When you enjoy a video game it’s always exciting to see that a sequel is on the way. You never know what a follow up game is going to bring to the table though, because sequels can come in all sorts of delightful digital packages. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with a sequel that gives you more of the same game you loved, but I often find a bigger shift more exciting. Lost in Random: The Eternal Die is a huge departure from the original Random game, because instead of being a straightforward action RPG this sequel is a Hades-style Roguelike.
The protagonist of The Eternal Die is former villain Aleksandra. This time around though you’ll find out about what made this former ruler take the dark path she did, and on a mission of vengeance against a new and powerful foe she’s become trapped in a randomly generated dungeon called The Black Die. There’s not a whole lot of story thrown in your face when you start the game, but between and even during runs you’ll find out bits about Aleksandra’s past and reveal more about the situation that drove her to previous heinous acts.
This drip-fed story means you can jump straight into the action too, which is spectacular. The isometric combat flows beautifully, and I immediately felt at home with my abilities. By default Aleksandra wields a sword, which you can use to unleash a combo of swipes or charge for a more powerful slash. You also have a dodge ability, which makes you invulnerable for a short period of time and can be used to dodge various massive attacks. The feel of this combat immediately lets you know that Lost in Random: The Eternal Die is something special, and it has some extra tricks up its sleeve too.
Alongside your basic weapon, The Eternal Die features a few other ways to deal with enemies. The first of these is Fortune, a living die that you can throw at foes to deal damage. The higher the number Fortune lands on the more damage they do, and those sixes will always be appreciated. You’ll also be able to carry a card with you on each run, with a spell you can cast at the cost of energy. These have powerful effects like summoning tornados or homing fire heads that burn enemies over time, and also feature a bonus for perfectly casting them. This basically means releasing the cast button when a ring overlaps your character, and it’s easy enough to do when a battle isn’t hectic. That’s obviously not always the case though, as you’ll find out very quickly on your dungeon crawling experience.
There are more than just enemies to find lurking on each floor of The Black Die. Some rooms you enter will have a shopkeeper (who seems to be embedded in a cabinet) that you can buy health boosts and relics from. Others feature carnival games, like the board game full of spaces to land on, that’ll grant you various upgrades if you roll Fortune well enough. My favourites are the trap rooms though, which swap out enemies for deadly traps you have to dodge and are just a fun change of pace. Visiting each room is key if you want enough relics to succeed in a run, so it’s nice that there’s a variety of them.
The main way to get stronger on a run of Lost in Random: The Eternal Die is to use relics. These seem pretty simple at first, offering various helpful effects you’ll recognise from Roguelike peers which will suit different playstyles and build options. They come in a variety of colours though, and are placed in a grid. If you line three (or more) of a specific colour up you’ll boost a stat, like weapon damage, dice damage or luck. Careful planning and occasionally sacrificing relics that aren’t helpful is a sure fire way to get the buffs you need to beat that next boss, and it’s a nice extra layer to have to think about as you slice through frogs and mechs.
Above all else The Eternal Die is a Roguelike, and whether you like it or not that means you’re going to die a lot. Fortunately though death is rarely that sad, as you’ll bring back all sorts of helpful currency to the hub world when you do. There are lots of important and less important characters to chat to in the junkyard-esque hub where you start each run, and it’s well worth getting to know them all. Mainly because one of them is a giant frog who will grant you stat buffs and bonus effects for some blue orbs, and these will power you up immensely over time. I would have never succeeded in Lost in Random if not for the ability to resurrect three times a run, and I’d recommend choosing these orbs any time they’re offered as a reward for that very reason.
There’s also a hulking mech left in ruins in the hub area, who in exchange for a bit of red ore will let you unlock and upgrade four base weapons. These all work totally differently, from a hefty mace that’s slow but strong to a bow that makes you a ranged attacking god. They all are well worth checking out, especially once you upgrade their special attacks to leave storms or pools of acid scattered across the battlefield.
It’ll take some upgrading and a hefty dose of both skill and luck, but eventually you’ll escape The Black Die (I apparently really believe in you). The game isn’t over then though, with a true ending to unlock through various means and the option to replay on multiple harder difficulty levels. To truly master this game it will take a long time, but you’ll have a lot of fun doing it.
Lost in Random: The Eternal Die is a sensational Roguelike, but it has one main (and rather unlikely given its name) issue. The runs really don’t feel that random or different, especially after you’ve played for a fair few hours. You’ll see repeat relics all the time, there aren’t a huge amount of card attacks, and the bosses of each floor are always identical. For a game all about replayability it’s a bit sad that it doesn’t feel more random when you jump into a run. My only other issue with the game is that I think using the dice weapon is a little finicky, and meant I often chose to boost other attacks and ignore it altogether.
Lost in Random: The Eternal Die is a wonderful Roguelike with beyond incredible combat, and a seriously cool upgrade system. You’ll always be working towards your next permanent buff too, so death never feels too frustrating. It’s a shame it doesn’t feel a bit more random with each run, but despite that it’s well worth spending a bunch of hours rolling the dice with Aleksandra.
