Lost in Random: The Eternal Die Review

Lost in Random: The Eternal Die

Lost in Random was both a critical and commercial success for the team at Thunderful Games back in 2021 and the narrative adventure game was one I really loved upon its drop into Xbox Game Pass. However, rather than moving into a straightforward sequel, several key members from the original development team decided to work on different projects, with some going on to helm this year's Midnight Walk. This one though, really is staying true to the world of random and even brings back some familiar faces but instead of an action adventure game we are now getting a top down isometric view roguelike with some pretty cool mechanics. So does Lost in Random: The Eternal Die land a perfect 10 or does it falter and give us snake eyes, well my name is Fletcher, this is Xbox nation, let's dive in and find out!

Overview

I'm guessing a lot of you will take one look at Lost in Random: The Eternal Die and will immediately draw some comparisons between it and Supergiant's Hades, and while that comparison is somewhat true, there are a lot of differences under the hood. There's a pretty lovely and heavy narrative pull to be found in Lost in Random: The Eternal Die, but it's unfortunately mostly lost on anyone who hasn't played the original Lost in Random. There are a ton of returning characters who speak to you as though you have played the first entry, its not egregious and you can pick up the game without playing the original but you might feel somewhat lost in this unique world. Still, Lost in Random's interactive elements are so strong that the story kind of falls to the wayside anyway. It really begs to be played repeatedly simply to experience more of its moment-to-moment gameplay and end game content!

Combat

One of the standout features of this game—and easily the one you'll keep coming back for—is its combat. It's fast, fluid, and consistently satisfying. Departing from the over-the-shoulder perspective seen in its more narrative-focused predecessor, Lost in Random: The Eternal Die opts for a top-down view that suits its roguelike structure perfectly. If you've played action-packed titles like Hades, Curse of the Dead Gods, or Ravenswatch, you’ll feel instantly at home. The camera angle serves the action well, giving you a clear view of every chaotic encounter. This time, you take control of Queen Aleksandra—the former villain of the original game—now fully playable and wielding an impressive mix of weapon types, including swords, bows, spears, and even a heavy hammer.

What makes each run exciting is how much your choice of weapon impacts the way combat unfolds. Each of the four weapon types brings its own unique mechanics and combo possibilities, shaping your entire approach to battle. Some gear lends itself better to certain builds, and the feel of each weapon is distinct enough to warrant experimentation. Enemies are tough but fair—they have visible health bars so you can gauge your effectiveness, and they don’t just stand around either. They react, reposition, and even team up on you in ways that keep every fight tense. Aleksandra may be powerful, but her foes aren’t pushovers. Battles often start with weaker minions that go down quickly, only to be followed by tougher, elite enemies aligned with the game’s primary villain, Mare the Knight. As you journey deeper into the world, these encounters only grow more intense and complex.

Combat in Lost in Random: The Eternal Die

Combat, however, isn’t just about raw firepower. Aleksandra’s arsenal is actually a three-part system: your main weapon, a powerful Card ability, and her trusty dice companion, Fortune. Fortune acts like a tactical grenade—toss it to trigger area effects, roll for temporary buffs, then retrieve it to use again. Meanwhile, Cards add another strategic layer, providing special powers once you’ve built up enough energy through basic attacks. You start each run with one card, and you can discover more as you explore, even swapping them out mid-run if you find something better. Mastering this triad—weapon, card, and dice—is essential, and once it clicks, you’ll be slicing through rooms with style and efficiency. It's a brilliant loop that keeps the adrenaline high and showcases just how well the game nails its roguelike combat formula.

Progression

Now, the main aspect that really does give us a sense of a good action roguelike is the satisfying intersection between its combat sandbox and its progression loop. Surprisingly this is something that Lost in Random: The Eternal Die understands perfectly and executes it to a t. In terms of its moment-to-moment progression and its more permanent, meta-progression, Lost in Random: The Eternal Die matches its fun combat sandbox with consistently rewarding progress. It really makes you feel more and more capable as you return into the depths of the Black Die and every restart never feels like you were hard done by. 

There is everything here, from defeating enemies, clearing certain room-specific challenges, and also rescuing allies who reside back in the Sanctuary hub world. These allies will then reward you personally with in game currency which I will get onto in a second and progression towards the overarching story. In terms of rewards there are two different types of in-game currency: Pip Dust and Cinder. Cinder can be exchanged at the Forge in Sanctuary for upgrades to each of Aleksandra's four weapons,  with each of them having 4 separate ability chains that amount to different "builds". This in turn will synergize with the Relics that you'll pick up throughout each run. Similarly, Pip Dust is exchanged back at home base for Blessings, which are the more permanent upgrades to Aleksandra's health, damage, attack speed, and so much more. Even though the upgrades at the in-game shops may seem quite expensive at first, Lost in Random: The Eternal Die is never stingy with its rewards. I can say for certain that you'll acquire plenty of currency before you know it. 

