Time to Die.
Having only played a handful of hours of Lost in Random, a title I very much want to return to, I was nonetheless interested in trying out Eternal Die, largely due to its roguelike nature. While part spin-off, part sequel, The Eternal Die tells the story of Aleksandra, the Queen from the previous game. Once Antagonist, now Protagonist, it was quite the confusing situation given I hadn't completed Lost in Random. Honestly, I thought I was playing as Even yet again; however, that clearly wasn't the case.
This leads into my biggest concern with The Eternal Die. Given the heavy story nature of this game, it is almost a requirement that you've played the previous game. Even for as much as they try to explain the game's previous story and the “catching up” nature of most conversations, the onboarding for new players is simply not there. Considering the heavy focus on the relationships between characters, the events surrounding them from the previous game, I was entirely lost on the story, which is a major bummer. That said, I do plan on playing through Lost in Random this week to have this game’s connections make sense. Given it is around 10-13 hours, it's not a big ask.
The Eternal Die, simply put, is a Hades-like. From its hub world, repeated character interactions, and the endless “so, we meet again” dialogue on a fresh run, not to mention a wealth of upgrades and new weapons, The Eternal Die invokes Supergiant Games’ masterpiece in almost every single way. While that isn't necessarily a bad thing, if you aim for the king, best you don't miss. Unfortunately, Stormteller Games only grazes the target with an unfortunate miss, but nonetheless creates something still rather enjoyable.
In fact, its story and a few things aside, The Eternal Die is a satisfying roguelike with a wonderful combat system and procedural loop; it just lacks the depth needed to make each run feel truly unique. This is especially due to its limited card system, which acts as a way to gain a special attack, whether it be a void-infused fist, a pair of poisonous daggers, or a tidal wave that causes time to stop. These cards are presented at the start of a run, and occasionally throughout, but across the 40+ runs I've taken on, I've seen ten of the 15 available cards, making some runs feel like a copy of a previous one. The amount of time I've had the tidal wave card is a strong 30% of my runs. Hell, Tempest of Ice, which whips up a roaming tempest that inflicts chill, one of the many elemental debuffs, is a card I’ve seen once.
The story presented here sees the previous Queen, Aleksandra, and her Die, Fortune, cast into the Black Die, a die she harnessed in the previous game. Mare, a devious foe and your central antagonist, was responsible for killing her sister and is in control of the Black Die and sends his High Servants after you, each of which are bosses in the three biomes you'll venture through. While Mare occupies the fourth and final biome, a single run of this game only presents a small portion of the story, and the narrative twists in a way where repeated runs will see the best ending and save those who Aleksandra encounters and rescues throughout the journey.
These characters occupy the hub world, and the better part of them are individuals we are supposed to know, given the connection to the previous game. They tease their relationship to the once Queen here, with even a few who were villains the last go around. While the dialogue is charming, as are their designs, it feels like arriving at a party where everyone knows you, but you haven't the slightest idea who anyone is.
Some of these characters serve a purpose in aiding you across your numerous attempts to defeat Mare, especially as you can continue to defeat him as his presence never fades, even after defeat. This is in the same manner that Zagreus can never truly defeat Hades. Chance is your guide, he details the objectives needed to defeat Mare and is your introduction to the hub world. The Rug Reader handles your outfits, all of which are found as you navigate the maze-like biomes. Rack is in charge of your weapons and their upgrades, requiring the use of Cinders as its currency. Lastly, Aama, one of the wonderful witch sisters, is who you'll engage with to enhance Aleksandra’s stats provided you have the Pip Dust to purchase them. Other characters will be present, but they only serve as a need to make the hub location more than just a random few shopkeepers.
The upgrades to Aleksandra help immensely. Her personal upgrades vary from increasing your max health, the range as to which you pick Fortune back up during combat, to being able to ignore the first hit of damage in any encounter. For as mighty as you can make her, however, the choice of weaponry will factor a great deal in how you engage in combat. You'll choose from four weapons: the Sword of Sixtopia, the Sevendipity Striker, the Lance of Lady Luck, and finally, the powerful Helleven’s Hammer. While you'll start with the Sword, I opted for the bow and rarely looked back. Sure, the Lance and Hammer are very effective, but bosses like Eema, another of the wonderful witch sisters, felt far more manageable with the bow, keeping me at a distance while being able to hit her, despite the bow’s awkward distance limit. Each weapon has a series of enhancements, all of which affect various attack methods. Thankfully, you can upgrade and swap these out any time you return to Rack, the old rusty mechanized pawn.
