Dicefolk Review: Dice, Critters and Roguelikes

Dicefolk comes from LEAP Game Studios, the folks behind smash indie hit Tunche. They’ve stepped away from the beat ’em up genre and into the world of roguelikes with a charming monster collector that introduces some unique new twists.

The premise has you battling as a dicefolk, a wizard who can control magical creatures called chimeras. An evil sorcerer named Salem has taken over the fantasy land of Morning Reach and you need to recruit a squad of chimeras to take him down. It’s a cute concept with vibes of Pokémon and other monster catchers.

Each run has you venturing through procedurally generated maps full of random encounters. You put together a squad of three chimeras and do turn-based battles against other critters, gaining new abilities and stronger monsters as you go. The key hook is that combat works with dice – you roll them to determine your squad’s moves and also control the enemy team’s rolls too. It makes for fast-paced skirmishes that play out like a deadly game of chess against yourself. With over 50 chimeras to discover, you’ve got plenty of team combinations to experiment with.

The setup is familiar but Dicefolk has enough new ideas sprinkled throughout its maps to make each run feel fresh. With colorful art and an engaging dice-based battle system, it puts a friendly face on the often intimidating roguelike genre. This is one dice game where both casual and seasoned players should find plenty to enjoy.

Roll the Dice, Spin Your Squad

The foundation of Dicefolk’s gameplay will be familiar to roguelike fans – you move through random maps battling enemies in turn-based combat, gaining powerups and new squad members as you go. But the devil is in the details, and this game adds some slick new ideas to the tried and tested formula.

The key innovation is the dice-based battle system. You assemble a team of three chimeras, cute magical creatures with different abilities. When combat starts, each side rolls three six-sided dice to determine their possible moves. The dice faces show things like:

• Deal damage
• Gain block points to reduce incoming damage
• Rotate your chimera team to change position
• Reroll dice

You take turns spending your dice in any order, moving enemies around, timing your attacks and blocks. The catch? You control both your own and the enemy team’s dice! It’s like playing speed chess against yourself – carefully coordinating so your attacks land at the perfect moment while trying to mitigate your foe’s damage.

It starts simple but additional mechanics soon complicate matters. Chimeras all have passive abilities that trigger when certain conditions are met like rotating position or attacking. With over 50 chimeras to recruit, each with different powers, you’ll be constantly tweaking your battle plans. There’s serious depth here but newcomers needn’t fear – early fights ease you in gently, and you can always bolster weaker squads with equipment and power-up chips.

Progression across the maps fuels your development. Recruit new chimeras by visiting statues and make tough choices about who gets left behind. Feed chimeras berries to boost their abilities or equip gear that provides set bonuses. Customize your dice at the Dice Smith, selecting new faces that complement your battle style. The roguelike DNA means every run varies, but you’ll steadily unlock new monsters and dice upgrades to discover.

Despite the randomness, you have real agency in every hair-raising fight. Analyze the enemy squad to target weaknesses in their dice rolls. Time a piercing attack for the moment their healer chimera rotates to the front. Swap in your tanky Blockzilla chimera to weather special attacks. Outsmart and outmaneuver your opponent while the dice come up in your favor. The complexity means losing still feels fair – you can theorycraft new approaches for next time.

Dicefolk captures the “just one more run” compulsion that the best roguelikes thrive on. But even veterans will be caught off guard by the fresh perspective its dice-flinging battles provide. Dare you step into the Morning Reach and confront the monstrous Salem? With some skilled play and a spot of luck with the dice, glory awaits!

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A World of Bright Colors and Catchy Tunes

Dicefolk keeps things cute and inviting visually with its colorful 2D art style. The chimera creatures take center stage here – while not the most complex designs, their vibrant palettes and subtle animations give them plenty of personality. A stern warrior wolf with a sword and shield looks ready for battle alongside mages like a grinning potato sprout casting spells. Over 50 unique chimeras create a vibrant bestiary to encounter.

The rest of the presentation aims for function over flair but still has charm. World maps are brought to life just enough with swaying grass, bubbling cauldrons and glowing shrines. Battle environments prop up the action nicely with magical sigils and scattered hazard tiles adding flavor. A few standout set pieces like an overgrown colosseum battleground capture the mood perfectly. The humble look matches well with the game’s family-friendly appeal.

