Lost in Random: The Eternal Die

Lost in Random: The Eternal Die is an action roguelite developed by Stormteller Games and published by Thunderful Publishing (which I didn't know was a sequel until literally as I upload this review).

- By Dylan Pamintuan

Instantly, you can tell that it was heavily inspired by Hades, and that's not a bad thing. That game is an excellent example of incredibly fun gameplay mixed with a story that makes you want to replay over, and over, and over. There's no better game to be inspired by. That being said, I think they're even using the same font for some UI elements, but, um... let's see if there's enough of a difference to warrant rolling the dice with this game.

Welcome to the whimsical world of Random. You play as Queen Aleksandra, its ruler... or at least, she used to be. The kingdom fell to ruin and strife thanks to the Black Die, leading to the deaths of many... including her sister. While the Queen did try to fight it with Fortune (her trusty Die companion), she was overwhelmed and taken into the Black Die's realm. Though weakened, she will stop at nothing until she completes her revenge and the Black Die is destroyed. But to do that, she'll need to face her past, which is quite literally out to kill her, with one preventing her escape being her former Knight, Mare.

I was actually quite invested in the story. In a world based on dice, cards, and board games, it feels like an actual place with history, despite being trapped in a nightmare realm that twists and corrupts its image. There is a ton of dialogue that not only reveals facts and events about the world, but also more about your various allies, enemies, and that one wild card you'll encounter

The voice acting is great too and has some great moments. Throughout my playthrough, I don't remember a single repeated line. There's always something new to hear, even if it's only a couple of fighting words instead of full conversations. I would like a skip button prompt, though, because the game does not indicate in any way that it's even an option, and after seeing Aleks fall into the Discard time and time again (sort of hoping the animation changes), you'll get tired of it soon enough.