2025 is proving to be a really strong year for roguelike deckbuilders and strategy games. We've recently seen the launch of Starvaders, Spellrogue recently hit 1.0, Breachway has just delivered a major set of upgrades, and we've still got many newcomers ahead such as Dragon Age creator David Gaider's demon-battling Malys and, of course, Slay the Spire 2. But the one to beat for me this year is Die in the Dungeon, and the delightful pixel-art dicebuilder has just expanded once again with the launch of a new early-access update.
If you're yet to check out roguelike in the overarching structure of Slay the Spire – progress through a variety of fights and events, adding to your loadout and growing stronger at each turn as you aim to overcome every challenge before you. Its distinctive combat system, however, stands out from even other dice-based contenders such as Dicey Dungeons or Dice and Fold.
Each turn, you must place your rolls into a grid to determine your attacks, blocks, heals, and so on. The various colors determine their respective effects; some are direct, while others act as ing tools to amplify the power of the dice around them. On top of that comes a range of modifiers that cause them to behave in particular ways or provide additional benefits, often at a cost (think Balatro's glass or wild cards).
Now, there's a brand-new way to escape a potentially sticky situation. Potions are a set of consumable items that you can find and offer immediate, one-time effects that can be employed in the middle of battle. There are various rarities, with increasingly more powerful or higher risk-reward effects as you climb the ranks. Some will be found after fights, others bought in shops, and a particularly potent set of super potions can be earned from boss battles, although you'll see just two in a run, so you'll need to use them sparingly.
In most cases, the effects of a potion are fittingly dependent on the roll of one or more dice. The Blue Soul super potion, for example, uses two four-sided dice to calculate a block value that's then applied repeatedly for each enemy that's currently alive. Other potions may demand that your roll reaches (or exceeds) a specific value in order for their effects to activate. With a total of 25 standard and ten super potions to discover, you'll be finding new tricks for quite a while to come.
The Die in the Dungeon potions update is out now. You can read through the full patch notes courtesy of Atico for the full list of additions and changes, including some small balance adjustments for a couple of random events.
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