Payroll

[h1]SUPER EDIT[/h1] Within LESS THAN 24 HOURS of my review, the developer not only responded, but pushed a fix FULLY fixing my only disappointment with the game. My only complaint is 100% gone now, and given such a responsive and proactive dev, I see a very bright future for this game and would bump up the price point at which I'd recommend it. I'm leaving most of my review intact, but striking out the singular complaint that's no longer relevant. [h3]Original Review:[/h3] I first played Payroll during a recent Next Fest, not sure if it was the last or if before then, so the 1.8 hour count is misleading and is closer to 6 hours. In fact, most of the demos I tried to play 30-60 minutes of and no more so that I could get through a dozen or so, but by the time I realized I had played at least 30min of Payroll, it was 4 hours later. The core loop is extremely enjoyable for Payroll; customizing your dice and creating synergies is extremely fun. I'm not super good at games in general, nor do I often venture into high difficulty modes, but at least base difficulty, I've found the balance to be a good mix of challenging yet not frustratingly punishing. [strike]My only complaint, if you can call it that, is really more of a mixed bag. At the start of a run, you're given random faces on your dice from a large pool of possibilities -- and that can basically make or break the beginning of the game. I've had some runs where I struggled to even beat the first table (and eventually started just checking the dice an abandoning any 'trash' runs), and others where the faces I get are so good that I finish the first bet in one roll. When I say that this game is a roll of the dice, that's not maybe how I wanted to mean it. I do think many people will view this as a positive though, as it keeps each run feeling fresh, but I can't help but feel like there's a better way to do it somehow. Maybe instead runs could start you with a certain number of pips and you get 1-3 rounds of shops to pick from? Idk what the best solution is, but it feels like there's really high variance that's completely out of the player's control at the start.[/strike] [b]As mentioned in the edit, this has been completely fixed![/b] In general, I definitely recommend Payroll. I'm not sure if I'd fully recommend it at $13 personally, even if I bought it for 90% of that on launch, but if you're not hurting for cash, it's definitely a fun game. And if you ever see it on sale for $8-10, then I think absolutely anyone with any passing interest in chance-based roguelikes should pick it up for that much. [b]Update:[/b] I bumped it up to $8-10 given the dev's proactive responsiveness, bc I appreciate that a lot in a dev. For the sake of recording my original words, the original review said $5-8.

This might be one the most underrated roguelikes I've played. I absolutely adore this game. In the (surprisingly growing) list of gamba rougelikes, this is one of my favorites. I had 10 hours just in the demo and the full game adds so much more. If this is your type of game, I highly recommend it. If you're not sure, try the demo and then come back here when you realize you love it! Edit: Small edit just to say that every update makes this game better. New faces, D12, quality of life changes. This game is criminally underrated and you should buy it immediately!

Excellent little strategy roguelike. Think of elements from Luck be a Landlord, Balatro and Slice & Dice in one tidy little package. Game plays very smoothly (I haven't broken the game just yet!) and has a soothing soundtrack. Nicely done!

Kept up with the development of the game, great to watch the progress. Game is quick to learn, easy to master, hard to succeed. I have about 100 hours on Balatro, and this took me 10 mins to learn, 30 minutes to get really far (level 7/10), and with a few good runs and look into the collection, plus unlocking some stuff, wins follow soon after. Very similar to the aforementioned game, just with dice instead of poker, which is more chill but still has that rng roguelike aspect. 10/10 game, worth the price, especially for the support it gives! Best destiny channel out, there love ya Thyme <3

So addictive. Cannot stop playing and don’t want to stop playing. So may different ways to pay the debts, and some clever easter eggs as well! Great development and will recommend to everyone.

It's not a simple game as you may think. You have to plan ahead and decide is it better to buy new dice/face or save pips for later. You also have to plan where to place new face to get the highest score. Overall I recommend this game to everyone.

fun game to play when bored

Great simple game!

Excellent game, really tests your strategy. Recommend to anyone who wants a challenge

An excellent way to pass the time with a simple goal in mind which is to make as much coin as you can! The items known as 'faces' varies mechanically in such a rich way, giving the players both an exploration factor as to what they might find whilst really making you think about optimal strategies in mind. I believe there is something here for everyone from the gameplay at its core being a roguelike which has become so prevalent with newer games today, bragging rights to be made when shooting for that spot at the top of the leader boards giving that competitive edge and for the completionist's who will want to obtain everything at hand via the collections tab.