My favorite dice roguelike just left early access, and it's finally broken my Slay the Spire 2 streak

Don’t fear, Slay the Spire 2, I will return. My obsession with the roguelike deckbuilder has been put on the back burner for the time being, however, because Die in the Dungeon 1.0 is finally here. It’s a moment I’ve been waiting for ever since I first tried the ‘dicebuilder’ back in 2023. Combining the now-familiar structure of interweaving paths through multiple regions with a unique combat system revolving around dice, it’s that gleeful blend of fresh and familiar that manages to feel at once comforting and challenging.

If you’re a fan of Slay the Spire or other similar deckbuilders, the overarching structure and combat screen of Die in the Dungeon will immediately make sense to you. The big difference is how you fight; rather than collecting cards, you gather a selection of dice that you must slot into a board each turn to attack, defend, and so on. They come in a wide variety of shapes and colors – red damages, blue blocks, green heals, and faces can have all manner of number combinations, from the classic 1-6 to much more unusual options.

The strategy ramps up as you start introducing modifier dice and other varieties. Orange dice deal damage across an area, salmon dice place buffs on the board that stick around for multiple turns, and boost dice increase the potency of others placed nearby. Since its early access began, the number of types has increased dramatically, and this can be further enhanced with properties such as ‘heavy’ (lock it in place on your board) or ‘glass’ (can only be used once per fight before breaking), in the vein of Balatro.

The 1.0 update adds plenty more, starting with new playable character Nera. She’s a young Dice Knight who favors counterplay over direct aggression, boasting a relatively small health pool but with the ability to parry attacks using her starting relic, Broken Memento. Instead of simply blocking to absorb incoming damage, she can reflect it back upon her attackers, allowing her to deliver devastating hits while slipping through unscathed herself.

Progression has been overhauled to ensure that even a failed run doesn’t go to waste. You’ll earn experience on every one of your frogs as you play, gradually unlocking new dice, relics, and even lore fragments. Reach the top level for each of the adventurers, and you’ll be able to splash “a touch of gold” onto that character’s future runs.

The codex has been expanded as well, with more detailed enemy information that’s unlocked by beating them in specific ways, encouraging you to experiment. On top of the regular playthrough, a new secret quest can be uncovered that will unlock the potential to reach the game’s true ending. Doing so will mean going through an even tougher final boss, however, so make sure you’re prepared.

Want even more of a challenge? The new ‘D8 difficulty’ is the ultimate test of your Die in the Dungeon skills. It tasks you with using the ‘Decadent deck,’ which makes your dice stronger at first but causes them to slowly degrade over time. You’ll have to keep evolving your collection throughout the run in order to maintain enough strength to come out on top.

Die in the Dungeon 1.0 is out now on Steam, with a 35% launch discount available until Friday May 15, meaning you’ll pay just $9.74 / £8.31. Grab it here if you like what it’s going for – I’d certainly recommend it.

Alongside this, developer Atico has added an extra set of skins to the bonus supporter pack, noting that it won’t be increasing the price of this as a result, so you can consider that if you’d like to offer a bit of extra thanks to the team. There are also several bundles with other indie favorites including Dungeon Clawler and Peglin, in case you’re after a bit more of a discount.

“Looking back on this past year, we’re struck by how much Die in the Dungeon has grown,” the team writes, “all thanks to this amazing community. You’ve been with us through every patch and update, and your support has turned our vision into a reality.” It adds, “1.0 is a huge milestone, but it’s certainly not the end of the road. We’ll be listening closely to your feedback to decide where to head next. Thank you for playing.”