Dicey Bugs

After playing the demo, I just knew I had to have this game. Why? Because it's fun, obviously. But I also needed to play more. And collect more. First of all, if you like collecting creatures, well this is for you. And besides the regular ones, there are shiny ones! So you know you want them all, especially because the bugs are just so darn cute. And some of them make the cutest of sounds. The jumping spiders are one of my faves. Second, the game play. There is so much involved, although it seems simple. It's not difficult, but the strategies can become complicated. Basically, you make the moves for your team and the enemy. They get 2 dice randomly rolled and you get 3 (except for boss fights, then they can have 3 dice) And while this sounds easy, just make them mess up, well it's not always easy. Many bugs have their own buffs, whether that's buffing their team or debuffing yours. On the way, you can get dice to replace the default ones you start with. It's definitely a challenge to add new ones to help and not lose one that you might need. You can also get equipment, which you can equip one on each of the bugs in your team. It's such a tough decision to choose, honestly. So besides having special places on the map that you can get these things, there is a shop. You earn coins for doing various things, your bugs surviving, killing the other ones, etc. And let me tell you, some of the bugs you encounter are difficult as heck. But if you get the right dice, right buffs/debuffs, and of course a little bit of lucky RNG, you can beat them all. And last but definitely not least, the developers are really cool people. How do I know? Not only did they come visit me in my Twitch stream when I randomly played the demo, but they randomly joined me for a 5ish hour stream I had now that I bought the full copy. I even think I impressed them with how well I was doing. (maybe lol) All I can say is this game is super fun. Not complicated enough it isn't easy to get into, but not easy enough there isn't a challenge. It's actually got a nice depth to it. I honestly cannot recommend it enough.

Hey all! Ive been a playtester for these developers for over a year now, and when I tell you they put in the work - boy howdy do they. This new installment to their game catelogue is no exception. Much like their previous game, this one starts with a simple and easy to grasp concept and concentrates on executing it flawlessly. The art is adorable, the chance to collect them all (and their variants) is addictive, and the strategy involved in winning battles is surprisingly complex. As always, the art is friggn adorable and makes this game appropriate for children and adults alike. This game also came equipped with a customizable Twitch integration feature - allowing streamers to turn on and off redeemable events that can help or hinder their progress, giving their chat the ability to support or cause chaos as they see fit. This game can be played easily for hours at a time and players can make it as easy or hard for themselves as they like. The devs are also very receptive to feedback and suggestions, and immediately work to fix any bugs that may occur (which is a rarity in itself) I highly recommend this game for gamers of all ages and skill levels. Five shiny pill bugs out of five. (Cross posting this review from the demo as well)

What a fun game. I really enjoy the family friendly art, playful music and easy controls. But don't let that fool you. This game has a lot of depth and strategy to it. The rouge lite plus bug collecting combination make it fun and engaging. A great game for gamers of all ages to play.

Deckbuilder roguelites have pretty much become a dime a dozen. Sure plenty of them are fun, but a lot of them do feel kinda derivative. This one doesn't. Dicey Bugs puts enough fresh spins on the formula and adds enough strategics into the gameplay (both battle-wise and gameplay loop-wise) to really stand out among the pack. Not to mention just how cute these bugs are. If you've got 10 bucks lying around, definitely grab this game; it'll more than give you your money's worth.

This game completely took me by surprise, I downloaded the demo on a whim expecting a cute little bug game. While it certainly is that, it is also a game with an unreasonable amount of interesting team compositions and interactions that I find calling to me in the deep recesses of my mind like a cursed weapon that hungers for the blood of the unworthy. I have been trying out new builds quite often, and even still after actual days of playtime (demo, beta, and full release combined) I'm still thinking up new combinations of little guys. Just to address base game stuff, you run teams of three bugs that you collect with bottles from the wild bugs you fight. When you collect them you can use them right then and there and they can be put in your starting line-up whenever you want, so long as your whole team isn't defeated. In between encounters your bugs heal, but if you are defeated, you lose the bugs in that team and you need to collect them again. You throw three dice with faces representing different action, and your opponent throws 1 to 3 depending on how many are on the field. You may activate whichever of your dice you'd like, but all of the enemy's dice must be used (if the dice face in question would do something). Having full control of the order of the randomness of the die makes me forget the game is random sometimes, which is a huge plus. There are some fairly standard bugs: attack up bugs, healer bugs, *insert status* bugs. Though ordinary, there are several conditions that make these interesting. Bugs can apply their effect on either team's movement, attack, on using all dice and even on ally or self defeat. Using the standard healer, the caterpillar, for reference. It heals 25% of it's health to the ally with the lowest health, if it's not in the lead, and if you have used all your dice this turn. Both conditions must be met, but one of your three die is wholly dedicated to movement. So you may find yourself in a situation where the caterpillar cannot heal- that is if you don't customize your dice. You can change the die faces! Either from the store or going to dedicated locations. This allows for a surprising degree of control for a game that is about throwing dice to determine what your bugs do. There are faces for attacking (either the leader, choosing the target, choosing the attacker, or a clash between both leaders), applying every status, and moving in whichever way (including moving the opponents bugs). I tend to play teams with very strict placement, so I'll try to replace the movement faces as soon as I'm able, allowing the back two members of my team to work their magic. This does also mean that you can get some high output rounds if you manage your dice well, allowing for three attacks in a single turn if your dice are managed well. SHINY BUGS! Shiny bugs are the greatest lure to keep playing, and they keep me coming back to nab 'em. Of course, defeat in a team with a shiny bug holds the same consequence, so there's the constant threat of losing the bug, but you are also better off using shiny bugs, this is because they are stronger than their standard counterpart. Take the caterpillar for instance. It has the same health, same damage, but it doesn't retain the positional requirement to heal. This is a trend among most shinies, and only widens the possibilities of the already huge options. There are those that break the norm, but they often don't have a positional requirement to begin with. Some will apply their buff to more people, others will increase the potency. Some still will actually change the base requirement altogether, switching from being attacked to attacking for example. The creators of the game, given I have had the luxury of speaking with them, have been nothing but pleasant to speak with. They tend to be quite open to allowing stronger stuff, so long as it isn't detrimental to the health of the game's balance. They were glad to have me playtest in the beta and were even kind enough to give me a copy free of charge! Likely because I repeatedly broke the game, whoops. I think I've said everything I need to say without making this too much longer than I should, as I'd like this to be readable. If this review has been even a little bit compelling, download the demo! It's free! tl;dr Many fun bugs with great freedom in dice customization. Download the demo and give it a try, I can't recommend it enough!

I can't believe this game is not more popular. Stumbled across it while browsing the Steam store and could not be happier that I did. An awesome roguelike that stands on it's own in a sea of roguelikes. I personally love how the shiny variants actually have slightly better abilities than their base variant counterparts. Makes finding them that much more satisfying. 10/10 for me.

I like the art style and menu/UI transition decisions designed for this game. An interesting concept to control both sides of the battle not really like other games that I have played. The capture bug mechanism is interesting and allows for strategic planning when approaching battles. A younger audience would definitely enjoy, but also players of all ages who enjoy the art and combat mechanics that this game provides.

This game is a vibe, love the music and the sprites are very cute. Reminds me of the Yugioh dice game from the show a little bit. I was bit surprised when I could control when the enemies would move, it's like solitaire in a way ha. All in all I would for sure recommend trying this out, seems like it will be getting constant updates too so I'm sure there will be even cooler bugs soon! Hoping to see a scorpion in the late game, that would be COOL.