Games releasing in an early access form is hardly a novelty at this point, but not all games use this staggered launch method in the same way. The vast majority of early access titles I cover are practically complete games, with more content planned but still a feature complete game you can essentially finish available to play. This works well for so many genres too, with everything from Roguelikes to sandbox games benefiting from player feedback and time to balance out the systems. When a game is an entirely single player game with a structured story though early access can feel a bit weird, or just leave you wanting more. I definitely want more of Moves of the Diamond Hand after playing the first chunk of the game, I just hope I don’t have to wait too long to do so.
Moves of the Diamond Hand takes place in a city about to hold an important election, which could shake this Cyberpunk setting to its very core. One candidate is an android clone of a former political powerhouse, another is an everyman who connects with the masses but seems a little suspicious. As a relative nobody though surely nothing you do could affect the outcome of this, right?
While all this political drama is unfolding, you’re heading into town on a train looking for a job. Circus X is a massive company where the best of the best want to work, and that’s your dream. It’s up to you how you get this job, and the options all link to your basic stats. Obviously I wanted to make the greatest sandwiches the world had ever seen, so I set off honing my cooking skills and also solving various mysteries.
I’d already played the first chapter of Moves of the Diamond Hand before, but there are so many ways to tackle the opening that it really didn’t matter. When you arrive at the station, everything is locked down. A crime has been committed, and until someone solves it you’re stuck. Obviously you’re the only one with the particular set of skills to do this, so get ready to feed radioactive pigeons and perform for a crowd of music critics.
In case it wasn’t clear, Moves of the Diamond Hand is a weird game. I realised this from one of the very first skill checks, which is against a spilled cup of boba. There are three ways you can fight this formidable foe, and obviously I chose to use my cooking skills to drink away the slippery balls. Anytime you use a skill you roll a dice against the object or person you’re trying to overcome, with options to reroll and all sorts of different buffs alongside. It’s also not the end of the world if you fail a skill check, because all that will happen is you’ll get a debuff for your next roll. I guess it’s hard to intimidate a new suspect when you’re covered in boba stains.
There are loads of ways to get higher rolls, like upgrading your dice or equipping different outfits that grant you extra dice. There’s a whole lot more complexity as you start rolling and rerolling five or six dice to try and succeed, all with different effects that can be combined to sneak a higher number.
After once again solving the case I finally got to explore outside of the train station, where the game really opens up. This second chapter does a great job of showing off quite how many branching paths and side quests are going to be in the full version, with many routes to achieving your goal. The street area itself has loads of different buildings you can go in, and requires you to actually put effort into making money so you can afford to buy your way into certain places. If this is the direction that this adventure is going then sign me up.
Chapter two is where the early access build ends though, and I didn’t want it to stop. There are going to be five chapters in the full game, so I’d assume that means there’s plenty more of Moves of the Diamond Hand still to come. I must admit I’m a little concerned that I’ll have forgotten what happened by the time more chapters release, and it does make me somewhat question this way of launching.
Despite not being my first choice for an early access release, Moves of the Diamond Hand is a sensational chunk of videogame. The weird and intriguing world has its hooks deep inside me, and I can’t wait to see where my dice get me next. If you’ve ever wanted to roll to bake a pizza then this is the game for you, just don’t get too sad when it ends abruptly.
Moves of the Diamond Hand is in early access on PC via Steam.
