I really like cute, yet strange games. A good example of that is Psychonauts or even MediEvil, both of which have a cute yet dark aesthetic. Lost in Random is actually an experience that surprised me. I expected a Roguelike experience set around dice and cards and instead, I found something much more interesting.

The world of Lost in Random is a land known as Random in which an Evil Queen has subjugated the six districts. Each district is named after a side of a six-sided dice, and as you can expect, randomness was once the ruling factor. Prior to the queen taking over, the sentient dice bonded with humans, creating a bond that allowed them to fight and protect the realm.

The Queen took over, destroying most of the sentient dice in a war that ultimately left her with one of the only magical dice in existence. She then used her dark dice to separate the districts from each other, keeping them in conflict within themselves. She also mandated that on their 12^th birthday, each child born would roll her dice, and whatever it landed on would be their new home.

This Hunger-Games-esque situation causes a problem for protagonist Even, whose sister Odd rolls a six on her dice. Even and Odd are from the district of One, which is considered the slums and most unlucky. However, Six is the most prosperous land of the queen, and thus Odd is taken from her home. In the process of trying to pursue her, Even meets Dicey, a sentient dice who bonds with her.

They set out to stop the Queen and rescue Odd, but in order to do that they must travel through each of the districts and fight off the Queen’s minions. The environments are all distinctive, with interesting characters. Even is armed with a slingshot that she can use to hit switches and breakable items that give coins. These coins can be used to buy cards, which brings us to the combat system.

I was surprised by the combat system at first because it is something of a real-time action game mixed with a card-based battle system. Enemies have crystals growing on them, and in order to be able to fight the enemies, you have to shoot the crystals off and collect them. Once you collect enough, you can throw Dicey in order to play cards. Cards have different energy cost values, so a healing potion might cost one energy, while summoning a weapon may cost more.

Cards are split into categories, damage, hazards, cheats, defense, and weapons. Damage cards involve exactly what you would think, dealing damage. Hazards allow you to place things like bombs or other things that might give you an advantage over the enemies. Defense cards may give you a shield to absorb damage or fulfill other utility options. Cheats do things like giving you extra energy, letting you heal, and more.

Weapons are the really interesting cards though. By using a weapon card, you give Even access to that weapon until it breaks. If you use the same card again before your weapon breaks, it restores durability and strengthens the weapon. Keep in mind that you can only carry 15 cards in your active deck, so building a deck to suit your playstyle is important.

Normal battles just pit you against a few enemies in order to get past them and progress. However, there are also board game-style battles where each time you roll Dicey to use a card, your board piece moves. The object of these battles is to survive, killing enemies and getting your piece to a certain section on the board. There are also boss battles, which add new layers of challenges such as solving a puzzle or picking correct dialogue options.

There are two difficulty options, a normal difficulty and an easier one for more story-focused players. I personally found that the combat was well balanced and that there are plenty of ways to build your deck to change your playstyle. Exploration is also emphasized, as the only way to unlock new cards is to collect coins that allow you to buy cards in the shop.

The more cards you buy, the more card packs you unlock, which give you new cards that you can use to customize your deck. Luckily, there are also plenty of side quests that give you new cards, currency, and more. I think the environments, storytelling, and characters are the real stand-out elements of Lost in Random though.

It feels like a dark fantasy fairy tale, like a Tim Burton movie, melded with something like Psychonauts or Alice: Madness Returns. It isn’t unnecessarily dark, but it paints a picture that promises to be both impactful and endearing. The more of Lost In Random I play, the more impressed I am by how the developers at Zoink have managed to craft such a unique experience.

The art style is fantastic, the voice acting is well done, the characters are interesting, honestly, I can’t help but feel like Lost in Random is a classic in the making. Sometimes the loading screens get a little long, but I can easily ignore that because of everything that Lost in Random does correctly. I think it might be a little scary for young audiences, but teens and young adults will likely find a lot to love here.

If you’re looking for a new experience that does things a little differently, Lost in Random is perfect for you. Imagine Alice: Madness Returns, mixed with a dash of Slay the Spire, and a little bit of Psychonauts, if you want a clearer image of Lost in Random. I can easily see this either being an absolute hit or a cult classic in the making.

A Nintendo Switch review copy of Lost in Random was provided by Electronic Arts for this review.

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Lost in Random

$29.99 USD

9.5

Score

9.5/10

Pros

• Fantastic Gothic Fantasy Aesthetic
• Interesting Premise and Story
• Fun Gameplay and Mechanics
• Lots of Side Content

Cons

• Occasional Long Load Times
• Too Scary for Younger Audiences