Dicey Dungeons Review

Push Your Luck

Welcome contestants to Dicey Dungeons! Finally, it’s your lucky break. You’ve made it onto the game show of your dreams. The crowd is cheering, you are ready to compete to win the prize you’ve always wanted. All of a sudden the host of the show Lady Luck turns you into giant dice for some reason. Now in your new form, you are ready to push your luck and win the prize of your dreams, whatever that may be.

Dicey Dungeons is a rogue-lite/deckbuilding game created by the talented Terry Cavanagh who is responsible for VVVVVV and Super Hexagon. The game takes place on a gameshow with the host Lady Luck pulling the strings as you traverse the dungeon’s 5 floors. After you beat the floors, you face the final boss. The formula for Dicey Dungeons is very much like Slay the Spire. You go into a procedurally generated floor battling monsters and other colorful characters in turn-based combat collecting cards which represent your equipment and abilities. Leveling up along the way gaining more hit points and dice. Each turn you roll dice in which you choose which dice go with the cards that you have equipped to your character. It combines puzzle-like aspects with the randomness a six-sided die can offer

Keep on Rolling

What makes Dicey Dungeons special and stand out from the crowd is the six very different characters or contestants that you get to choose from. Their playstyles are so different it feels like you’re playing six different games, even though the formula for the game is the same. The warrior is the introduction character and the easiest to play, just roll high numbers. The thief steals random enemy equipment each turn. The robot gains dice by pushing its luck very much like a blackjack game. The inventor must destroy their equipment after each fight to get powerful new gadgets. The witch relies on certain dice rolls to use spells each turn. The jester has a tableau in which you draw cards to get the perfect combo.

The whimsical artwork done by Marlowe Dobbe and the groovy soundtrack by Chipzel immerses you in this quirky game that you never knew needed to exist. With excellent writing and one-liners from various enemies who I felt bad for defeating, makes each procedurally generated floor feel refreshing with each run.

Winner, Winner

When I felt myself getting bored or frustrated with one character because I got bad dice rolls, and my opponent got perfect rolls. I simply chose another character. It felt fresh enough for me to play for hours on end. For the price of 4.99 Dicey Dungeons is well worth the price of admission. The game’s content gives you thirty-six different episodes which makes each run unique with new rules. Dicey Dungeons has so much variability because of this. Not to mention the Halloween content and the Reunion content which I have just begun to play.

This has easily been my favorite game this year by far. The controls feel great, and the mobile port is well done. Dicey Dungeons never overstays its welcome and feels like it was created to be a mobile game. If you don’t like randomness and enjoy strict strategy games this is not for you. If you don’t have a problem with random dice rolls and enjoy games like Slay the Spire, this will be your new favorite game. May the dice be ever in your favor.