Dicealot Review | Don't Farkle Up

Dicealot is an intriguing dice-building roguelike that challenges players to balance strategy with luck in the name of vanquishing foes in medieval lore. I previewed this game as part of our September Showcase this year and was curious to see how the final game could hook me. Though there is a lot of interesting gameplay mechanics afoot, Dicealot ends up being a curiosity that can be hit or miss.

Since Dicealot is boasted as a dice-builder, you start your run with 6 6-sided standard Power Dice as well as a Quest die, but quickly need to decide how to add, expand, and adjust your dice to best meet the needs of each challenge. Drawing inspiration from Arthurian lore, the game loosely uses this as the catalyst for each of the various Quests in the game. One story act could focus on a traitor in the land, while another draws your attention to finding a friend who has lost his way. These stories simply provide context for the rounds of gameplay and rarely expands beyond an introductory premise and some follow-up comments from characters. This ended up being completely fine for me and didn't deter me from the game since the emphasis of Dicealot is the turn-based dice-combat.

In order to combat the enemies within each act, a game of Farkle occurs. Farkle, basically a medieval version of Yahtzee, has players roll six dice to form various combinations to build up your damage counter towards your enemy. If you're able to use all six of your dice in one giant combo (or several small combos), then you can reroll and start the process all over again to drastically increase the damage output. However, the big caveat to all this is if you roll your dice and a combo doesn't emerge, then you create a "Farkle", lose all that power, and immediately end your turn. 

This was the first real push-your-luck aspect within Dicealot that captured my attention. However, the more I played, the less I was included to focus on the risk and aim my sights on consistent outcomes. Even with a strategy in place, all this can be for nothing if I farkled-up a roll and lost all that momentum.

In addition to the six standard dice you start with, there are also Quest Dice within the game. These various dice are rolled at the start of each battle and can have both positive and negative effects. For example, one die can have 4 sides that increase your attack damage (to varying degrees), while 2 sides can greatly reduce your attack damage. These outcomes can have incredibly impactful effects for you during each scrimmage - for better or worse.

With the Quest Dice and Power Dice, players are also able to purchase more of these dice as well as purchase various status boosting Vassals that will allow for more customization for your run. Unfortunately, whenever the run slotted in a merchant for the round, I was only ever able to choose one of the three or four options presented. Essentially, I had to choose between Quest Dice, Power Dice, Vassals, or Health Replenishment. Even moreso, this was before I could even see what was available to purchase.

Dicealot really pushes the risk-reward aspect of the randomness within the game, which was fun enough for a bit, but I was never truly able to feel like I was being successful in honing my strategy for a run. I always felt as if I was becoming reactionary to a strategy forced upon me instead of rising to the occasion that was presented in front of me. I know both of these scenarios seem pretty similar, but the former constantly makes me feel as if I am pigeon-holed into a strategy that I’m digging out of just so I can have a chance of success. Even if I did everything to manage to get my Power Dice, Quest Dice, and Vassals all lined up for maximum success, nothing is assured since one bad roll of the die can end the run. Nothing I can do will guarantee success or failure, but instead relies still on the randomness of a rolled die.

With all that being said, when the randomness was working, it was really working. Sadly, I never really felt that excitement of the game as much as I hoped for, despite my many, many attempts at it.

Though the progress of gameplay left me lukewarm, I was really impressed by the artistic style of the presentation as well as the music. The interesting overlap of old CRT/ old-computer displays paired with medieval tapestry was something I didn’t realize would work so well. The slight fuzziness on occasion is a wonderful touch that really shines a light to the developer’s attention to detail.

Breakdown

Game: Dicealot

Developer: goodviewgames

Publisher: Yogscast Games

Availability: PC

Game Length: 10+  hours

Reviewed on PC & Steam Deck

Final Thoughts

With plenty to lure you in, Dicealot does a great job throwing everything at you to figure out a fun and engaging strategy. However, after a few runs, I quickly found myself more frustrated than captivated in the randomness deeply embedded in the game. Even after successful bouts of the game, I felt more of a relief than thrill or triumph. With all this, Dicealot is tricky to recommend, but some of you may roll the dice and see a fun challenge ahead.