Griftlands

Being a fan of Don't Starve and some popular deck builders, I was hoping for a game that was more polished with better balance and deeper gameplay dynamics, synergies and everything else that makes card games like Slay the Spire exciting and challenging to play. Griftlands was fun for a few runs and the narrative story arc pushed me to keep playing to completion but I stopped playing soon after.

On some level, the game feels unfinished and abandoned.

Similar to Slay the Spire, but more story driven and less variety.

It did take me a couple tries to get into the game. I came into this hoping for more Slay the Spire, but Griftlands is not that. The route is very structured for story sake, with branching events that ends up at the same endpoint.

I eventually did get into the game and it's great. It has it's own twist in card battler. There's social and combat decks. The decks do have like 2 options to build it. There are 3 characters with their own deck and story. It does lack the replay ability as Slay the Spire, but it's still an enjoyable game.

As for some of the cons, story and game play are hard to get into in the beginning. I believe the other characters are locked until you finish the first character's story, so you have a complete run first even if you don't like the character. It was very hard in the beginning to win. Also, no DLCs. This game could've really used any add-on. Not much replay value since getting crazy synergies are hard to achieve, so you're basically doing the same thing over and over.

I can't really recommend this game. I was very excited when Klei announced Griftlands many years ago. The idea looked really cool. It was delayed and took a long time to finally release. I think at one point the genre/direction totally changed too. When it came out as a deckbuilder I was disappointed. It wasn't what I was initially expecting. So I never ended up getting it. I do really enjoy deck builders (Slay the Spire, Monster Train, Balatro). Because of this I eventually picked this up on sale. I kind of regret it. There are some good things, and some not so great things.

The main problem with Griftlands

You might see some people saying "lots of replayability" and other's saying "no replayability." I think I understand the differences people have here. The game technically has replayability, but imo I'm not sure why you'd want to. Griftlands claim to fame imo is it's greatest weekend. That being the story.

The story is what holds this game back in several ways. The stories are fairly shallow/generic. At this point I have not even started the story of the third character because I have no interest. The story technically has branching paths, but only 2 in each case. After you play through those (or even just one path) the story gets in the way of the actual game. So much of the mouse clicking becomes skipping over the story. Yes, there is a setting to "skip text," but even this is insufficient. You still have to click a bunch just to get back into the game. For example: click to exit out of story text, click to exit building, click new location on map, click person in new location, click to end text or start encounter. That's 5+ extra clicks that really have nothing to do with the game. And you do this in-between every single battle. In other deck builders like Slay the Spire every single click is important and directly impacts your game. It puts you on the edge of your seat and makes the game intense. In Griftlands all of that is removed because the story and navigation get in the way. So even though the game has replayablity (in the form of character upgrades, somewhat branching paths, and game modifiers) I have no desire to replay it because of the previously mentioned reasons. It's just slow paced.

Other pros/cons

• The idea of having two decks is really cool. The only main issue I have with the negotiation deck is that's it's a bit confusing. This is largely because of how abstract it is — the keywords they've chosen don't help this either.
  
• I wish your pets could do more. If I remember correctly your pet can only be upgraded once (in a pretty generic way). I was really hoping there was a bunch of different ways you could upgrade your pets. Because of this limitation they're not a useful as they could be.
  
• As is expected from Klei the gameplay is very polished. I didn't find any bugs or problems while playing
  
[*]As I said above, I didn't even try the third character. It's been a while since I've played this game and don't find it drawing me back at all like other deck builders do. It just doesn't have that intense fast pace deck builder feel that I look for. I'm not sure how true the statement "every decision is important" actually is in this game like it is with other deckbuilders.

Roguelike not the main mode

Great roguelike (dual) deckbuilder. You have to deckbuild both a negotiation deck and a battle deck at the same time (as in Tainted Grail, the board game). There are 2 very well defined ways to build each deck though, so replayability is kind of low after playing a character twice. Meta progression is also incredibly slow and not meaningful.

The stories for the 3 protagonists and the worldbuilding are fun and original. The game is hard, and in my first game I misplayed a hand on the final boss and lost a 8-hour run to this, so be aware that runs are long are difficult throughout.

game good, would play

Fantastic game!

skill issue here. I find this game extremely complicated. Just the fact you get to have two separate decks to build and improve with totally different mechanics makes this game so hard to get into. And it seems to me it's not worth the time investment until I get comfortable and start enjoying the game.