What the graphics lack in wow-factor is compensated by one of the best roguelike soundtracks I’ve heard lately. The opening menu kicks things off with a catchy, upbeat flute melody that sets an adventurous tone. Battle themes are where the OST really flexes its chops – frenetic strings and throbbing percussion ratchet up tension during dice rolls before triumphant brass “power-up” leitmotifs accompany your strongest attacks. Each run feels truly epic thanks to these memorable cues.

Clean and intuitive UI facilitates the fun without bottlenecking you. Tidy menus allow managing your ragtag chimera squads and ample tooltip guides explain the finer stats and mechanics for new players. In battle, snappy controls line up abilities easily, let you swap squad members on the fly and control enemy movements with precision. Visual flair like chimeras cheering successful attacks adds to satisfaction as well. Such fine-tuned and responsive design makes the most of Dicefolk’s snappy dice-based clashes.

While not a visual stunner, Dicefolk compensates with a loveable playful look and stellar musical accompaniment that captures the mood of its strategic battles perfectly. Combined with accessible and helpful interfaces guiding you into the action, it’s a smooth and compelling roguelike package – particularly ideal for gaming in short bursts on the go. Once the catchy overworld theme starts looping in your head there’s no turning back!

Built for Repeated Adventures

Don’t be fooled by Dicefolk’s cute exterior – this little roguelike packs in content offering dozens of hours of questing. Runs are reasonably bite-sized – averaging around 45 minutes to an hour once you know what you’re doing. With rocks-paper-scissors type strengths and weaknesses between the distinct chimera varieties, as well as randomized map events, no two journeys ever play out the same. Expect to see new storyline snippets, elite enemy types and side activities open up to keep subsequent visits engaging.

Compulsion to repeat runs comes from more than just seeing new story tidbits though. With defined start and endpoints but heavily randomized events in between, it nails that addictive roguelike loop of continually trying to assemble the perfect squad of chimeras and equipment to get further each time. There’s also global meta progression as more parts of the game world open up when you clear certain milestones.

Additional motivating replay value comes after you manage to clear all the launch content too. For hardened veterans, punishing Challenge Modes add reactively tougher enemy arrangements, new conditions like time limits and handicaps like missing out on healing options that will test your mastery of the dice dueling mechanics. Leaderboards here provide extra incentive to keep honing your talents if the core campaign somehow wasn’t enough for you already!

Approachable enough for casual players yet stacked with unlockables and varieties of run to satisfy devoted roguelike enthusiasts, Dicefolk shows immense care and clarity of vision in its replay design. This ensures it deserves to stand tall amidst the armies of competing procedurally generated adventures out there. Just try not to lose too many hours reattempting that perfect all-powerhouse chimera squad!

A Dicey Delight

Dicefolk makes a strong case for breaking out the old dice bag and giving the roguelike genre a shake up. Its slick dice-based battles add an extra dimension of strategy lacking in most turn-based procedural adventures. Factor in the charming chimera designs and you have the perfect antidote to fatigue from all the recent imitators in this space.

The way it lets you coordinate moves for both your squad and enemies makes combat feel like playing high-speed, high-stakes chess against yourself. Choosing how to use your rolled dice slots abilities into established roguelike systems seamlessly too. Managing hazards like enemy attack telegraphs while setting up big combo moves with your custom crew of quirky chimeras hits the sweet spot between familiarity and fresh tactical avenues.

It’s not the longest or most content-packed offering out there but with diverse maps, unlockable challenging modes and leaderboards, you’ll be battling away for dozens of hours before exhausting this imaginative adventure. Approachable for roguelike newcomers yet with enough depth for hardcore veterans, Dicefolk deserves to become essential for fans of strategic monster-wrangling expeditions.

So if you’ve been holding off from diving into the recent barrage of indie procedurally generated RPGs, make this charming dice-slinging quest your gateway to the genre. LEAP Game Studios have followed up on their rousing beat ‘em up Tunche success to deliver another distinctive and delightful experience – this time for your inner dice goblin!