[Review] Dicefolk – Nintendo Switch

Developed By: LEAP Game Studio, Tiny Ghoul
Published By: Good Shepherd Entertainment
Categories: Strategy
Release Date: 06.20.24
Price: $14.99
*Game Download Code graciously provided for the purpose of review.

Dicefolk is a solid mix of Slay the Spire and dice action. If that sort of mashup is your thing, then you’ll love this game. It’s a very fast-paced and hectic experience that will leave you wanting more after every run. I made it very clear on social media that I was addicted to Slay the Spire for a few weeks before Dicefolk came out so the transition between the two games was very welcome but started a brand new addiction for me even though I was never actually any good at either game.

When you begin a new run, you’re given three chimeras to start with. When you battle, your party takes on other chimera and your formation is very important because only the chimera that’s at the front can attack. You’re able to unlock other chimera at different points during your run but acquiring a different chimera requires that you delete one that you have because three also happens to be the maximum you can keep.

This allows for an extra level of strategy as you explore the map because maybe you won’t focus on strengthening one chimera, knowing you’ll swap it out later. Or maybe you get your dream team early on and have to be very picky with new chimera. When you’re exploring the map, there are different tiles for you to go on, they range from battles, shops, and other actions. Once you complete a tile, other tiles adjacent to that one become unlocked, and the map gets filled in.

Battles in Dicefolk are pretty unique because you control both your own chimera and the opponents at the same time using the magic of dice. Every turn, each side is given three random dice that do a variety of actions such as attacking, rotating the party members, or something else. It might sound too good to be true, allowing you to control your opponents every move, but this actually makes the game tougher.

In order to end the turn and get a new set of dice, you need to deplete all of your opponent’s dice. This adds an extra level of strategy because you’ll be forced to use certain moves against your own chimera or you’ll be forced to use your own dice in a different order. In addition to dice, you’ll also be using a variety of tokens and equipment during all your battles. Tokens are items that offer a variety of benefits while equipment gives a permanent buff to one chimera.

If you’ve played Slay the Spire before, you may notice these as being very similar to potions and relics. As you earn more equipment, each of your chimera will become stronger and you’ll have less of a challenge when battling against bosses. But you should be warned that it will be really difficult to beat the third boss during your first few runs. If you’re lucky, you’ll make it to the second boss on your first run before being beaten.

Depending on how well you’ve done, you’ll unlock more chimera and equipment for future runs and trust me, you’ll definitely want to do more runs because the gameplay loop is very addicting. After playing for around two hours I hadn’t even made it to the third world but was still having so much fun because there’s a lot of value in the gameplay though it can be very difficult and might not be for those who don’t like a challenge.

One aspect that I’m not a fan of is that there isn’t a ton of content. Runs are quick and you can easily speedrun one in 30 or so minutes but there isn’t much to do outside of doing runs over and over. You can unlock a different talisman which unlocks different chimera but it’s pretty much more of the same.

In games like Slay the Spire I really liked how you can create different settings to make custom runs or how there was an additional game mode. The same goes for a few other similar games that I’ve played. But with Dicefolk, I got bored of the Warrior Talisman after only three runs and the others didn’t really feel that different. I thought it would have been cool if other talisman at least had different names for the actions that the dice did.

Still a very enjoyable game. The visuals are good, and the soundtrack is great at times. Each run will be chaotic and addicting but you may begin to lose interest in each talisman after three or four runs, even if you haven’t beaten the final boss. Might be pretty easy to get between five and ten hours out of the game and that’s fair for a game that only costs $15, so it’s definitely a solid pickup if you like this genre.

4/5