I realize that there are probably people out there that are to the point where they roll their eyes at the mention of a deckbuilding roguelike, but while we’d seen too many variations on the same theme initially, since then the range of what you can expect from them has continued to grow. Dicefolk, as its name should imply, isn’t concerned with cards at all, and instead revolves around the smart and effective use of dice, as some others have done as well… so should we create a subgenre of dicebuilders perhaps? Now, throw in a menagerie of creatures who all have attributes that, when paired correctly, can truly devastate opponents, and you start to get the game’s full flavor. With that in mind, what I initially had thought looked like a decent strategy fling has turned into a bit of an obsession the more time I’ve spent with it, and if you’re any sort of strategy fan I think you absolutely should keep reading.

This is a game that does a few things incredibly well. First, it’s equal parts concerned with your dice and how you work to both alter and utilize them and with the creatures you choose for your core crew. Everything in Dicefolk is about the synergy of traits your creatures have, what equipment you’ll hopefully get that can further amplify them, and then trying to set yourself up for success with your dice faces. The chain of extra attacks I’ve been able to trigger with the right team has sometimes been jaw-dropping. Second, it’s all in on the risk and reward aspect of roguelikes. In each biome you’ll encounter 3 shrines where you can summon a creature for your team. If you take the first one you encounter, you won’t know what the other 2 could have been, but those shrines will then become chests which can be vital to keep you alive. If you hold out you may get a better option, which may be essential to finding that synergy I mentioned, but you may be lean on healing and be risking it all. Last, as implied by the risks you can take since healing isn’t always easy to come by, most of my best runs have had me hanging on by my fingernails, saved by very careful planning and absolutely a bit of luck helping me finally turn things around.

Getting onto the actual gameplay in battles, which are absolutely the meat and potatoes of the experience, the way you control combat will likely be a surprise at first. Both sides will have rolled their dice already, and now your job will be to choose in which order they are executed. While at first there’ll be obvious concerns like trying to be sure to target specific enemies or spread the damage around as much as you can, but then once your feet are wet you’ll begin to see the bigger picture when you have the right team. Paying very careful attention to each creature’s abilities and then seeing how they can be combined to unlock some devastating possibilities is what helps Dicefolk absolutely stand on its own. Truly, there are effective teams where your road to success could be on weathering enemy attacks and rotating, letting your triggered abilities and buffs do the bulk of the damage. This system is smart, rewarding, and doesn’t feel like anything else I’ve encountered to this point.

While I’ve always been a fan of big-time strategy titles like Civilization or X-Com, it has been terrific to see how roguelikes have made me appreciate “small strategy” much more as well. Well designed and implemented ideas are ultimately what it’s all about, and there’s just a certain special something the developers of Dicefolk have managed to concoct here. The fact that I’ve managed to be sorely tested, barely hang on, and then break through to succeed quite a number of times really demonstrates how well tuned it is, pushing you to see your opportunities and capitalize on them, generally not letting you win too easily but also never feeling particularly unfair. Even if you may not traditionally be a strategy fan, there’s something smart and accessible here that I hope more people give the opportunity to be fully appreciated.