I previously jumped in and had some hands-on with a preview of ‘Dice Legacy’ but now I get to fully dive into what the full game has to offer. Dice Legacy brings forth a unique spin on the city-builder genre, which has always been the same approach in many other games, but this time with luck and strategy combined with a roll of the dice. Developed by DESTINYbit and published by Ravenscourt and Koch Media, Dice Legacy asks.. Are you feeling lucky punk?

As I stated in the preview, this game immerses players in a world where you begin on the shores of a new land, with the game’s map vaguely reminiscent of a Halo ring from the famous Halo franchise. 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 also must be overcome to survive. While all of that may sound familiar to many veteran players of several city-build games, this 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 resources 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 have a basic tutorial when you arrive on the shores of this new world, but it was for this game’s unique 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 season 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. Also, other aspects of the game I didn’t touch on in my preview before was besides your basic peasant dice, you have many other dice that represent a variety of classes. Such as soldiers to fight and raid enemies or priests to provide prayer and convert and merchants that can trade with merchants. Other than having several dice classes, you can also upgrade your dice along with the ability to ascend dice. I still haven’t reached enlightenment yet but I am keen on achieving that soon. Who wouldn’t want to be a supreme enlightened one?

Previously, I had a taste of what the game offered and on what modes and while kings you can have access to, to unlock other characters that give a variety of starting benefits you must first complete or accomplish certain goals. Also, to unlock the other game modes you first must complete the first scenario called ‘The Stranded’ scenario. After that, you unlock five other scenarios that can be enjoyed.

As for the game’s 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 and relaxing music setting the scene to just develop this world.

In conclusion, I enjoyed Dice Legacy and still think the game’s unique take on the genre, along with its world’s setting, is a compelling and enjoyable experience. As for new players starting, I recommend giving the game some time to get used to the mechanics but when you do, the game can become a memorable flashback to playing tabletop games with your friends and letting imagination go wild. On that note I do have to say, it is a shame that the game is only a single-player as it is a missed opportunity to have a multiplayer mode so friends can get in on the action too.

Written by: Simon Hayward