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Dicey Dungeons

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Dicey Dungeons
Developer(s)Terry Cavanagh
Publisher(s)Terry Cavanagh
Designer(s)Terry Cavanagh
Programmer(s)Justo Delgado Baudi
Artist(s)Marlowe Dobbe
Writer(s)Holly Gramazio
Composer(s)Chipzel
Platform(s)
Release
13 August 2019
  • Windows, macOS, Linux
  • 13 August 2019
  • Switch
  • 15 December 2020
  • Xbox One, Series X/S
  • 11 November 2021
  • iOS, Android
  • 7 July 2022
  • PS4, PS5
  • 6 February 2023
Genre(s)Roguelike deck-building
Mode(s)Single-player

Dicey Dungeons is a roguelike deck-building game developed by Irish game designer Terry Cavanagh. It was released for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux in August 2019, for Nintendo Switch in December 2020, for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in November 2021, and for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in February 2023. Ports for iOS and Android were released in July 2022.

Gameplay

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The player character (bottom left) fighting a dungeon enemy (top right). Each turn, the player or enemy slot random dice rolls into equipment, represented by the larger boxes, as to have the numerical values create combat effects.

Dicey Dungeons combines elements of roguelike games with deck-building games. The game takes place on a game show-like backdrop, where Lady Luck challenges adventurers, who have been turned into dice, to complete a dungeon with a rather unlikely chance of winning their freedom. The player takes one of six characters, which defines the type of equipment they will start with. The player then moves their character across a dungeon map, where there are various encounters with monsters, treasure chests, health items, shops, and upgrade stations, along with exits to the next level. The goal of each run is to reach the lowest level of the dungeon and defeat the boss. Doing so unlocks the metagame progression, such as unlocking additional characters, or new episodes for existing characters that introduce new rulesets that make runs more difficult.[1]

When encountering a monster, the combat takes place in a turn-based manner. On their turn, the player is shown their equipment, each of which has slots for one or more dice to be added, and then a random roll of the number of dice their character currently possesses. The player then places each dice into one of the equipment slots; when all slots are filled, this creates a combat effect. For example, a sword may have a slot for a single dice, and when a dice is slotted, it will do the damage shown on that dice. Some slots have specific requirements, such as an odd or even number, or dice values less or greater than some number. Some equipment or abilities can alter the dice rolls, allowing the dice to be reused. The player continues to slot dice into equipment and abilities until they have exhausted their dice for the turn, or end their turn early. Their opponents have similar equipment with dice slots, and arranges their attacks in similar manner. There are various buffs and debuffs that can be triggered through equipment from both the player and enemy. Combat continues until the player character's health or the enemies' health drops to zero, or both. If only the player character's health is reduced to zero, then the game is over and the player must restart the game. If the enemy's health is reduced to zero, the enemy is defeated and the player character wins, gaining in-game monetary rewards and character experience, along with other potential rewards. By gaining levels, the player character gains more total health as well as an extra dice that is rolled. The player may also get new equipment that they can equip on the character at any time outside of battles. Shops in levels can be used to buy new equipment, trade equipment, or other features. Upgrade stations can improve the effect of one piece of equipment.[2]

Development

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Terry Cavanagh announced Dicey Dungeons in May 2018, after about three months of prior development, with an in-progress free version available for users to try up to this point. Cavanagh had planned to produce a commercial version of the game for release later in 2018.[3][4] Dicey Dungeons is inspired by one of the first roguelike deck-builder games, Dream Quest.[5] The game's art was created by Marlowe Dobbe, while its music was composed by Chipzel.[6]

Dicey Dungeons was released on 13 August 2019 for Microsoft Windows, macOS, and Linux personal computers,[5] and on 15 December 2020 for Nintendo Switch.[7] The game was ported to Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S by Ratalaika Games,[8] and released on 11 November 2021.[9]

Cavanagh originally planned to release ports of the title for iOS and Android by 2020,[10] but these were released on 7 July 2022, alongside new content released for free, entitled "Reunion".[11]

Reception

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Dicey Dungeons received "generally favorable" reviews for Windows and Switch according to review aggregator Metacritic;[12][13] the mobile version received "universal acclaim".[14] The game has been called a good introduction into roguelike deck-building games.[24][1] The Windows release of the game was among the best-selling new releases of the month on Steam.[25][a]

