Die in the Dungeon
| Die in the Dungeon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer | Atico Games |
| Publishers | HypeTrain Digital, Sidekick Publishing |
| Engine | Unity[1] |
| Platforms | |
| Release | 1 May 2026 |
| Genre | Roguelike |
| Mode | Single-player |
Die in the Dungeon is a 2026 turn-based roguelike video game. The player fights a series of enemies by rolling and placing dice, and can obtain and upgrade dice between battles. In roguelike fashion, the game is structured into pseudorandom runs. The game was developed by Spanish indie developer Atico and published by HypeTrain Digital and Sidekick Publishing, and began life as a 2021 game jam game. A prologue, Die in the Dungeon: Origins, was released in December 2023, and the full game entered early access in February 2025 and was released in May 2026.
Reviewers compared Die in the Dungeon to Slay the Spire both positively and negatively, while generally describing the gameplay as similar. The gameplay design, strategic depth, and visual style were generally praised.
Gameplay
Die in the Dungeon is a turn-based roguelike game,[2] in the roguelike deckbuilder subgenre and self described as a "dicebuilder".[3] The player fights a series of enemies by rolling and placing dice into a grid.[2] The default grid is a 3x3 diamond.[4] Placing dice has an effect based on their color and rolled number: for example, red dice deal damage equal to the number and blue dice block incoming damage equal to the number.[5] The relative placement of dice also changes their effects.[2] Dice vary in their number of faces and the numbers on those faces: there are four-, six-, and eight-sided dice.[4] Dice can also have properties added that change how they function: for example, the "Heavy" property causes dice to remain on the board between turns.[4]
Between battles, the player can obtain more dice and upgrade their set of dice, which generally serves to increase the numbers on a die's faces.[2][5] Battles are grouped into worlds, each of which ends with a boss, and each run through the game consists of three worlds.[6] The player can select different characters for each run, each with a unique board for placing dice, set of starting dice, and skills.[4]
Development and release
Die in the Dungeon was developed by Atico Games, a developer based in Madrid.[7] The first version, originally titled Die in the Dungeon and later renamed to Die in the Dungeon CLASSIC,[8] was produced for February 2021 game jam Brackey's Game Jam and was released on itch.io.[9][10] Atico worked on the itch.io version in their spare time from 2021 until 2023, describing the game at that point as a hobby and its marketing as organic.[8] In 2023, the team transitioned to working on a commercial release on Steam,[8] and a prologue, Die in the Dungeon: Origins, was released in December 2023.[11] The game was released in early access on Steam in February 2025.[5] It was published by HypeTrain Digital and Sidekick Publishing,[12] and was fully released on 1 May 2026 for Windows and macOS.[13][14]
After release, Atico announced a board game adaptation was in development by Roomiz Games.[15]
Reception
PC Gamer's Jonathan Bolding described Die in the Dungeon: Origins as "taking the roguelite framework and applying it in an interesting-looking way by having you place your dice in a grid for synergies and effects".[11] Rachel Watts of Rock Paper Shotgun said the prologue was "concise and densely packed".[2] Writing for GamesRadar, Austin Wood praised the demo, describing it as a fusion of Dicey Dungeons and Slay the Spire and describing himself as "obsessed".[16] Bolding criticized the game's marketing as sensational, noting 2011 board game Quarriors and 2023 video game Astrea: Six-Sided Oracles as previous examples of dice-building mechanics.[11]
Reviewing the full game, AV Club's Elijah Gonzalez described it as standing out in the crowded field of roguelike deckbuilders, citing its "combining gratifying puzzles with deep customization that lends space for player expression".[4] Gonzalez additionally complimented the art and soundtrack.[4] Writing for The Verge, Jay Peters described the strategy as deep, but criticized the length of runs.[6] Describing the game as derivative of Slay the Spire but nevertheless interesting, he said that "It takes a lot of inspiration from Slay the Spire, but that's ok."[6] 4Gamer.net praised the strategy, build variety, and pixel art.[17]
References
- ↑ "Games made with Unity: 2025 in review | Unity Blog". Unity. Retrieved 3 August 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Watts, Rachel (20 January 2023). "Play as a frog knight surviving on dice rolls in this smart, compact roguelike". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on 21 January 2025. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ Allsop, Ken (3 May 2026). "My favorite dice roguelike just left early access, and it's finally broken my Slay the Spire 2 streak". PCGamesN.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gonzalez, Elijah (21 February 2025). "Die in the Dungeon High Rolls Its Way to Deckbuilding Bliss". The A.V. Club.
- 1 2 3 Allsop, Ken (22 February 2025). "Dicey Dungeons and Slay the Spire combine in new Steam roguelike, and it's off to a great start". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on 22 February 2025. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 Peters, Jay (22 February 2025). "Die in the Dungeon will keep you busy until Slay the Spire 2". The Verge. Archived from the original on 28 March 2026. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
- ↑ "Atico". Archived from the original on 10 June 2026. Retrieved 12 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 Zukowski, Chris (22 May 2025). "Can itch.io success translate to Steam success?". howtomarketagame.com.
- ↑ Alarts; SexyBuggy; Jaun; aghsshagahdjjdhwhwureuduu. "Die in the Dungeon CLASSIC" – via itch.io.
- ↑ Toru Ishikawa (4 December 2023). "Steam無料デッキ構築ローグライト『Die in the Dungeon: Origins』好調スタート。色とりどりのサイコロを振ってダンジョン探索". Automaton Media (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 17 November 2025. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
- 1 2 3 Bolding, Jonathan (2 December 2023). "Be a frog, kill bugs, collect cool dice in the demo for dicebuilding roguelike die in the Dungeon". PC Gamer.
- ↑ Junya Shimizu (4 May 2026). "サイコロ×デッキ構築型ローグライク『Die in the Dungeon』正式リリース。新要素どっさり大型アプデ到来、サイコロ鍛えて"出目に祈る"カエル戦士ダンジョン攻略". Automaton Media (in Japanese).
- ↑ "Die in the Dungeon - Official 1.0 Launch Trailer". 2 May 2026 – via IGN.
- ↑ "Die in the Dungeon". Archived from the original on 5 July 2026. Retrieved 9 July 2026 – via Steam.
- ↑ Atico Games (26 May 2026). "Die in the Dungeon: The Board Game is NOW LIVE on Kickstarter!" – via Steam.
- ↑ Wood, Austin (12 December 2023). "I haven't felt this way about a roguelike since I first played Slay the Spire – it took real willpower to stop playing and write this article". GamesRadar. Archived from the original on 16 February 2026. Retrieved 7 July 2026.
- ↑ "カエルの騎士がダイスで戦う構築型ローグライト「Die in the Dungeon」（ほぼ日 インディーPick Up！）". 4Gamer.net. 12 May 2026. Archived from the original on 19 May 2026. Retrieved 7 July 2026.