So, picture this: crafting the perfect difficulty in a game is like trying to make my grandma’s secret stew recipe. You fiddle around, and sometimes, what you get is not quite what you aimed for — which is exactly what happened with “Lost in Random: The Eternal Die.” Weird name, huh? This game, spinning off from 2021’s original, throws you in as this queen stuck in some ancient relic (seriously, could be out of a fever dream) fighting her way out. But hey, folks over at Stormteller Games, they were kinda hoping for a tougher grind. Just 10% more sweat and tears, said their director, Martin Storm.
Now, don’t get me wrong, The Eternal Die ain’t exactly gonna slap you with Dark Souls level difficulty. But if you’ve tangoed with roguelikes like Hades, you know the drill. Two hours, they say, to clear a run — if you don’t trip up a million times first. You’re gonna have to earn those wins, mate, no hand-holding here.
Anyway, Stormteller had this wild ride while tweaking difficulty levels. So, imagine setting up the first world with every possible type of enemy, just to make you “learn” the game (uh, thanks for the love, guys). And then, they dial down world two — like “you got this, relax a bit” — before cranking it back up in world three. It’s kind of a roller coaster, but I guess they wanted our brains to stay in the game without frying them.
As if balancing wasn’t a puzzle already, figuring out combat was its own beast. Aleks, the main character, has a loadout of weapons, but not every brilliant idea made it past the cut. Remember Dicey from the first game? Time-stopping shenanigans and all? Yeah, apparently didn’t fit here — too sluggish. Go figure. Finding how random to make the dice interactions was apparently a whole saga of its own.
But somewhere along the line, they stitched it all together with this Relic System. Weirdly satisfying, once you get into it. Aligning colors, unlocking boosts — felt like playing a game within a game. So yeah, they axed a lot (RIP dice stopping), focusing instead on letting players choose their level of chaos. Now doesn’t that sound like crafting a soup with just the right dash of spices? Anyway, who knows if they’ll ever be entirely satisfied, but they’ve cooked up something genuinely intriguing here.