Tons of fun the whole time. Game can get tough, but it is very satisfying beating a hard scenario or going far in a open run. Art style is fun and unique and the game play variety adds a lot of spice to the game. All in all tons of fun and worth the purchase 8/10

A great take on the card building genre, with a focus on roleplaying, world, and story. 3 different characters with different stories, quests, and gameplay mechanics. I like the art, the character dialogue, and choosing different paths which affect both story and card mechanics.
I'm not so sure about the roguelike aspect of this. I feel there is as much replayability pursuing the different story paths as there is rising up the ascention/prestige difficulties, both of which pale compared to the strength of the game: the story and discovery of mechanics of each character.

I love this game, I need to put more time into it. In my opinion it's my favorite deckbuilder roguelike since Slay the Spire came out. The option to build your social deck and your combat deck makes this game very unique in my opinion. That and the stories are pretty nice.

I just realized that I've played this game for more than 5 hours in a day.

As a seasoned deckbuilder player, this game is a wonderful breath of fresh air. This game is narrative driven with a whole host of well designed characters. Having two distinct play styles, battles or negotiation keeps things interesting. I get immense satisfaction out of destroying my opponents arguments, and seeing the consequences of your actions will keep me coming back for more. Just a couple days into my first run and I am already excited to try out the additional characters and daily run mode. I really hope the developers plan for DLC because they have really crafted a universe worth exploring deeper.

Amazing play on the rougelite card game! The characters are incredible diverse in their play mechanics. ( / class flavoring, if you're a TTRPG person) The coolest part of the game? You have both diplomatic and combat based interactions - there's one deck for combat, and a separate one for narrative interactions where you can employ various techniques. You can choose to balance between the two, or focus heavily on one and attempt to fully complete the game in that manner. It's a marvelous play on the Slay the Spire gameplay style (rougelite deck-builder), while exploring more gruff and sharp aesthetic.

Griftlands is terrific at creating a unique and slick battle system that gives you a considerable sense of control - packed with plenty of content, I'm still having a blast with this game after playing it off-and-on since it came out. Despite its seemingly-complicated system, the game is surprisingly easy to learn and even after I haven't played for a while, when I pick it back up I get into it again right away - partially thanks to its great UI. In other words, I can highly recommend the game.

I already liked Rogue-likes, but this game made me realize that i specifically LOVE Deckbuilder Rogue-likes. I'd recommend as an entry point for people new to Roguelikes; not only is it flashy and have a surprisingly strong setting, but it leans in hard to giving you choices on how to get through the week; Obviously you use the hand you've been dealt, but its usually possible to hire goons to fight for you, juice up on consumables, or just run away.
I dont have a lot of criticisms, but i will note that casual runs usually take me 5 hours, and Negotiation combats tend to spike in difficulty faster than you can compensate. you can hire a goon to fight for you, but you cant hire a poet to argue for a paybump on your behalf.

A brilliant roleplaying deck building rougelike game.
You can live through a character's story while building them like you want, akin to an RPG. Sometimes I just start up a random campaign and am still amazed at the quality of dialogue and random event generation.
You can also just play a brawl, which is the same game but with all the story, and dialogue cut out, with random generated encounters and missions.
The deck crafting is quite satisfying and fun since you can craft many different approaches to fighting and arguing, and usually the game's randomness directs you into a new build you never tried before.
All in all, a great game to play through for the brilliant story and its world, and then later a great game to keep on playing with.
Sometimes I describe it to my girlfriend as my generation's version of Solitaire.

Quite fun story heavy roguelike. Not much more to say, just cool having the option to fight through "dialogue" options. This game is a solid representation of the genre.

Nice game :)

Excellent CCG. Balance can be sometimes a bit odd as it wildly depends on your deck and character.
For example in my experience Sal felt balanced overall, Rook had a VERY hard time doing any negotiation in Brawl mode, while Smith almost instantly won every negotiation (and also had an easy time in battles).

The dialogues are nice, the card mechanics are nice, lots of different types of mechanics combinations and chains you can utilize, negotiation and battle ideas are awesome.

