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Different Dimensions to Explore

It can be challenging to rate or review a game based solely on a demo. Demos are a small taste of what you'll encounter in a title, and sometimes they only capture a single angle of a multifaceted amalgamation. Giving a score on a demo is like rating a restaurant based on only a few appetizers.

And yet, here we are.

But here's the thing: throughout the years that I've been playing early alphas, play tests, and demos of web3 games, I have never come across such a polished, presentable demo before. Dimensionals' demo is as professional as it gets, and could easily stand alongside trad gaming demos. So, while I was only able to get my hands on a brief build of the game, I think it gives enough of an insight into what we'll get with the full experience.

Dimensionals is described as a "free-to-own NFT RPG" with a comic book vibe. It's a hybrid game that feels like a mix between classic, turn-based JRPGs and roguelite deck builders like Slay the Spire. Players pick their roster of heroes, their skills, buffs for each, and items to carry in their backpacks, then go forth and do battle. The trailer for Dimensionals blasted onto the scene earlier this year and wowed the entirety of web3, hinting at loads of lore and an expansive world to discover. Developed by Mino Games, Dimensionals has long a forerunner for the web3 gaming space. Their demo acts as a solid introduction to their creative world.

Let's explore.

Comic Books With Good Taste:

Two things will immediately greet you upon starting the game: the vibrant characters and the upbeat music. And both are done extremely well.

The visuals of Dimensionals are crisp, clean, and distinct. In just a few interactions with characters, I can already see the unique art style each encompasses. The settings are layered, so you get depth to your battlegrounds, and the animations are smooth. There's a retro comic book art style that permeates through every aspect of the game, but it's not done in a cheesy, cliched way. It's genuine. The comic book panels that pop on screen every time a character talks or the graphite circles at the edges of the screen feel natural, not forced. And that makes everything come together in an organic, cohesive way.

And then we have the soundtrack. Which is, and I can't stress this enough, awesome. It's like a remastered Pokemon soundtrack but with attitude. It's like an SNES soundtrack but made by rock stars instead of nerds. It's bumping. I certainly enjoyed steamrolling through waves of enemies with great tunes to vibe with. After all, isn't killing bad guys to good music what video games are all about?

Tank, Healer, Rogue:

The gameplay within the Dimensionals' demo railroads players into a series of predetermined encounters. Players will get a roster of three starter characters, then they'll be dropped right into a tutorial of sorts. Can you make it all the way to the final boss? Can you beat the final boss? I can't.

Meet Celestrom, Shork, and Shadestrike, our starting roster of heroes. What I liked the most about these characters is they felt like real characters. They had dialogue unique to their personalities, and even their fighting styles were built around who they were at their core. 

So many games--especially in web3--give you rosters of heroes to play with and characters to control, but they always feel hollow. I don't connect with any of them. The heroes are expendable, used only to help me reach my goal, and the games seem to encourage that behavior. But the characters in Dimensionals had stories, desires, fears, and empathy. It didn't feel like I was using replaceable monster cards to win; it felt like I was with a team of allies. When Shadestrike went down, I was broken. Not my homie Shadestrike. 

There is potential for some serious strategy within Dimensionals, similar to the later levels in Slay the Spire. In the early levels, all you really need is to have Shork and hit the enemy as often as possible. Easy. You win.

But as levels progress, you find enemies with unique buffs that will catch you off guard. You'll meet enemies that debuff you to death and enemies with a health bar the size of the screen. And those different enemies force you to strategize, to find other ways of dealing damage aside from brute force. Suddenly, you must master the shield ability, or you'll die in the first wave. You can't forget the rage mechanic, or you'll wonder why that minion enemy just did almost 50 damage in a single attack. 

I found myself settling into my usual gaming habits once I figured out the more advanced mechanics. Timing your ability cooldowns and knowing when you're likely to get a critical hit makes all the difference in later waves. Buffing yourself with a shield and extra rage makes fights much easier, but when your enemies use those same abilities, battles can turn into prolonged affairs. Thankfully, poison is a powerful element in Dimensionals and helped me turn the tide in many battles. Always choose poison in Dimensionals.

Web3 Interactions:

There are two different NFTs to look out for if you want to dive into Dimensionals fully: Genesis Stones and Eves. Eves are... I actually don't know what Eves are. AI? Robots? Ghosts? They're cute little creatures that follow you around and give passive buffs to your heroes during battle. Anything from healing your heroes for 10 HP at the start of each battle to increasing the critical hit chance are possible passive buffs from Eve. Eves are classified in tiers from common to mythic, with the passive buffs getting better the higher the tier. Mythic tiers will give you extra damage, health, and mana, so they're bound to give you an edge over the competition.

Genesis Stones can be staked on the Dimensionals website in a custodial wallet to earn Eve minting privileges. You'll need to stake your Genesis Stone for at least 28 days before getting the ability to mint an Eve. The more Stones stakes, the more Eves you can mint. If you stake 10 stones, you'll get a bonus mythic tier Eve for free. 

I like that Eve NFTs have direct utility in-game. Too often, web3 studios will take the easy route with NFTs, making them skins or some other peripheral aspect of a game. Something to merely flex your status within the game. Not Dimensionals. Your NFTs directly let you play the game, and which assets you own will dictate your playstyle. Dimensionals is a game with web3 as an integral part of their build. It's a true web3 game.

Yo, it’s Raiden

On this one, I mainly want to show that sometimes you’ll try stuff & they won’t work

We tried game reviews & they got a little to no traction, so we stopped

kk, this is what you have to say: “You want to play, let’s play”

Just saying, I’ll be very very vocal against sybils, if you already have a pa ss, I suggest you do not try to sybil this one

Survey Says:

Score: 8/10

8 out of 10. Little deliberation is needed.

After running through the demo multiple times, I have only positive things to say. Okay, I actually have exactly two pieces of negative feedback, but they're so small that I hesitate to even bring them up. In the interest of fairness, however, I'll say I did feel some friction in between battles when selecting cards and items. Clicking on chests and the card selection screens brought all the momentum of my battles to a standstill. There's probably a more fluid, intuitive way to present cards to players between matches to keep the fire going. But at the same time, I understand the need to stop and strategize in between battles, so the friction might be unique to me.

All the details that Dimensionals gets correct come together to make a brilliant title. The minuscule things they could improve upon are just that, minuscule, and the excellent way every other part of this game was handled easily overshadows the bleak bits. The turn-based JRPG strategy, the synergizing of cards and skills, and the way I actually vibed with the characters make this game truly unique and give it a fighting chance in the wider world of video games.

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