It always feels weird to play a sequel before the game that came before it, but so often it’s a totally fine thing to do. So many sequels either stand on their own or feature helpful story recaps that mean you won’t struggle without playing whatever came before it, and I think it’s time to purge this once taboo concept and just play whatever we want whenever we want. There’s no better time to start this than with Lost in Random: The Eternal Die, which based solely on the first two areas could be one of the best Roguelikes I’ve ever played.
While still set in the World of Random, in The Eternal Die you play as former main villain Queen Aleksandra. Fuelled by vengeance after everything that was taken from her, she teams up with living Die ally Fortune to take down an ancient evil. In modern Roguelike fashion you’re drip fed story between runs, and I’ve clearly barely scratched the surface of this interesting narrative in my first few hours with the game.
Once the scene is set it’s time to head on your first run into The Black Die. You will notice immediately quite how tight the isometric action feels, with every dash (complete with invincibility frames of course) or slice of your sword. This makes every combat encounter a joy, which is lucky as there’s a hell of a lot of them.
Aleksandra has plenty of offense at her disposal in Lost in Random: The Eternal Die. At the start of the run you’ll be able to select an unlocked weapon (from a selection of four eventually) which you can use for basic and charged attacks. You can also throw Fortune to attack from a distance, with the die dealing damage based on the number they land on. Finally you’ll be granted a card with a special ability on it to use, which can range from throwing knives to summoning raging tornadoes across the arena. These are especially cool because although they require energy to use, they also have powerful special effects when fired with the correct timing.
Only by utilising the perfect combination of your weapons will you be able to overcome the enemies and bosses lurking in the dungeons, but as with any good Roguelike you’ll also need some extra juice as you progress. This comes in the form of artifacts, which will grant you a variety of powerful effects. Everything from summoning blizzards when you roll a six to granting extra chances of landing critical hits can be found on these artifacts, but these buffs aren’t all they provide.
You see each artifact will also have associated with it a colour or two, which corresponds to a certain stat of Aleksandra’s. Artifacts are placed in a grid, and when three of the same colour are lined in a row they’ll grant you a whopping fifty percent bonus to that stat. Only by ensuring your gear is placed logically will you get the most out of it, adding an extra layer of depth to the Roguelike fun. In most of my more successful runs I was able to boost my weapon power with plenty of red artifacts, but there are so many build options to work towards if you’d rather focus on something else.
Unless you’re an absolute beast, your first few runs of Lost in Random: The Eternal Die will end in death at the hands of a boss or basic baddie. This is no cause for concern though, because between runs you’ll be sent to a hub world to power up. It’s here you’ll unlock different weapon types (the spear, bow and mace) alongside spending two types of currency on permanent upgrades. By using some blue orbs I found on my travels I was able to gain access to a one-off revive on each run, as well as some bonus health and the ability to grab Fortune from further away. These were only three abilities available in the first layer of upgrades too, with many many more still to grab as you progress deeper into The Black Die.
Lost in Random: The Eternal Die looks to be the next great Roguelike that demands to be played. Controlling Aleksandra just feels fantastic, there’s so much variety in the offensive options you can unlock, and most importantly it features plenty of that titular randomness. I’m confident that this is a game that will be discussed in the same breath as legendary titles like Hades and Dead Cells when it releases next month, and if that doesn’t get you excited then I don’t know what will.
Lost in Random: The Eternal Die is coming to PC, Xbox, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch on June 17th.