Only drawback really is the lack of (random or not) "events" that happen in between your regular quests and story line. There are very few and they are very linear/predictable.

I beat the game as Sal and I have to say the game is both lackluster and overwhelming, somehow.

The game is extremely complicated with high time investment into runs. It is extremely punishing when you inevitably fuck up, because you have no idea whats going on.

The dual deckbuilding is a meme. Negotiating is 100% optional, as is building its deck up. Combat is MANDATORY, as is building up your combat deck.

"Muh choices matter" marketing is just straight bullshit.

As good as STS, but in a different way

Great art, characters, world-building.
Lots of moving pieces, which could be a pro or a con.

This is a great game and once you beat the game once and unlock the brawl mode it gets way better. In fact personally up until then it was a 8/10 must buy game but after that id slide it up to a 9.5/10. It's a really complete game

This is one of those games I can always come back to and enjoy, after hundreds of hours of play.
The negotiation mechanics are genius.
And personally, I especially like that the course of the game involves morality-based decisions, so you can be as righteous or nefarious as you like.
I kind of wish that there was a sequel or reasonably priced DLC.

Excellent Roguelite card battler/ deck builder. I won't do a full review or anything, but it has...

3 interesting protagonists with their own story and location, 2 different battle types, loads of cards and upgrade options, long-term upgrades outside of runs, costumes etc.

Well worth the price tag in terms of re-playability.

This is one of the highest-quality games I've ever played.

The game is basically a deckbuilding, card battling roguelite. There are two types of card battles, each of which uses a different deck. The first type are combat-style battles that are almost exactly as in Slay the Spire (re-skinned, of course). The other kind of card battle is for negotiations, and it uses a different deck. Both types of battles are fun, are very well designed, and are compelling. But these make up only half the gameplay.

Another quarter of gameplay is having conversations with NPCs as in an RPG. The player's choices in these dialogues result in different rewards or consequences that enrich the risk/reward mechanic and also make the game way more engaging and playful.

The last (and smallest?) quarter of gameplay is deciding where to go when, buying/destroying cards or pets from merchants, and making allies or enemies.

If you liked Slay the Spire, I challenge you to try this game. Although I've only played a few hours of Slay the Spire so far, I think this is an improvement in just about every way. It's deeper, more interactive, has much better graphics and music, supports more play styles, has more types of "battle", and so on.

I have yet to find any bugs.

Great game. Very cool card system. Just wish they'd make some DLC's for it!!! Cool world, cool story.

Simple and fun

Griftlands' advertising puts a lot of weight on the claim that "Decisions Matter". But do they really? In the first quest, whether or not you negotiate at every opportunity or murder every living thing in sight, the boss battles are all fights. Sure, negotiations can help you in those fights, but if you've built your character as a shrewd diplomat ignoring battles then you're just going to get walloped. Similarly, the choice to build you deck as either a diplomacy or a hostility deck is a binary choice that appears to have no real narrative consequence and only minor mechanical consequence. Unlike other deckbuilders such as Slay the Spire, where choosing whether or not to add a card to your deck is a difficult choice due to the complex synergies at play, in Griftlands the choice is simply reduced to fitting into one of two entirely distinct strategies. Possibly this is improved on in the later characters, but I didn't bother continuing with them. Ultimately then this game is unsatisfying and dull.

Griftlands is a standout gem in the world of strategy and roguelike games. The writing in the campaign is nothing short of brilliant, with dialogue that brings the characters and world to life. Each interaction feels authentic and contributes to the rich tapestry of the story.

One of the game's most intriguing mechanics is the card system, which involves building two separate decks: one for negotiation and one for combat. This dual-deck system adds a layer of strategic depth, allowing players to navigate the game's challenges in multiple ways. The negotiation deck, in particular, shines as it enables players to resolve conflicts and persuade others with cunning and wit.

However, while the card mechanics are innovative, the viability of combat leaves something to be desired. Choosing to engage in battles often comes with significant consequences, which can sometimes make combat feel like a less appealing option compared to negotiation. This aspect could benefit from some balancing to make combat a more rewarding and viable choice.

Despite this, Griftlands is a captivating experience that masterfully blends storytelling and strategy. Its unique mechanics and compelling narrative make it a must-play for fans of the genre.

A good, fun, simple yet complex game that would've been made great by a little extra content.

