The pigeons are suspicious.
You awaken on a prepare. You don’t know the place you’re going, however there’s a person in high-vis close by, studying the paper, consuming a capsicum. He appears to know you, and your goal. What goal? Why, to hitch the mysterious Circus X – as a musician, maybe? Perhaps a strongman? Regardless of the case, there’s only one technique to get there: rolling an more and more unusual sequence of cube, defeating opponents in challenges of wit and power, till you discover your pathway ahead.
In Strikes of the Diamond Hand, Cosmo D’s follow-up to the IGF award-winning Betrayal at Membership Low, that’s simply how life goes. Every little thing relies on the luck of a cube roll – even shooing a bunch of over-large, very suspicious pigeons in a dingy subway.
Like Membership Low earlier than it, this RPG journey leans into the weird and surreal, with few solutions for its greatest questions. Who’re you? How did you find yourself on the subway? The place precisely have you ever been left, and why is the subway populated by clones, pizza makers, and savants? What’s Circus X? Strikes of the Diamond Hand revels in being obtuse in its opening chapter (shared with GamesHub early), promising a rising strangeness in its subsequent steps.
Your complete journey is enhanced by a low-poly artwork fashion that creates a real sense of discomfort and unease, including to the sense that you just’re venturing into uncharted territory.
Enter the surreal and unusual
Strikes of the Diamond Hand is putting from the off, leaning into Cosmo D’s signature surrealist fashion to introduce a world of vivid color. The evening sky is brilliant and sensible, wheeling over the bizarre prepare station. Neon inexperienced stink drifts from a rubbish can close by. As you method a gang of pigeons, all of them flip their heads to have a look at you. You’ll fail your first roll in opposition to them, however don’t fear – magical fowl seed ultimately involves the rescue.
Beneath the subway, you’ll discover much more unusual sights. A bunch of musicians calls for you carry out for them, and rolling a set of cube, you’ll pluck out tunes in 1, 2, +1, -1, 0, or ♪. This method of rolling for fulfillment is plucked from conventional tabletop mechanics, and builds on the same system present in Betrayal at Membership Low.
Success is the one path ahead, so that you’ll must roll and maintain rolling, hoping for higher, as you uncover new quests and challenges requiring your consideration. Discover the additional reaches of the subway, and also you’ll ultimately discover gadgets to assist – costumes, gum, or pizza, all enhancing your rolls, and/or therapeutic your stats (bodily and psychological well being). With every roll, you’ll achieve expertise, permitting you to spice up your particular person stats and guarantee your subsequent problem is simpler to sort out.
Within the subway, the first puzzle of the sport’s first chapter reveals itself: a mysterious AI companion is lacking, and there’s all types of clues to counsel one of many subway residents should be accountable. You’ll be able to’t go away the subway till you determine who’s accountable – so that you higher get to chatting, quick. You’re a detective now, and every cube roll brings you nearer to the reality, and to Circus X.
Develop into the darkish detective
You’re inspired to take a sluggish, curious method to your investigation. Everyone seems to be beneath suspicion. If you happen to take the time to hear, to take a extra off-kilter method, it’s possible you’ll bump into the fitting phrases to “unlock” your dice-rolling opponents.
You may also uncover a wierd political conspiracy brewing within the again alley of Cosmo D’s world. The extra you speak to of us, the extra you’ll realise there’s secrets and techniques upon secrets and techniques on this subway, and untangling all of them will take a while.
One explicit suspect will solely speak to you you probably have a pizza in hand. One other received’t reply to an aggressive method, however will share extra with you in case you select to turn into their pal. If you happen to’re type sufficient to the woman on the subway ticket window, she may provide you with a second copy of a guide she purchased, which can can help you roll a further set of cube.
Repair a pizza oven. Get a key. Head to the subway floor. Escape a roaming man with a tiny pigeon head. Seize a sheaf of music. Head again down. Be sure to don’t choose up a lingering odor alongside the way in which, otherwise you’ll get a detrimental impression in your future cube rolls.
So life is in Strikes of the Diamond Hand. Based mostly on its first chapter, it’s set be a layered RPG outlined by a compelling sense of weirdness. There are threads left dangling by the demo’s remaining moments, and I’m definitely eager to see the place they lead. What’s the take care of Circus X? Why am I so impressed to hitch them? What’s the mysterious secret behind the clones of this metropolis, and the unusual experiments that litter its important subway?
Why are there so many pigeons?
Strikes of the Diamond Hand will discover these hard-hitting questions in full when it launches.
Within the lead up, these eager to take a look at the following steps into Cosmo D’s unusual visions will be capable to leap into the primary chapter of Strikes of the Diamond Hand through Steam, from right this moment. The next chapters of the sport will launch in Early Entry at a later date.
Sport Geeks Information has affiliate partnerships. These don’t affect editorial content material. Sport Geeks Information could earn a small share of fee for merchandise bought through affiliate hyperlinks.
By Leah J. Williams 20 February 2025
#Sport #Geeks #Information #Official #Gaming #Information #Channel #Avid gamers