Tech-Gaming Technology, Gaming, and Culture
Voodoo Dice
is an action/puzzle game, similar in concept to games like Sokoban or the Adventures of Lolo series. You take control of a six-sided die on a strange, unexplained quest. In each level, of the four worlds in the game, your objective is to simply traverse the level and reach a goal. There will be, however, paths you are restricted to and obstacles you must face. While the movement is essentially grid-based, the action is realtime, as opposed to turn-based.
Like the Devil Dice series, your die rolls and will remove adjacent dice sharing the same top-side number as the number atop your die. This concept is utilized and changed throughout the game, but it’s far from intuitive, and the game doesn’t really encourage or help you to master it much. This means the game will probably never quite “click” for most people.
Designing levels for puzzle games is difficult but very important. Even randomly or procedurally generated levels must be structured properly. Levels must be challenging yet fair, clever, and varied. If a level gives me a thinly-veiled repetitive task, I’m going to feel like it’s giving me busy work. If a level uses clever mechanics that challenge me, and completing it makes me feel intelligent and satisfied, I’m going to know that care and thought were put into its design.
In some levels you may need to focus on pushing statues to hold down buttons, which lower barriers blocking the goal. In other stages you may need to stick to a helpful magnetic die, that causes your movements to become a little more complex, but can offer you protection from hazards and the ability to cross gaps. These are the types of scenarios you probably expect from a game like this, and while the various obstacle, enemy, and powerup designs are clever, the level design quality is a mixed bag. A lack of any sort of mid-level checkpoints, saving, or undo features makes getting stuck or killed in the middle of a level especially frustrating. Luckily, the game is structured to allow you to skip some levels, and occasionally a level would be both boring and hard enough to compel me to skip it. Other times, however, levels would find the right balance of fun and challenge and I’d enjoy myself. There’s plenty of levels but quality should have been the focus, not quantity.
Ultimately, the game just doesn’t quite keep me wanting more, and that’s coming from a fan of the action/puzzle genre. Voodoo Dice is a decent game but the core gameplay concept never held me, the fluctuating level-design quality pushed me away, and the generic and arbitrary aesthetics didn’t urge me to return. Voodoo Dice may have worked much better as cheap portable or iPhone/Touch game, but as a $10 USD console game, I can’t quite recommend it.
Good job Adam. I trust your judgment on puzzle games!!!
Thanks Karnov, I must have missed the demo. Still, I’ll give it a try.
Shouldn’t NOLA have reviewed a game about voodoo? He is from New Orleans.
Tried the demo- the X on the dice wasn’t easy to identify. They should have stuck with dots.
The demo showed a single player. Should have the game been called VooDoo die?
I liked the demo, thought it was an amusing little game. I might have to grab it if it’s less than $7.00.
You rolled yourself up a great review, Adam.
This one sneaked past me. Tricky little dice.
I think I’ll be skipping this one.
Thanks, Adam
Thanks for the info, Mr. TideGear.
Had some extra points around, so I bought it!
Yikes, I forgot to mention the game has multiplayer, but I didn’t get to try it.
psht- by that reasoning, I should be the one to review Infamous 2, since the new city is based on New Orleans…waaaait a minute, I LIKE that reasoning! Let’s do it!
And Left 4 Dead 2.
Actually, if you’re from a city you should review it. That way you can talk about how real the gameworld seems.
Prepare for the Negative Gamers to rip you a new one, then.
I read your blog everyday, you have talent in writing, cant wait for more info