Following its initial release exclusive to Bandcamp, game soundtrack record label Materia Collective released the official soundtrack by Chipzel on 20 December 2019.[27]

Notes

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  1. ^ Based on total revenue for the first two weeks on sale.[26]

References

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  1. ^ a b Zimmerman, Aaron (20 August 2019). "Dicey Dungeons review: Well, there goes another 100 hours of my life". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  2. ^ a b O'Conner, James (13 August 2019). "Dicey Dungeons Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 14 August 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  3. ^ Fogel, Stephanie (23 May 2018). "'Super Hexagon' Developer Reveals New Game 'Dicey Dungeons'". Variety. Archived from the original on 14 August 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  4. ^ Chalk, Andy (6 July 2018). "Terry Cavanagh's next game is a roll-the-bones roguelike called Dicey Dungeons". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on 14 August 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  5. ^ a b Douglas, Dante (13 August 2019). "Simple dice become the heroes in Terry Cavanagh's newest, Dicey Dungeons". Polygon. Archived from the original on 15 April 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  6. ^ a b Hancock, Patrick (13 August 2019). "Review: Dicey Dungeons". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 15 June 2021. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  7. ^ Olsen, Mathew (16 December 2020). "Dicey Dungeons Had a Surprise Launch on Switch Last Night". USGamer. Archived from the original on 16 December 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  8. ^ @RatalaikaGames (8 November 2021). "We're so happy to announce that we work side by side with @terrycavanagh to bring the amazing game, Dicey Dungeons, to Xbox consoles! (One and Series S|X) Hope everyone are looking forward to it" (Tweet). Retrieved 11 November 2021 – via Twitter.
  9. ^ @terrycavanagh (8 November 2021). "Surprise! This Thursday the 11th, Dicey Dungeons is coming to Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S! We're on game pass!" (Tweet). Retrieved 11 November 2021 – via Twitter.
  10. ^ Madnani, Mikhail (18 November 2019). "'Dicey Dungeons' from Terry Cavanagh and Friends Is Arriving on Mobile and Nintendo Switch in 2020". Touch Arcade. Archived from the original on 19 November 2019. Retrieved 18 November 2019.
  11. ^ Warner, Noelle (7 July 2022). "Adorable roguelike Dicey Dungeons gets a mobile release, new DLC". Destructoid. Archived from the original on 7 July 2022. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  12. ^ a b "Dicey Dungeons for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 15 August 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  13. ^ a b "Dicey Dungeons for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 11 August 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  14. ^ a b "Dicey Dungeons for iPhone/iPad Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  15. ^ Santa Maria, Alex (19 August 2019). "Dicey Dungeons Review | A crapshoot without the crap". GameRevolution. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  16. ^ Vogel, Mitch (22 December 2020). "Dicey Dungeons Review (Switch eShop)". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  17. ^ Ronaghan, Neal (6 January 2021). "Dicey Dungeons (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on 16 July 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  18. ^ Iwaniuk, Phil (20 August 2019). "Dicey Dungeons Review". PC Gamer. Future plc. Archived from the original on 20 August 2019. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  19. ^ Ng Dellosa, Catherine (7 July 2022). "Dicey Dungeons review - "Roguelike dice-rolling fun at the mercy of Lady Luck"". Pocket Gamer. Archived from the original on 13 August 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  20. ^ Richardson, Bob (13 August 2019). "Dicey Dungeons". RPGFan. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  21. ^ Musgrave, Shaun (30 December 2020). "SwitchArcade Round-Up: Mini-Views Featuring 'Dicey Dungeons' and More, Plus the Latest News and Sales". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on 7 July 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  22. ^ Madnani, Mikhail (8 July 2022). "'Dicey Dungeons' Review – Worth Rolling the Dice On". TouchArcade. Archived from the original on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
  23. ^ Williams, Mike (13 August 2019). "Dicey Dungeons Review". USgamer. Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  24. ^ Walker, Austin (13 August 2019). "'Dicey Dungeons' Will Help You Understand the Best New Genre in Games". Vice. Vice Media Group LLC. Archived from the original on 16 August 2019. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  25. ^ "Best of 2019: New Releases". Steam. Valve. 26 December 2019. Archived from the original on 28 December 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  26. ^ "A Look Back - The Best of 2019". Steam. Valve. 26 December 2019. Archived from the original on 28 December 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
  27. ^ "Electronic soundtrack to Dicey Dungeons now widely available". Gaming Audio News. 20 December 2019. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
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