Dead Finger Dice Review | Rogue-Like Poker Horror by Rocket Adrift & Black Lantern Collective

Dead Finger Dice from Rocket Adrift Games and Black Lantern Collective is one of the most strikingly original rogue-likes to emerge from the indie scene.

Combining poker mechanics, body horror, and class satire, the game traps you aboard The Avarice, a sprawling luxury mega yacht owned by bloodthirsty demon billionaires. Your only way out? Win their twisted underground poker dice tournament—or die trying.

At its core, Dead Finger Dice is a brutal reimagining of poker dice. You roll five dice to form the highest possible poker hand, with three re-rolls per round. The rules are simple, but the stakes couldn’t be higher: every bet costs a finger. Lose too many hands, and you lose more than the game—your character is thrown overboard, replaced by another desperate soul forced to continue the deadly cycle.

The game’s rogue-like design ensures that each attempt feels distinct. Between rounds, you can stash resources in the hidden compartment of your cell to prepare for future runs. Victory grants you not just survival but grisly trophies—fingers and materials you can use to craft demonic dice upgrades. These unlock “charms” and “curses,” special abilities that twist the odds in your favor and add layers of strategy to each match.

Beneath its grim humor lies a biting social commentary. Dead Finger Dice revels in its class-conscious themes, pitting the powerless against grotesque, immortal elites who view human suffering as sport. The game’s aesthetic—a grimy 1-bit art style paired with a haunting original soundtrack—amplifies its unsettling tone and makes every roll of the dice feel heavy with consequence.

There’s also an intriguing meta layer: players can unlock multiple endings by decoding a hidden codex. Clues to the truth are scattered across emails and within your prison cell, adding a sense of mystery and discovery that extends beyond the poker table.

With five menacing bosses, a “revolutionary” body count, and an unforgettable sense of atmosphere, Dead Finger Dice stands out as a rogue-like experience unlike anything else. Every decision—every roll, every bet—comes with a cost. Its gameplay is as strategic as it is savage, and its message hits as hard as its losses.

For fans of dark, experimental indie games, Dead Finger Dice is a bold gamble worth taking.