LOST IN RANDOM: The Power of Dice
I would never have thought of experiencing such a tortuous adventure as in Lost in Random, side by side with a small animated dice.
Lost in Random is the new project by Zoink Games, a promising Swedish software house, which had already made itself known thanks to the great success of “Fe” and “Flipping Death”.
A grim and dark story
The plot initially opens with a tale of the past of the kingdom of Alea, a very distant time that tells us of the spectacular fights between the dicemasters, in the company of their faithful six-faced companions.
These dangerous duels strained the physical and cognitive effort of the participants.
The stakes were very high, such as to decree their survival or disappearance.
Unfortunately, every magnificent epoch has a bitter end: with the coming of the queen the world was fragmented.
Dice were massacred to make room for the black dice, the queen’s faithful right hand, who became the undisputed mistress of the entire kingdom.
At the age of twelve, each child will be forced to roll the black dice.
Based on the result, he will be forced to spend the rest of his days in one of the kingdom’s six realms
Our story begins right now. The protagonist Even and her parents try to hide their older sister Odd from the queen’s clutches.
Unfortunately Odd is discovered and, after throwing the dark dice, is taken to Sixtopia; sixth realm of the kingdom of Alea and dark abode of the wicked queen.
Even is not discouraged and she finally decides to leave on a mission with the aim of bringing Odd home, guided by a mysterious spirit.
On the way he comes across little Dicey, the only dice surviving the massacre wanted by the queen.
Even and Dicey were finally ready to face this long journey together, with the intent of restoring peace to the kingdom of Alea.
A videogame steeped in style and novelty
Lost in Random is presented as an intriguing dark fairy tale that makes gameplay its backbone.
The settings and atmospheres perfectly match the decidedly dark shades, also thanks to the excellent use of lights/shadows.
The exploratory component is fun and not too repetitive, also thanks to the variety of secondary missions that Even will have to carry out in each single realm, helping the various NPCs.
During his long journey Even and Dicey will also be forced to fight against the queen’s hordes. Even, being only a child, makes her sling his only strength.
On the other hand, Dicey is a magic dice, which supports little Even by exploiting the power to materialize ancient playing cards.
Each card will offer us a different power, with which we will be able to deceive or defeat the numerous armies of the queen.
A casual and memorable combat system
Combat makes randomness and fate its main characteristic, with some interesting peculiarities.
We will therefore have to collect the crystals that the enemies will drop in battle to exploit the energy needed to cast Dicey and make a weapon or spell materialize.
Each card drawn will be random and, based on our luck, either face a fight in grand style or take precious time to escape and work out another strategy.
Every battle will therefore depend both on how much luck we will have and on the skill with which we will build the deck of cards. Each deck can contain a maximum threshold of 15 cards.
The cards can be earned by completing some challenges or by purchasing them from Max, the only dealer in the whole kingdom of Alea.
When we complete fights and side missions we will get the necessary coins to get new cards.
We will have to fill in the appropriate indicator to get new cards that will allow us to unpack the group of cards we have selected.
Cards are also divided into 5 types: at each meeting the dealer will put at our disposal three types, to reach a total of 34 cards.
A few snags…
One of the things I least liked was the little variety with which the various NPCs were introduced and described.
The combat system is fun and engaging. However, I have never felt the need to use all 34 playing cards. Such a pity!
The lack of a medium-high range of difficulty makes itself felt. The fights almost always seem simple even if it depends on which deck you start each battle with.
The verdict
Despite some small flaws, Lost in Random is a fully enjoyable video game, as I expected.
Zoink Games has managed to bring a new, original product, which stands out from the others. It also offers an innovative and fun fighting system.
The characterization of the characters, the settings and the atmospheres are that extra something that this title needed with that pinch of irony that characterizes the tortuous path of Even and Dicey.
LOST IN RANDOM
7.5/10
