While I’m actually a big fan of almost any well-made roguelike deckbuilder, there’s no denying that since the subgenre emerged it has become a pretty over-saturated space. The good news is that just because a large number of games have some core elements in common that hardly makes them all the same, but nonetheless it does seem that many folks have tired of seeing the steady stream of them arriving on the eShop. The even better news though is that a few developers have taken those general principles and built concepts that are pretty wildly different, and now two of my favorite alternative takes have both involved dice in place of cards, and in this case that’s created a completely different experience.

At its core, this is still essentially a roguelike title where you’ll be building up a “deck” of sorts that you’ll use to battle a variety of enemies. You’ll get to plot your path through a web of choices that will include typical battles, mini-boss battles that have higher rewards, and then a variety of specialty spaces as well like a shop, and other spots that will give you varied opportunities for improving what you have to work with. Your keys to success will be identifying which offensive and defensive abilities tied to your chosen class are the best to focus on, usually dictated heavily by what relics you’re able to find or buy along your way. Your journey, if you’re able to survive that far, will then culminate in a battle against the stage boss, and in the case of this game you can expect some nasty surprises that will make your efforts to succeed a real challenge at times.

The twist that completely changes the style of play, and makes it feel more like an action-oriented skill game of sorts, is how the combat is handled. Armed with a series of simple dice, on each turn you’ll try your best to throw one at the dice already on the board, trying to get ones with the same number to combine as many as possible since the one you activate will represent your current turn in the battle. While you’ll initially look for good initial shots to make, and then hope that the RNG gods are smiling at you for some beneficial bounces, it’s when you begin looking for ricochets you can trigger that the game gets to be a lot more rewarding. Somewhat similar to breaking in pool, if you’re able to shove into a small cluster of higher-numbered dice and get them going you can sometimes get some game-changing results… or you could just as easily get absolutely nothing for your efforts, but that’s the real thrill here. Throw in a ton of different classes, each with their own signature dice and multiple heroes that each have their own preferences, and there’s plenty to dig into here, and it presents a challenge unlike anything else I’ve encountered to this point, making it truly exciting!