As you progress through each level of the dungeon, you’ll have a few things to make your life easier. One are the aforementioned chests that contain equipment to keep you breathing, such as curative scepters, powerful shields and sharp swords. There are also random apples you can gobble down as you wander, restoring a few health. But what really has the potential to help are the vendors you encounter. One is just a standard shopkeep, and you can spend coins you earn from defeating foes to buy new items. Another trades one of your items for one of theirs, for no price. The last, and my favorite, is the blacksmith. They will upgrade any piece of equipment for free, enhancing their effects and sometimes shrinking their size so you can fit more stuff in your backpack. To store it, you rearrange blocky representations of your equipment from the pause screen.
If that wasn’t enough, there’s other aspects that spice the game up. One are Parallel Universe Episodes, which are unique challenges with special rules for each character. There’s an early one where the Warrior starts out with two massively powerful axes, but is also Cursed, meaning there’s a guarantee one attack will fail each turn. These Episodes really make things interesting, and are there for you when you feel you’ve gotten too good at the game. There’s also something called Bonus Round, which are the challenging final Episodes you’ll unlock for each character. And as you play, you’ll satisfy challenges, which can be redeemed for collectible trading cards for all the foes in the game. And if all that wasn’t enough, there’s always the final battle against Lady Luck herself.
In case it wasn’t readily apparent, I’m badly addicted to Dicey Dungeons. A typical successful playthrough can take anywhere from 10 minutes to a half hour, but you’ll be dying a lot in between your rare successes. I loved playing as the distinct characters, and discovering techniques to defeat the varied bestiary in the game. You only need a mouse to play the game, and you drag and drop dice into slots to activate your attacks. Some attacks require odd rolls, others require even, some have a minimum or maximum value they will accept, and others eat a bunch of dice to unleash a powerful effect. My mind is boggled by the amount of elements in the game, though I do find I internalized a lot of it from just playing again and again. Though most enemies can be defeated relatively easily, the bosses are pretty challenging. One example is a goth knight who charges her powerful shield, deflecting attacks and then ramming you with it. Or take the diabolical girl scout Madison, who looks like a lightweight and can defeat you in a couple turns. A personal favorite is Buster, the dragon, who burns all your dice each turn, causing you harm whenever you use them. I keep finding new things to enjoy in Dicey Dungeons, which helps offset my frustration when I die again and again. And keep in mind I consider myself a veteran at the rogue genre, taking great joy in playing games like The Binding of Isaac repeatedly, and nearly 100%ing Guild of Dungeoneering. So be ready for a lot of pain.
Aesthetically, Dicey Dungeons is a very pleasing game. Each and every character is colorful and cartoony, and bursting with personality, thanks to the art stylings of Marlowe Dobbe. There is a ton of creativity here, from buff snowmen to hungry vacuum cleaners to demonic marshmallows. The music is no slouch either, thanks to the tremendous skill of chipzel. It’s a lively mix of chiptunes with lots of different styles thrown in for good measure. Though I will say, I accidentally spent a few hours playing the beta of the game, and found I liked the music better in that version. Probably cause everything was more bombastic and loud. However, I in no way miss the cruel laughter of the audience whenever my life was nearly reduced to zero. There’s also plenty of great sound effects for the various foes you fight, and wonderfully strange gibberish that is captioned for Lady Luck. She sometimes sounds like she’s saying “stinkalee”, and that made me chuckle on more than one occasion.
All in all, I can safely say I’m a fan of Dicey Dungeons. I respected Terry Cavanagh after playing VVVVVV, but this adventure is no slouch either. For only $14.99, there’s a ton to experience in the game, and it’s beyond easy to get fully immersed in the art and tunes as hours slip past. My only minor complaint is that this game is not for everyone, and if you’re not patient and ready for the difficulty, Dicey Dungeons can be pretty daunting. But for fans of the rogue genre, this is a must own. Now if you’ll excuse me, I still have tons of challenges and Episodes to beat, as well as all those shiny Steam achievements to collect!
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Review Copy Provided by Publisher
