Dice Legacy brings forth a unique spin on the city-builder genre, which has always been the same approach in many other games, but with Dice Legacy, luck and strategy are combined with a roll of the dice. Developed by DESTINYbit and published by Ravenscourt and Koch Media, Dice Legacy’s carefully crafted world and gameplay push players into a game where every dice roll needs to be well thought out to succeed.

Dice Legacy immerses players in a world where you begin on the shores of a new world, with the game’s map vaguely reminiscent of a halo ring from the halo games. As you begin your journey, you must gather resources, build your settlement, and expand your territory.

Over time the game’s environment cycles between a summer and winter climate which must be overcome to survive. While all of that may sound familiar to many veteran players of several city-build games, that is where the game gameplay deviates from the norm. Dice Legacy’s unique gameplay puts a spin on how all of this is achieved.

Each action is depicted by a symbol on the dice and only those actions can be completed, but the dice can be re-rolled to try and achieve a different outcome. In doing so, the durability of each dice is diminished. Only by gaining more recourse and building certain buildings, the dice durability can be increased, along with the ability to replenish lost dice.

All this may sound complicated, at first but after a while, competent players will quickly learn the game’s fundamental mechanics. During your first playthrough, the game’s premise and mechanics can seem daunting, but helpful pop-ups that the game provides to help players can swiftly get you on your way to have a flourishing colony.

As for the game’s story, there was not much that explained how or why things are the way that they are, you just have a basic tutorial when you arrive on the shores of a new world, but it was for this game’s unique premise and approach to a city-building game that I found myself still engaged in going forward to see what this new world has to offer. The game’s summer and winter cycles offer more unique challenges to the gameplay besides exploration and combat.

The seasons create various effects on your dice, requiring you to defrost them for example, as opposed to just healing your dice from wounds and sickness. To break down what each dice represents, imagine each being a peasant for your colony, with the ability to create more dice when you place them on a homestead or send them to school to increase their properties. An equal mix of dice is needed to keep expansion and resources coming in.

As for the games graphics and music, I found this stunning world filled with well-crafted environments and details. Even though you are limited to a single ringworld, that world still looks amazing in its presentation and scope. As for the game’s music, I am not familiar with the composer, but I was enthralled in the world as I was mesmerized peacefully with the use of the calming music.

Sadly I was only privy to the main campaign, with other options of gameplay locked away until the full release of the single-player game. I still enjoyed my experience, which comes with many city-building games that can suck hours before you know it. Overall, Dice Legacy’s unique take on the genre, along with its world’s setting, has been a compelling experience that at first seems overwhelming and different, but soon comes to be a game for players who should take a chance and roll the dice on for something new to play.

Written by: Simon Hayward