Lost in Random: The Eternal Die – non-random luck

Lost in Random: The Eternal Die is a sequel/spinoff of the action/adventure Lost in Random (2021). The same world, the same characters, but a different developer (well, almost a different one, it's complicated there), a different publisher, and a completely different genre. But the important thing is that, like the original Lost in Random, the new game is made with attention to detail and a lot of love.

Lost in Random: The Eternal Die is supposedly a spin-off of the original Lost in Random, but the events of this game begin right after the end of the first one. Queen Alexandra, who was the enemy of the sisters Odd and Even in the first game, but came to their defense in the end, seems to have lost her battle. And now she, along with her faithful dice Fortune, find herself inside the Black Dice, where Prince Mara is playing a unfair game with her.

The former queen of the Kingdom of Randomness has turned into a little girl and must overcome all of Mara's traps, find everyone imprisoned in the Black Bone, even through her own fault. Most importantly, the former queen must come to terms with the death of her sister Natalia, as well as with all those she hurt while trying to save her sister.

Despite the fact that Lost in Random: The Eternal Die, unlike the first part, is not a third-person action/adventure with a bunch of dialogues and characters, but a roguelike with a 3/4 camera, there is a surprisingly good plot here, which is presented in communication with other prisoners of the bone and even with enemies, old and new. And Alexandra also finds in Mara's labyrinths, which are distorted versions of the cities that the queen remembers from childhood, memories of her sister, their adventures together and how she herself became who she was in the first Lost in Random.

In my opinion, the plot of Lost in Random: The Eternal Die is no worse than in some Hades or Hades II. And the characters and the world will even give a head start to the creations of Supergiant Games. In creating the world of Lost in Random, the authors were inspired by the cartoons of the Laika studio (Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, Kubo and the Two Strings), Tim Burton's films, the Grimm Brothers' fairy tales (the original versions, not what the 20th century has turned them into), the Oddworld game series and, obviously, the works of Lewis Carroll. Some characters came here from the first game, some are new, but also very grotesque and interesting.

As for the gameplay of Lost in Random: The Eternal Die, here too a comparison with Hades / Hades II is appropriate. The Eternal Die requires attentiveness, quick reactions, tactical thinking and strategic planning in building builds, both during a single "run" and throughout the entire campaign.

Many elements of the combat system migrated here from Lost in Random. Alexandra can also throw her dice at enemies, she also uses cards (this time only one at a time), energy for which must be "knocked out" from opponents, plus the former queen has a cold weapon. All this is superimposed by numerous effects from artifacts that Alexandra collects in labyrinths and other bonuses that can radically change the pace and tactical pattern of the battle.

The selection of artifacts that need to be mixed on a limited field and collected by color is a separate game within the game, a kind of 3-in-a-row puzzle in which you will replace and repaint elements many times. With the help of artifacts and color bonuses, you can build very powerful builds, in which the Fortune dice (by the way, its effects depend on the number that fell) becomes a kind of "turret" that hits enemies around with cold or lightning, poisons, etc.

There are over 80 artifacts in Lost in Random: The Eternal Die, and you may not see them all even after ten playthroughs. Plus, there are four basic weapon types, each with four upgrade branches, and 11 types of combat cards. That is, the variability in character building is impressive.

Plus, like any self-respecting roguelike, Lost in Random: The Eternal Die has bonuses that you can get between attempts to defeat Mara. These are weapon upgrades that can completely change her effects, and blessings that allow Alexandra to heal after victories, respawn, get more gold, discounts in the store, etc. Please note that each blessing has two bonus options that need to be opened separately, for example, I only saw this in the tenth hour of the game.

But the main thing is that all the roguelike elements of Lost in Random: The Eternal Die work well together. This game is really addictive, and the desire to go through another room, another floor, make another attempt is impossible to overcome. So be careful, you can sit down to this game for 30 minutes and come to your senses sometime in the morning. This is really one of the best roguelikes of recent years, which can compete with the same Hades II.

A special and very big thank you to Stormteller Games and Thunderful Publishing for the high-quality Ukrainian translation right at the release. Everything has been translated, and there are actually quite a few texts here, because Alexandra is constantly communicating with the prisoners of the Black Bone and taking notes. There was even a good adaptation of the eloquent names, which are enough in this world. I liked the saleswoman Cuppa Monette and the crazy Fan Atik.

In short, Lost in Random: The Eternal Die is a game you shouldn't miss if you like narrative games and roguelikes, or if you liked the Lost in Random universe. The game has a very reasonable price tag on Steam, and there's even a release discount. In addition, Lost in Random: The Eternal Die is available on Game Pass, so if you have a prepaid account, be sure to try this "roguelike".