Now, the point of Lost in Random: The Eternal Die is its roguelike structure. You'll enter into the first biome, navigate its hallways as mist-filled rooms that hide the layout until you enter then materialize your battlefield around you. Rooms vary from combat encounters, a shopkeeper who can sell you a variety of healing items, to skills that allow you to become more powerful, to a traveling individual who provides games of chance for rewards. You'll also find rooms that provide some memories that Aleksandra can reflect on. While engaging, they too require some experience to the previous game to fully comprehend.
Aleksandra is joined by her Die, Fortune, who has their own personality and jokes along with other characters to Aleksandra’s often disappointment. Fortune can be thrown at enemies, causing damage, and their damage is based on the number that is rolled upon the throw. You’ll then need to pick up Fortune afterwards to throw them again. I do wish there was a marker to indicate where Fortune was, as it is easy to move around the battlefield and not be too sure where they are.
Combat is incredibly fast and fluid and is considerably better than the original game, though, to be fair, each game is vastly different. You can dash, throw Fortune for some assistance in dealing damage, and use each of the four weapons to dish out your own pain. Aleksandra will also benefit from cards that grant an additional attack, as mentioned before. You’ll also use Relics and Pearls as well to craft unique builds through each run. Pearls are mainly used for color matching and break when harnessed. Relics grant unique passive powers and do not break when harnessed for boosts.
You’ll encounter coffers that contain old forgotten magical treasures. You place Relics and Pearls on the board to benefit from their powers. Each treasure is imbued with dormant magic that amplifies various types of damage and luck. Match three or more of the same color, and you can harness their boost. This is done in a straight line, either horizontal, vertical, or diagonal. You can also place Relics or Pearls on top of one another, but it destroys the one underneath, but their boosts, which increase your stats for the run, is the only aspect of those Pearls and Relics than remain when replaced, so it is very beneficial to do so, if you are out of space on the board.
Enemies range from simple fodder to devious cutthroats. The High Servants are the bosses you’ll encounter, many of whom are from the previous game. The Doublets, for example, can take on different combat forms, making their encounter very interesting, especially when you fight them both at the same time. Eema, the Witch Sister, is a giant frog that hops around and its collision with the ground causes a ring of damage to seek you out. The Formadeggon is another boss that you’ll fight twice, as his mechanized monstrosities make for some enjoyable fights. The standard fodder ranges from various bird-like creatures, soldiers with a vast array of weapons, to blob and frog-like creatures that have their own range of attacks. As it stands, the AI makes good use of how to approach you and makes combat very engaging.
When you’ve completed a run, you’ll then unlock the Sigils of Misfortune, which amps the difficulty up. The first tier, for example, makes the High Servants much harder with the Doublets employing new battle tactics. The second tier makes them even stronger, with Eema joining the Doublets in having new tricks up their sleeves. This mode also adds Corrupted Decrees. This has you adding debuffs that make Aleksandra weaker, or allowing enemies to have vastly more health, thus upping the challenge.
During your runs, you’ll find a vast array of outfits for Aleksandra and Fortune. From capes to masks, to new hairstyles, it’s a nice little addition to give you something to seek out during each expedition. I do like that, much like the previous game, the outfits also lean into the societal divide present in that world, presenting outfits that look worn and used to those that shine in the moonlight.
Lost in Random: The Eternal Die may not live up to what it is clearly inspired by, the game itself is a shining example of how to spin-off from a previous entry and create something enjoyable as you approach the story and its world from a new perspective. While the requirement of playing the previous game is needed to understand the story, the context of what Aleksandra is fighting for, as well as why you should care about the game’s cast, the game built around those things is ultimately well executed and has made me excited to play the previous game to understand those relationships and the context behind them.
Developer - Stormteller Games. Publisher - Thunderful Publishing. Released - June 17th, 2025. Available On - Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC. Rated - (E) Mild Fantasy Violence. Platform Reviewed - Xbox Series X/S. Review Access - Lost in Random: The Eternal Die was played via Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
Jeff is the original founder of Analog Stick Gaming. His favorite games include The Witcher III, the Mass Effect Trilogy, Hi-Fi Rush, Stellar Blade, Hellbade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and the Legend of Heroes series, especially Trails of Cold Steel III & IV.