'Moves Of the Diamond Hand' Early Access Impressions
Solo developer Cosmo D’s latest game, Moves of the Diamond Hand, launches into Early Access today on Steam. Having released some of the most original, surreal games (see Tales From Off-Peak City Vol. 1 and Betrayal at Club Low), I was curious about what his latest project has to offer and had the opportunity to try it out.
Moves of the Diamond Hand is set in the same universe as Cosmo D’s other games, although not directly related to his previous titles. It's a first-person RPG with dice-driven mechanics that puts you in the shoes of a future Circus X employee. You start in a train heading to a certain destination to take the gig. However, that path isn't as straightforward to get to as you might have thought.
Cosmo D’s latest game leans in more heavily into the tabletop RPG mechanic than his previous title, Betrayal at Club Low. If you’ve played the latter, you will have a good indication of what to expect in Moves of the Diamond Hand.
The dice-driven mechanic is paired with a first-person perspective, and it works well. Nearly every interaction involves dice throws, where success is determined by getting a tie or a larger number than the other side’s roll. You can reroll some of your throws, and you can acquire conditions that affect your skills. Equipable items can give you a boost and alter limitations that you are originally constrained to. You can retry some rolls or explore to find alternative paths as the game isn't lacking in such options, rewarding the inquisitive player. However, I do wish that failed dice rolls would also lead to branching paths, akin to Esoteric Ebb. Maybe it's something Cosmo D explores while working through the Early Access development.
Aside from the dice-driven mechanic, Moves of the Diamond Hand’s universe packs the unique flair that each Cosmo D game has come to offer. It has a similar surreal look and vibe, from character design to dialogue options, that add to the originality of the game. This is supplemented by a groovy jazz soundtrack that makes it a fun experience to engage with.
This peculiar universe also offers quite a lot to do. From pickpocketing NPCs to making pizzas while offering open-ended exploration, it is reminiscent of Cosmo D’s other games while building on them by offering new features.
Moves of the Diamond Hand’s Early Access version offers the full first two chapters of the game, which amounts to 10-12 hours of playtime (that’s actually larger than Cosmo D's combined back catalogue). A full release is planned for next year, and the Early Access roadmap indicates episodic updates to add new chapters. Cosmo D will be taking player feedback throughout the process, and it’s the first game from the developer that takes this route. The Steam page notes that this approach will allow player feedback to shape the systems of the game.
The Early Access version plays well, and it has the welcome feature of having controller support. However, I found that camera movement using the joystick feels a bit slow. In addition, some actions would get confused with a controller (such as when moving through tutorial text boxes). This is easily fixed by switching to mouse control, and will hopefully be ironed out ahead of the full release.
While I could overlook these technical hiccups, it was somewhat of a letdown to see that some dialogue options (and eventual branching paths) were not available in Early Access (yet). That’s one of the reasons pushing me to wait for the full release to really get into this game and experience all that it has to offer. It is set in such a unique universe, and the more involved dice-driven RPG mechanic makes for an even more engaging experience that I’d prefer experiencing the whole game through. That said, the limitations and technical hiccups I encountered are indicative of the Early Access state of the game and will likely be patched over the course of the roadmap.
It’s well worth keeping an eye out for Moves of the Diamond Hand’s development and eventual full release, as Cosmo D’s games are one of the most unique ones out there, and this one doesn’t seem like it will be any different.
