Slice & Dice is raw. It triggered something primal in me, mixed with a curious sense of nostalgia, for times when I was a decade younger. Eager to sit down with a similarly enthused group of power-dorks with pen, paper, dice, and a big imagination to scrounge up a fantastic realm of our own devices. Where a party of daring (and very cliché) adventurers face the dungeons littered with terrible and unimaginative enemies which we had to destroy in the name of Good, with the big G.
It was fun because it was crude. It was thrilling because it was so barebones. Sure, later in life I grew into the enjoyment of more lavish fantasies, and more intricate scenarios. Where theatrics of classical tragedies mixed in with more modern inclinations into deeper dives under the tropes. But that rush of tossing dice, counting damage, and seeing the goblin, gnoll, or gheist destroyed by the edge of my mind-made sword never went away.
And Slice & Dice awoke that slumbering part of me, that simple yet riveting sensation of pure, unadulterated directness. You toss your dice. You check the results. You divide your attacks and you conquer yet another dungeon filled with a cornucopia of enemies. The beauty lies here in the way the game tosses you into such a scenario. It doesn’t burn time on a grand narrative, on setting up a stage with pompous reasoning why you fight. It doesn’t hold your hands one bit, trying to point out things to you like an overbearing parent. It trusts that you, as a gamer, as a player, will know what’s what – those are enemies in front of you. They attack you. They have that much HP. And now you and your party of random characters need to cut them down.
But beneath this honest, crude approach lies a beautiful, intricate design. Everything makes perfect sense. Every character, a Warrior, a Cleric, a Rouge, and many more, comes with their unique dice, with the standard set of six sides on which their abilities lie. They vary, from attacks with different damage output, effects, and keywords, to buffs, debuffs, healing, mana gathering, you name it. There’s a whole library of possible skills to dig into, and that’s only the beginning.
Thanks to leveling up and items, you can not only keep altering your party but also have a very hands-on approach to influencing what the dice will look like. And then, because your party consists of five characters drawn from popular archetypes, their abilities combo with each other, work together and give you ample opportunities to figure out some ludicrous ways to break the game in half. In essence, is a mark of a great roguelike, this confidence of the designer to give you the tools and let you divine a dreadful woe machine to unleash upon your enemies. To conquer the challenge with style and primal joy.
And there’s so, so much more! The game's simple, pixel-art style might seem rudimentary. But under the hood, there is what seems like an endless well of achievements and unlockables. Countless modes to explore, with fun modifiers and challenges aplenty. Many items to accumulate and then receive during your runs, that can completely change a situation from dire to glorious. Damn, you even keep unlocking new enemies and bosses to keep the runs fresh as you keep playing. Never knowing what kind of new surprise can jump at you in the next dungeon, what new test of your mental prowess (and a minor check on your luck!) can appear before you.
In case I wasn’t being rather obvious – I strongly, nay, vehemently recommend Slice and Dice. It might look simple at first glance, crude even, but do not be deceived. Behind this veneer there’s a rich roguelike that will keep on growing, giving, and evolving with you, opening bit by bit its vault of goodies to keep you well engaged. If a slightly crunchy, challenging fantasy fair is up your alley, I’d consider this one a must-have. It’s a perfect game to pick up for a quick run.
Or sink into its depths for an extended session to squeeze every possible victory out of its unyielding clutches.
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