REVIEW
Written byMizuni
Extreme danger!! Approach this game with extreme caution.
This developer already proved they knew how to make a great Roguelike with StarVader, and now they decide to take inspiration from Balatro for their next game?!?! I don't think I need to say much more to make it clear that if you enjoy roguelikes, especially Balatro, this game is an absolute treat. At the end of every run, I have to restrain myself from pressing that damn Endless Run button and seeing how far I can push my build, instead of starting another run and experimenting with different characters to unlock their exclusive perks and artifacts.
I had already played this game's Playtest in the past and knew it was going to be good, but the final result turned out even better than expected.
But let's get into it, here's a quick rundown of the gameplay:
The game consists of a grid with 6 columns, each containing between 0 and 2 cells. You can purchase additional spaces during a run, up to a limit of 3 per column (with the exception of one character who can increase that limit to 4). You start with a few basic units, and each run gives you 4 turns to win.
At the beginning of each turn, you roll 3 dice ranging from 1 to 6. The resulting numbers determine which columns will be used for scoring. The game then checks the units in those columns, each of which has a base score and usually some special effect, such as repeating its score, increasing the score of nearby units, generating more units, among others. These abilities are triggered, and everything is added together.
Each column has a slot at the top reserved for an artifact. If we compare it to Balatro, these would be the Jokers, with effects that vary dramatically. Usually, an artifact has a condition that needs to be met to activate its effect, as well as a level that determines how much stronger it becomes when upgraded. Common conditions include having 1/2/3 dice in that column, having 2/3 dice in any column, triggering at the beginning or end of a turn, among others.
This is where we find most of the score multipliers (some units have them too). Just like in Balatro, all the base scores are added together, then all the multipliers are added separately and multiplied sequentially with the score, generating your final result.
If you manage to reach the required score before the 4 turns are over, you can increase the rarity of items appearing in the shop or keep playing additional turns in the hope of scaling some mechanic you're trying to build around.
And speaking of items, something interesting is that after each turn, you gain access to the shop, where you can try to acquire units, artifacts, or resources. Regarding resources, there's Budge, which allows you to change a die's value by +1 or -1, but only once per die, and Chrono, which allows you to reroll all your dice at once or even reroll the shop to look for better items.
Technically, there's another resource: Mini-Dices, which you can obtain through units or artifacts. These are dice that roll automatically after your initial dice to generate additional points and create those moments where hundreds of numbers start flying across the screen, the sound gets louder and louder, and you find yourself wondering: can I actually reach that score?
The two main factors that make each run different are its 10 characters and the difficulty system.
Starting with the difficulty system, initially, it's similar to other games in the genre: you win a run and move up a difficulty level, adding something that makes the game harder. However, once you reach difficulty 6, you unlock challenges, each of which tends to change some game mechanic. These can include preventing the numbers/artifacts/columns 1 and 6 from appearing, having 1 less turn but earning more money, or having stronger dice that are rolled automatically, among many others.
What's interesting, though, is that many of these challenges also come with positive aspects that allow certain characters to stand out. Take the challenge where you cannot roll 1 or 6, for example. With this limitation, you won't have access to the artifacts for 1 and 6, but artifacts for 2, 3, 4, and 5 will activate more easily, and you'll have a higher chance of getting Double or Triple Dices, giving an advantage to characters that benefit from situations like these.
And speaking of characters, there are 10 in total, each with a unique Perk that defines how they play and how they generate experience for their artifacts.
To give you an example, let's look at two characters: Hex Prince and The Duchess.
At the beginning of each turn, Hex Prince spreads honeycombs beneath the artifact slots. Whenever an initial die scores in that column, the honeycomb is consumed, granting you 1 gold and experience for that column's artifact. However, new honeycombs only appear after all existing ones have been consumed, encouraging you to distribute your dice across all columns so that new honeycombs can spawn.
The Duchess generates experience for her artifacts whenever you create a new unit. To help with this, she has exclusive units in the form of chess pieces, many of which consume the unit below them, adding its score but, more importantly, freeing up space for additional units. As a bonus, she also has a limit of 4 units per column instead of the usual 3.
Each character feels genuinely unique, offering plenty of different ways for a run to unfold. A few quick examples of the others would be one who only get exp when performing a Triple Dice, another who has an extra initial die, and one of my favorites, who gains Fury by sacrificing units and enters Berserker mode once his Fury exceeds his HP.
And to make things even more interesting, the tenth character is a semi-random combination of the abilities of 2 of the other 9 characters.
Once again, these developers have managed to create another hidden gem, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what they do next, whether it's more updates for DiceVader or an entirely new game. Whatever it is, I'll be keeping an eye on them.
— Mizuni / Noobsnoplay