Dicey Dungeons Review (Josh Sand)
A very fun game but it can run out of steam for some players.
I really enjoyed the first 10 hours of Dicey Dungeons. It's a really cute roguelike with fantastic art and a really catchy soundtrack. Once I unlocked most of the characters, I found myself losing interest pretty quickly when I got a taste of what the progression system is like (spoiler alert, there isn't one)
The first few runs of Dicey Dungeon is pretty great. You get to know various character classes and you'll quickly learn that they offer some really cool playstyle choices. After you unlock most of the characters though, that's about it. The only thing you'll unlock are more challenge scenarios - the characters are basically playable out of the box, and you don't unlock upgrades for them or new weapons or anything.
I love the system, the art, and the music, but once you learn that there isn't really anything to unlock, and that you aren't increasing in power, but rather, just increasing the challenge, the game experience falls pretty flat. This feels especially pronounced whenever you lose a run - Because there's no currency or progression earnings, when your run is blown you just kinda sit there and think, "well there goes 30 minutes for nothing."
If you're the kind of gamer who likes getting thrown into a meat grinder, and you aren't concerned about your characters increasing in power, this is probably the game for you.
As for me, I like to have the power fantasy increase as the challenges grow. It's fun to unlock more powerful abilities, spells, weapons, etc. Dicey Dungeon has none of that. What you see is what you get for the entire time you'll be playing this game, and because replayability just didnt really happen for me here, I can't recommend it.
If you are on the fence about Dicey Dungeons, definitely wait for it to be on sale. You'll easily get around 8-10 hours of fun out of it.