‘Dicey Dungeons’ Review – Worth Rolling the Dice On – TouchArcade

Through the years, there have been many video games that debuted on consoles and PC, that felt excellent for potential cellular variations. Dicey Dungeons ($4.99) took issues additional. It even seemed prefer it was constructed for cellular interactions from the beginning, however it’s the uncommon sport that feels superb with contact or button controls throughout all platforms. The deckbuilding roguelike dungeon crawler hybrid expertise Dicey Dungeons is an enchanting sport that may be my favourite cellular sport of 2022 though it’s a late port. I’ve now performed it throughout Steam Deck, Swap, and iOS for assessment, and will probably be evaluating these variations with the iOS launch as with my different port evaluations.

In case you’ve someway not heard of Terry Cavanagh and play cellular video games, he has launched and is most identified for the good Super Hexagon and VVVVVV. When Dicey Dungeons was lastly confirmed for cellular, I used to be nearly sure it might play greatest on iOS. Having now performed it on iPad and iPhone alongside the Swap and Steam Deck, the iOS port is sort of excellent, and the few points I’ve won’t hassle you in any respect.

Earlier than stepping into the port and cellular model options, Dicey Dungeons is a really stunning sport. It appears easy initially, however is a masterclass in design so long as you’re happy with some RNG. You discover dungeons as a strolling cube in procedurally generated mayhem involving cube rolls, a superb soundtrack, nice visuals, and extra. Dicey Dungeons initially felt prefer it may put on skinny after an hour or so, but it surely opens up a lot with new characters to make every little thing really feel recent as soon as once more. It additionally helps that the cellular model has arrived with further free content material proper from the get go making this a tremendous worth bundle.

What makes Dicey Dungeons stand out from different video games like Slay the Spire, moreover catering to an identical viewers, is the way it blends in puzzles with its deckbuilding and roguelite gameplay. Whereas different video games lean closely on the random parts, Dicey Dungeons feels equal half puzzle in among the phases. That is elevated by how every of the playable characters will increase the problem and introduces new mechanics. This isn’t to say that the beginning character is boring, however the design for the opposite later characters may be very particular, and making your strategy to the ultimate degree and boss for every character in their very own episodes goes to check you for certain.

The varied flooring, character designs, enemies, and animations are superb. I’ve all the time preferred the aesthetic from the preliminary reveal, however seeing it in movement on excessive decision shows actually hits residence with how polished and lovely Dicey Dungeons appears and feels. Marlowe Dobbe’s artwork deserves an artbook launch for certain. One factor to remember is that the sport isn’t natively fullscreen on fashionable iOS gadgets. There are appropriately coloured borders that you may disable, however I left them on as a result of this is among the greatest examples of implementing a border for a sport designed for 16:9 shows delivered to iOS.

This launch of Dicey Dungeons on iOS and Android consists of the sport, the Halloween bonus pack with its personal new content material, and the brand new Reunion DLC that arrived on different platforms the identical time the cellular model launched. Even with out the free DLC and bonus content material, Dicey Dungeons is greater than definitely worth the asking worth on cellular.

Efficiency on my iPhone 11 and iPad Professional has been good. The spotlight of the cellular model is the load instances. Dicey Dungeons hundreds close to immediately on iOS in comparison with the Swap model. The PC model additionally hundreds close to immediately like iOS on Steam Deck.

On the subject of the controls, Dicey Dungeons has excellent contact controls which might be responsive and intuitive. It actually makes me extra disenchanted in how Slay the Spire nonetheless hasn’t seen management enhancements. Dicey Dungeons performs greatest with contact controls. Actually, I’ve been utilizing contact controls on Swap and Steam Deck as effectively. It does work rather well with a controller on these platforms too, however the cellular model doesn’t have controller assist as of now. Not less than it didn’t work with my DualSense controller. This isn’t a dealbreaker for me given how effectively the contact controls are, however it’s price mentioning in any console/PC to cellular conversion.

Dicey Dungeons seemingly doesn’t have iCloud syncing assist between iOS gadgets. That is disappointing for certain, but it surely does have an Edit Progress choice to let gamers from different platforms or between gadgets manually transfer progress by selecting what character and episode you need to unlock. That is an fascinating addition and strategy to let individuals “convey over” progress, however I’d have most well-liked correct iCloud sync as an possibility between iOS gadgets. Whether it is in, I’ve not been in a position to get it to work throughout 2 completely different iCloud accounts on 4 gadgets.

I do know the watch for Dicey Dungeons on cellular has been lots longer than I anticipated, but it surely has been price it to see the sport launch in such a refined state. Whereas it has a couple of points that I hope may be fastened in potential updates, Dicey Dungeons is obvious good and an ideal match on iOS. In case you aren’t a fan of deckbuilders or don’t like several RNG, this won’t be for you. In case you loved Slay the Spire, I believe you’ll love Dicey Dungeons. It will be laborious for something on cellular to prime this for me, and I’m wanting ahead to experiencing the brand new DLC on Swap this weekend throughout breaks from playing Sunbreak having performed the bottom sport and checked out the DLC for assessment on iOS.