get someone into a dense, crucially complicated game like Civilization or Dota without just dropping them into the deep end and saying, “Well, by the time you hit thirty or forty hours of playtime, you might have it figured out?”

With that in mind, Dicey Dungeons is both the most approachable roguelike I’ve played in years and, at this point, the first roguelike I’d recommend to someone who’s interested in the genre.

The premise is very simple: Dicey Dungeons is a game show hosted by the villainous Lady Luck, who lures contestants into the dungeons to win their hearts’ desire. When they show up, they’re transformed into dice and set to roam the dungeon in hopes of being freed. It’s a simple enough concept for a game, but it’s expanded upon just enough and played with in some fun and occasionally sad, unsettling ways. Meeting different enemies in the dungeons whose stories pair together is fun, and fleshes out the world of Dicey Dungeons in a way I wasn’t expecting at all.

There’s something beautifully crunchy about the flow of a Dicey Dungeons run. At first glance it appears to be purely dice-focused, your chances coming down to the pips that pop up, but there’s actually a surprising amount of deck-building involved with equipment cards both scavenged from enemies and found in chests or shops throughout the dungeon. Build a poison-centric deck and melt right through that Super Frog’s shields, or lean into healing and shields and become an immovable object until that Haunted Jar blights you and sidesteps your defenses entirely. Status effects and dice manipulation - duplication, combination and sacrifice - allow for a great amount of flexibility to experiment with your equipment and find a style that works for you.

Six classes offer six remarkably different approaches, from the Warrior’s straightforward ability to re-roll undesirable dice to the Robot’s pseudo-Blackjack-y calculating and the Witch’s strange spellbook of equipment. When it comes to roguelikes that offer lots of different class options, there are usually a few I gravitate towards over others, but I think Dicey Dungeons’ spread of archetypes are all genuinely fun in their own ways. Getting a lucky Jackpot on the Robot can dredge victory out of otherwise certain defeat, and the myriad ways in which a Witch can just deal incredible amounts of damage after rolling die after die after die to topple the strongest foes is exhilarating.

By its nature as a roguelike, some runs just don’t work out, and it can be kind of exhausting to attempt a run time and time again only to have the worst luck imaginable. Getting taken out on Floor 1 or 2 is a rough blow, but the total time investment for a complete run on average - six floors, with maybe twenty fights in total - is short enough to feel relatively brisk, clocking in at maybe 40 minutes in total.

Beat the game with any of these classes and you’ll work towards unlocking additional “Episodes” that change things up further, in some cases completely upending the playstyle you’ve approached a class with. That’s where the real difficulty starts to settle in, and where Dicey Dungeons’ creativity and willingness to retool itself shines.

That all sounds pretty intimidating and hard to wrap your head around, but Dicey Dungeons is very good when it comes to onboarding a player. The tutorial walks you through a handful of very basic fights as the Warrior, and by the time you finish it out, you have a solid understanding of how the Warrior ticks and, by extension, the basic gameplay.

Dicey Dungeons does lack that same onboarding for the other classes, which is somewhat understandable but still a shame. Figuring out the intricacies of the Witch’s spellbook ability swaps is a satisfying thing to learn on your own, but I do wish it had some extra bit of tutorialization, or at the very least a splashy page saying, “Hey! Here’s how the Inventor’s Gadgets works! You really need to know about this when it comes to planning your equipment!”

Dicey Dungeons pairs its finely-tuned gameplay with impeccable presentation. The thumping, electrifying soundtrack from Chipzel (of Super Hexagon fame) pairs beautifully with an artstyle I can best describe as “children’s storybook,” and it’s all so inviting and friendly. Even the most terrifying enemies still have a delightful, cheery look to them, and it’s hard to lose the grin on your face as you delve time and time again.

I’m only just about halfway through the Episodes right now, but Dicey Dungeons has been something I’ve spent time with every single day since its release. When I’m not playing, I’m thinking about it on some level. It’s something I’d love to have on an iPad, as the presentation and the tactile feel of dragging dice to equipment cards lends itself to a mobile device, but until that day comes, I’m going to keep diving, hoping to free these six beleaguered dice-people from the cruel whims of Lady Luck.

Final Take: I highly recommend Dicey Dungeons.

Dicey Dungeons can be purchased on itch.io or Steam.
I don’t have a referral link or anything of that sort, I just like to make these things known.

Review Details: I’ve beaten Episodes 1 and 2 with each class so far, and two more episodes with the Robot. Dicey Dungeons was reviewed with a copy of the game I purchased.