By Aimee Rogers 
Most roguelites ask players to defeat monsters, demons, or whatever other horrors happen to be standing in their way. Cheat Death asks them to sit down across from the Grim Reaper and play a game of dice poker instead.
It’s an immediately memorable premise. Every encounter revolves around building poker hands using dice rolls, with combinations such as pairs, straights, and full houses determining how much damage you deal or how much health you recover. The rules are simple enough to understand within minutes, but mastering them is another matter entirely.
That’s because every roll comes with a decision. Do you lock in a decent hand and play it safe? Or do you push your luck in search of something stronger?
The further you chase the perfect outcome, the greater the risk of walking away with nothing. Like the best roguelites, Cheat Death seems determined to make players responsible for both their greatest victories and their most painful mistakes.
The roguelite systems build on that foundation. As runs progress, players unlock cursed perks that can dramatically alter the way they approach each encounter. One run could encourage aggressive risk-taking, while the next rewards a more cautious approach focused on survival.
Steven Andrew