Dicefolk is a roguelike turn-based strategy game developed by LEAP Game Studios and published by Good Shepherd Games. In it, you play as a chimera summoner taking off on an adventure with your squad of monsters. The developing team behind Dicefolk previously worked on other projects, including the popular Tunche. The parallels between a game like Tunche and Dicefolk are very clear when it comes to both games’ visual style; both titles feature adorable 2D visuals that help create an inviting and colourful world.

Set in a world known as the Morning Reach, where an evil sorcerer named Salem has bewitched the world’s magical creatures – known as chimera – three hundred years prior, humans are working on ways to take back command over the chimeras for themselves. Enter dicefolk: magical summoners who have created magical dice that can make chimeras obey their commands. Using different sets of dice, chimera summoners can assemble a chimera squad – consisting of three different chimeras at a time – to venture out into the Morning Reach, take on enemy chimeras, and eventually take on Salem himself.

On the surface, Dicefolk has a lot of commonalities with the world of Pokémon: chimeras look very much like small monsters, and summoners can train them, teach them different skills, and use them in battle. Depending on the type of chimera, these monsters can have different types of attacks and abilities as well; chimeras of the nature type, for example, can entangle their enemies or put them to sleep, while reptile-type chimeras can have attacks that inflict poison damage to an opponent over time.

Practically, you start a Dicefolk run with a team of placeholder chimeras – usually three dolls imbued with magic that are used by chimera summoners to defend themselves in battle. As you progress through the game, however, you’ll encounter shrines: temples where you can summon new chimeras to add to your squad. The specific type of chimeras appearing at a shrine will depend on your talisman. When you first boot up a new game, you’ll have to choose one of four talismans: warrior, storm, wrath, or pain. Each talisman stands for a group of chimeras with specific abilities and characteristics. While warrior chimeras are focussed on brute power and impactful attacks, for example, storm chimeras are more focussed on intellectual skills, allowing them to build up attack damage over time.

Gameplay-wise, Dicefolk will have you traverse a procedurally generated map called a biome that consists of random events. Much like Slay the Spire or Monster Train, every map consists of several encounters you complete before tackling a boss fight. Once you’ve defeated a biome boss, you move on to another biome, which again corresponds with a specific map. Each event can either trigger a battle, lead you to a shop to buy upgrades for your chimeras, or give you an opportunity to recruit new chimeras and upgrade a chimera’s skills and abilities.

After each battle, you can pick up gold, equipment, or berries, which can be used to heal your chimera or increase their strength and health stats. Equipment functions much like held items in Pokémon. When a certain chimera holds specific equipment, it can trigger unique actions in battle or grant a chimera some passive perks. Examples include regenerating a small amount of health every turn or adding attack effects like poison damage.

What sets Dicefolk apart from other roguelikes, however, is its combat mechanics. Much like Pokémon battles with two sets of Pokémon, all three of your chimeras will be on the battlefield at once. When you enter battle, attack moves for your chimeras and the enemy’s are determined by your respective sets of dice. The face of your die can correspond with several chimera actions including attack, block, and rotate. Whichever chimera is in the first front position is nicknamed the leader. This chimera will be the primary mark for enemy attacks. Each turn, you’ll not only have to assign these actions to your own chimera, but also the enemy ones. All actions will need to be assigned to a chimera before you’ll be able to move on to the next turn too.