#GRIFTLANDS REVIEWS UPGRADE#

The tutorials are strictly one-and-done fare that breeze through explanations and offer zero follow-up once we’re actually playing, and it doesn’t help that the cluttered interface was clearly designed for a point-and-click input and suffered greatly during its transition to a console. Negotiations have their own deck separate from the one for physical attacks, as well as a dedicated health bar called “resolve.” It’s almost like we’re playing two different games at once, and frankly, Griftlands could do a better job of teaching it. Participants can focus on their opponents’ secondary arguments to chip away at their defenses, but every turn not spent attacking the main target is more time that the negotiation goes on. The difference with negotiations is that we’re continually adding new, secondary arguments into the mix that basically function as extra party members, sporting their own health bars and either attacking every round or offering buffs.

Verbal sparring matches in Griftlands follow many of the same rules as battles, except that instead of physically attacking our opponents, we’re damaging their primary argument. The other, more unique system is negotiation. If someone’s going to hit me for four points of damage, I’ll see it coming and plan accordingly based on what I have in my hand. There’s obviously an element of chance, since players are limited to whichever cards they draw in a particular turn, but Griftlands borrows the recent trend of enemies broadcasting their attacks one move in advance, giving players the chance to prepare. One of them is basic, turn-based physical combat, which should feel instantly familiar to anyone who’s played a deckbuilder before. The player’s vocabulary in battle is determined by their deck, and they’ll have numerous opportunities throughout a campaign to obtain more cards, while a permanent level-up system will introduce new drops as experience is accumulated over multiple runs.Īs mentioned, one of the defining gimmicks of Griftlands is that it features two different battle systems. Set in the sort of sci-fi universe that has its own made-up swear words, Griftlands focuses on one of three playable space mercenaries, each taking random jobs – bounties, protection gigs, and so on – while working up to a bigger and more personal hit. It’s a bigger and messier game, but every bit as rewarding once players are on its wavelength.

#GRIFTLANDS REVIEWS UPGRADE#

But whereas Slay the Spire is an exercise in laser focus, Griftlands is a far more ambitious project, offering two different battle systems, a more expansive upgrade tree, and a far greater commitment to its narrative. Like most roguelike deckbuilders, Griftlands was fated to draw parallels to Slay the Spire from the moment it was conceived, and in this particular case the comparison isn’t unfounded – the two games share a lot of DNA. WTF The alien dialect is actionably similar to Twi’leki. LOW The cluttered interface, especially on Switch. HIGH Reducing a character’s morale via negotiation, then going in for the kill.

Griftlands reviews