Just fell flat for me. The story was uninteresting

Enjoyable card game! 8/10

great replayability, very balanced, nice story and possibilities

An interesting concept having two different decks, one for negotiating and one for battle. The option of being able to negotiate to make battles easier through getting allies or reducing enemies, or just jump straight into the fight, is neat mechanic. Story was decent, though I prefer the Brawl game mode as it is closer to a Slay the Spire format. Overall, great game.

There are a lot of roguelike deckbuilders out there. This one is polished and has the right quirks to set it apart instead of just playing slay the spire again.

Was great! Highly recommend.

good

YES

Great setting and story, characters and humour. Can be pretty hard but fortunately you can sort of upgrade between and during runs to make the game overall easier over time. Enjoyed it a lot, I hope they make more stuff in this universe!

This is better than Slay the Spire in my opinion, and I love Slay the Spire. It's basically two card games plus a role-playing game in one game. I put over 500 hours into this on PlayStation 5 and just got a PC and got it here too. There are three characters/stories, and they just get better as you progress. The world building is deep, and the stories are impressively well written. There are a few scripted encounters in each story, but there are also random events so no two stories play out exactly the same. After a battle or negotiation there is a draft where you get to pick one of three random cards for your deck, so there is deck-building too. The characters you encounter are also not always the same, and so you can get different bonuses by making them love you (or different disadvantages from them hating you.) This makes the game highly replayable. Where the game failed was its marketing! I'd actually never heard of it until I saw someone on Facebook ask: What are your 10 favorite games of all time? And someone had Griftlands in their answer, and I was like "WTF is that? Never heard of it." I'm glad I asked.

not good, looks as if it may be interesting but unlike other deckbuilders this one will just drop difficulty on you all of a sudden.
you'll move from one battle to the next and the damage will go from 6 or 7 to totalling up to 20 per turn. whilst you can do a maximum of 4-6 in defense.
also the story is just 'i need revenge' and that's about it.

One of the best rougelikes I have played to date.
Don't let the time fool ya. I have an extra 100 hours I played offline of this. Beautifuly made. Choices you make matter. Plenty of replayability and every character is unique. Love it and want more like it

I really like the story elements blended with the roguelike deck builder. Its fun and makes it less of a tired formula. I think the relationship system is brilliant and really makes you feel like you are role playing while being so lightweight. I don't love the two deck system, having to keep two decks in your head is kind of exhausting. Its like playing two different runs of Slay the Spire at the same time and switch which run you are playing every battle or two. I thought the game was well balanced, i did complete my first run, but there were a couple of very close calls. The sign of a good deckbuilder is that you get to a point where you feel like youve broken the game but it ends up being just enough to win, and they nailed that.

This weird fake alien language audio playing for every dialogue advancement is unnecessary and overwhelming for an autistic like me. The only option to disable it is to mute ALL dialogue volume, this is including the narrator. I had to close the game before I could even interact with the first bit of game play.

definitely my favorite roguelike ever. it depresses me that this isnt one of klei's breadwinners, it seems we wont be getting any more griftlands for a long time, if ever. even still, whats here will stay with me forever.

Such a fun game! I put almost 200h in this game and odds are I'll eventually pick it up again.

The dual Combat/Negotiation mechanic is very cool and the decks of each character do wonder to portray the skills and attitude of the characters; the attitude of NPCs altering your gameplay is an interesting twist on karma mechanics, you can either run for mayor and be the most popular grifter in the land or make enemies wherever you go (and later unmaking them if they give you half a chance, if you catch my drift). Every character has their own gritty, pulpy story to tell, and two ways to reach their ultimate goal, and the worldbuilding is so quirky and fun even when at its most merciless, allowing you to understand enough of the context without bogging you down with exposition.

All in all, one of the greatest examples of the genre imho, deffo recommend!

Took a few runs initially to get my head around all the keywords and the way the negotiation system worked but after like 30 mins - 1hr it all made sense and I got hooked! Really nice flow to the gameplay and you can skip through the dialogue if youre not too interested in the story and just want to focus on the card mechanics if you want to. (but I ended up being interested in each characters stories anyway)

Cant say yet what long term replayability looks like but I've found the 2 characters stories ive completed so far very enjoyable.

GOAT for a reason