Dicey Dungeons

 

Release: 2019

Developer/Publisher: Terry Cavanaugh

Genre: Rogue-lite, Turn based, Deck builder

Gameplay Stats: 40 hours, 47/53 achievements

Terry Cavanaugh is the brilliant mind behind VVVVVV and Super Hexagon. Does Dicey Dungeons live up to the rest of his catalog?

Visuals: Simple and charming. The visuals here aren't complicated by any means, but looking at the game doesn't really get old. The enemies and characters are cute and the overall presentation is very charming. Not really too much to say here apart from that.

Audio: The music is really nice here! Which is good, because there are only about 10 songs in the whole game. I didn't really think that the music got old, but I don't think I will probably revisit the sound track at any point. The sound effects are pretty good, each different type of hit has a unique, fitting sound associated. 

Plot: 6 adventurers challenge an underground dungeon at receive their wildest dreams! It's a good MacGuffin, but it's not really important. The adventurers are transformed into dice, because theme. The big boss is called Lady Luck which is just perfect for a dice-based game!

Gameplay: In the fights, you and your enemy take turn rolling dice and slotting them into different attacks. Some attacks do better with higher dice, some require certain numbers to be effective. That's pretty much it! It's very elegant, a theme with Terry's games. I think this game is very easily captured in a trailer. The different levels can be very tricky, but the concept here is very simple and very well explored.

Achievements: I think the achievements here really make sense! I got the majority of them just  having fun playing the game. A couple required some extra effort or specially calibrated attempts, but they seem pretty good overall. The only achievements I haven't gone for are the hard mode ones, which require replaying the game at a disadvantage. I may try these at some point, but I don't think I will do it now.

Overall, this game is very elegant! I enjoyed my time with it, but I don't think it is going to be a game that I would recommend to everyone. It's got a really easy pitch and I think the follow through was incredible, but I don't know that it has wide appeal. [7.5/10]