Review: Dice With Death

Developer – Sea Glass Games

Publisher – Sea Glass Games

Platforms –   PC (Reviewed)

Review copy given by Developer

NOTE:

The following game is being reviewed in an Early Access State, the game may change after the release of this review, this review reflects the game at the time of publishing. 

In the dim twilight of the afterlife, the newly deceased finds themselves at a creaking table across from a cloaked figure. Hunched over a roll of spectral bones is Death itself, its hollow eyes glinting as candles gutter. This is Dice With Death, a dice-poker duel where each clatter of the bones can swing fate itself. The ghostly soul must carefully choose which dice to keep and which to risk; each throw forms poker-like combinations that can either vanquish the opponent or drag the player closer to oblivion. Banked points translate directly into damage dealt to Death, so every cautious stop secures a minor victory – but push too far and even a heroic spirit risks losing everything.

For now, the player can choose from two distinct classes – a battle-hardened Soldier or a devout Healer – each reshaping how the dice game plays out. More classes are promised to unlock with perseverance, each whispering a new strategy to press your luck in the afterlife. The Soldier might literally summon reinforcements of extra dice, while the Healer channels each successful roll back into recovered lifeblood. As the duel unfolds through seven harrowing rounds, new dice and strange relics appear like grim rewards: the player gathers artifacts such as a charred cauldron, a tattered battle banner, or a basilisk statue, each warping the odds of every throw. Relics and class powers intertwine so no two runs feel the same – one duel might cascade into an offensive spree of bone-and-lightning combos, the next sees the soul tentatively banking every precious point to survive.

Narrative immersion is strong for an indie roguelike. The pixel-art world shimmers in funeral blues and greys, candlelight flickering off Death’s grin and the skewed towers of rolled bones, enveloping the scene in a haunting tableau. Between rounds the player exchanges terse, ominous words with the Grim Reaper himself, and these conversation branches truly swing the balance of power. A defiant taunt or a fearful plea might unlock a hidden relic or alter Death’s game plan for the coming rounds, as if the very language of the departed tweaks fate. Death’s lines drip with poetry and menace (though occasionally a stilted phrase breaks the spell), and even a single sentence can echo as though destinies hang on its meaning.

For all its macabre charm, the game still bears the scars of its early-access roots. The core push-your-luck gameplay is solid, but content remains modest: only two classes and a handful of relics and dice are in play now, so duels grow familiar until future updates add variety. A few interface quirks break the spell – dice that clatter too close to the bank’s edge can stubbornly refuse to be clicked, and tiny relic icons sometimes demand a second tap. Even Death’s arsenal has needed tweaking: one patch note wryly documented fixing a misbehaving Cauldron relic and re-tuning the Soldier’s Insignia effect, as the devs rapidly exorcise bugs. These stumbles are minor, but they intrude just enough to remind players this is still very much a work in progress.

Despite its early flaws, Dice With Death proves endlessly engrossing in its niche – especially since continued victories even unlock fresh classes, each bringing its own twisted flourish to the duel. Every decision feels weighty in this folk-horror gambling hall: the tension between banking points and re-rolling dice is thrilling and desperate in equal measure. Strategic depth emerges from finding the right combinations and relic synergies, so that savvy souls can pull off dazzling chains of fate. The dark fantasy motif is woven into every detail – from coffin-like UI frames to the mournful soundtrack – reinforcing the grim atmosphere at every turn. In the end, this grim roguelike is already a compelling gamble, offering strategy and soul in equal measure. When its promised content fully arrives, the stakes will only grow higher, and the player’s fate will remain a question poised on the roll of the dice.