Of course, these meta-progression elements are backed up by an incredibly satisfying mix of moment-to-moment progression in every single run. Across the four biomes that Aleksandra will visit within the Black Die, killing enemies rewards both coins, health potions or some awesome Relic Coffers, with the former being used at a special merchant found in each biome. The Relic Coffers are a main reward and they will grant you with incredibly powerful buffs that comprise the bulk of a "build". Relics are the true highlight of Lost in Random: The Eternal Die's progression curve, especially once you factor in being able to hold up to 13 of them and using their color coding to earn bonuses for Aleksandra's stats. The weapon and Cards that you take into each run will determine which Relics are more desirable than others, and even after almost 15 hours, new synergies and exciting combinations were revealed and I still have even more to go to mop up the 100% and the 1000 Gamerscore. 

These Relics can do things such as cause burn damage, provide extra weapon damage and more and when you get three of the same colour in a row you get an extra bonus to that corresponding colors ability. For example if you put three red relics in a row, you get an additional 50% to your weapon damage. This allows for more progression, a real sense of tactics as you juggle the relics you will keep or replace and making sure you position them to get some incredible bonuses. Its a real treat and I loved this extra aspect the devs added!

World Building

The world of lost in random: the eternal die really is a lovely highlight as its bloody gorgeous. The art style we love from the original Lost in Random is expertly placed over even with the change of camera angles and it still aspires to that Tim Burton-esque style. You get a total of 4 different biomes here from some snow swept mechanical arenas to more of decrepit swamp stylisation and the enemies that inhabit these are so well crafted in terms of appearances and how they function in battles. 

A cool feature I feel other reviews might miss out on is the extra steps to the world building that are included as you enter and discover new areas. For instance, there is a game show host who will pop up every now and again with different games you can take part in. Usually these don't cost anything and you will throw your die to take part in these games. You are usually rewarded with an extra Relic, maybe some health or sometimes even nothing. Its nice seeing these little elements added as it really gives you a sense of the overarching luck and chance of the game's underlying story. 

The World of Lost in Random: The Eternal Die

You will also come across some nice story beats that are sort of memories of the past game and these are nice additions but only if you did play the original. Without knowing what the original story entailed, these sections are utterly pointless.

Story

Accompanying the strong gameplay in Lost in Random: The Eternal Die is a heavy focus on narrative that delves more into the interesting world of Random, its inhabitants, and their tumultuous history with Queen Aleksandra as a formerly despotic ruler on a quest for redemption. While it's a good story that is further fleshed out by rescuing the inhabitants of Sanctuary and getting to know them, it ultimately amounts to window dressing rather than an incentive to propel you through the game's tougher moments. To be honest, the gameplay is strong enough that it doesn't need any help in that area but it's just a bit of a let down. 

If we use the likes of Hades as a touchpoint again, that game's story largely works as well as it does thanks to the strength of its characters; characters who are, by and large, known figures throughout all of Western civilization thanks to their almost countless depictions in classical literature and beyond. You will go into Hades knowing that it's a game using Greek mythology as a springboard, and it continually subverts expectations and surprises you at every turn to make its narrative elements just as compelling as its gameplay. For anyone who hasn't played the original Lost in Random, The Eternal Die just can't hope to replicate that effect.

That's not to say that Lost in Random: The Eternal Die's story is bad, or even inconsequential, because it isn't. But it also isn't a real reason that you will find yourself wanting to return to The Eternal Die or push through a tough boss. The real draw of Lost in Random: The Eternal Die is its gameplay, and to the game's credit, it's strong enough on its own to generate that "just one more run" feeling that the best action roguelikes do. 

Performance on Xbox 

So I of course had to check out the performance across both the Xbox Series Consoles to give you a real sense of what you can expect out of the game. I have done some pixel peeping as well along with frame rate testing on my end to see what we are getting out the gate and its pretty phenomenal for a day one launch.

The Xbox Series X runs at 4K with a rock solid 60fps. I never encountered any dips during my playthrough and it was an extremely polish experience even without any day one patches.

Onto the Series S and this one is running at 60fps as well and that is a pretty solid target for the less powerful system. I did have the odd dip in frames during some pretty insane encounters with lost of enemies but it was never anything too egregious. I think if you decided to play Lost in Random: The Eternal Die Across either system and you will be incredibly happy. There is no option to change between modes but I didnt really expect a smaller indie experience like this to have it available. 

I didnt really encounter any bugs either, I did have one instance where my game decided to just stop. Aleksandra suddenly couldnt shoot, I then couldnt move and then the music and sounds stopped. I thought I lost everything after a 15 minute run but I was pleasantly surprised to see that the save system is very generous for a roguelike title. I quite the game fully, rebooted it and I was in the exact place with all issues rectified. I love that it is more generous as sometimes these roguelikes can be punishing especially if your game crashes.

Conclusion

So, now I can draw you my conclusion and ultimately let you know if Lost in Random: The Eternal Die is worth your time and money. Well, you are getting an extremely competent roguelike right out the gate, the combat is rock solid and is up there with other heavy hitters such as hades and the overall progression inside and outside of combat is incredibly engaging. It hits all the right notes in Combat, Progression and Performance but its really stumbles in the story telling. The narrative is very weak, you may feel lost if you haven't played the first game and you can tell it's not the main draw. This means the games length does suffer and you can complete it within 10 hours if you are a roguelike veteran.

With all that considered, I will be giving Lost in Random: The Eternal Die a solid 7.5/10. I recommend it if you have Game Pass but the $24.99 asking price might be a little bit high considering the games length. Still if you want a great roguelike in terms of combat and progression then this is a pick up right away!