80
Griftlands’ middling, insubstantial story and dull dialogues draw attention away from the game’s undeniable strengths: excellent negotiation mechanics and a pretty good combat system. [09/2021, p.42]
80
Absorbing. [Issue#361, p.112]
85
I really like how the deck-building mechanics reflect the dispositions of the different characters. You can see this in both combat and negotiation; Sal is pretty strong all around, which makes them a good choice for your first couple of runs. Rook flips a coin every now and then during negotiation that can produce a powerful boost. Smith builds up a stockpile of empty bottles while in combat which they sometimes hurl at their opponents. The result is a wonderful sense of ludonarrative consonance.
8
A really nice rogue lite/ deck builder which will require you to master its mechanics to overcome its 3 campaigns. The speed options are welcome regarding the number of retries necessary. The story is quite flat but the choice mechanics makes it a nice slice of life somehow and attenuates the repetitivity of the whole. For a 1€ sale on Steam, a little banger given you like the genre
3
"Negotiation battled" are a neat concept, but it kinda falls flat. The main problem is that actual battles are what really matter in the end, and by negotiating you skip battles, and thus don't get to improve your battle cards. So you'll be playing a diplomatic playthrough, get into an unavoidable battle, and get curbstomped by ultra overpowered enemies with no chance to retry and lose hours of work.
9
Very fun game. Not as challenging as Slay the Spire but still Will scratch the itch.
Griftlands
Released On:
Jun 1, 2021
Metascore
Generally Favorable
84
User score
Mixed or Average
7.3
My Score
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Metascore
Generally Favorable
100% Positive
8 Reviews
8 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Jun 13, 2021
90
This ingenious blend of RPG mechanics, visual novel-style storytelling, and deck-building roguelike gameplay is a beautiful recipe for a kind of game I never knew I wanted. Even though I’ve already spent the past week getting through each of Griftlands’ campaigns multiple times, I’m still looking forward to my next run – and the run after that. Campaigns are short and challenging, making them highly replayable and memorable adventures that reward your time. It’s kinda absurd that such an eclectic group of mechanics work together in such harmony, but once you’re bitten by their charms it’s quite hard to put Griftlands down.
Jun 11, 2021
90
Griftlands does what it sets out to do, offering a wholly compelling and unique take on its genre influences. It's yet another excellent entry into roguelike deckbuilding experiences and is immediately memorable thanks to its reliance on world-building and character depth. Even better, the story of Griftlands is a fun jaunt through a sci-fi world that is buoyed by an even more exciting card game. Those who loved Hades, Slay the Spire, or similar games will find just as much to love in Griftlands.
User score
Mixed or Average
60% Positive
42 Ratings
42 Ratings
27% Mixed
19 Ratings
19 Ratings
13% Negative
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
Jun 12, 2022
10
Phenomenal art style and world building combined with great deckbuilding and roguelight mechanics. Here is hoping for future DLC
Jan 10, 2022
10
Dumb players give low votes because they can't understand the rules of the game. As if one could blame chess because he isn't able to play properly... this is silly As in pure Klei tradition (Don't Starve & Oxygen not included) this game Griftland is a shining gem. Even if I am not a fan of deck games, this one was able to entrap me within its innovative and deep mechanics The part of negotiaion is completely refreshing for me and the flavour of the game is really nice, as the story background, very nice. I also love the graphics, but this is of secondary importance. Recommended!
Jun 7, 2021
86
Griftlands is an atypical deckbuilding roguelite with an addictive gameplay formula and a top notch narrative. I can see myself playing this game for a very long time while trying to master everyone of its aspects.
Sep 1, 2021
80
Griftlands’ middling, insubstantial story and dull dialogues draw attention away from the game’s undeniable strengths: excellent negotiation mechanics and a pretty good combat system. [09/2021, p.42]
Jul 7, 2021
80
Griftlands is the new champion in the deck-building roguelike games arena, thanks to its original gameplay mechanics and deep/entertaining narrative nature.
Jun 22, 2021
80
Shortcomings aside, Griftlands is another slice of low-key brilliance from developers Klei. Is there a genre they can't do? The balance of narrative and deck-building made for a much more engaging experience than I often have with card-based titles, even if it feels like more could be done to connect those systems and bolster the storytelling. Still, I'm going to remember my adventures with Sal and the little moments of friendship and betrayal throughout each run. I like playing as a grifter; it ain't much but it's a living.
Aug 9, 2021
10
Best deck building game I played so far !
The replayability is there. There is only 3 characters/stories but I keep cycling through them and its really enjoyable
Jul 3, 2021
7
A good deck builder needs good variety. This is where Griftlands falls short, core gameplay is simply unsatisfying long term and gets stale too quickly. Slay the Spire or Monster Train are much more engaging in this element. The main thing Griftlands does get right is the story elements. The heists are and jobs are rather engaging and there is some variety that makes you want to do at least one more run. But once I had the perfect genocide and pacifist runs, I lost all interest in rerunning the game.
Aug 31, 2021
5
My biggest problem is that it's not clear what all cards do. For someone new to this kind of game I was utterly lost and just lost any motivation to keep playing when a lot of things aren't explained.
Feb 17, 2023
4
It was okay. The fight system was very unique. But the enemies were way too overpowered making the game extremely unfair. The story was okay. The main plotline made sense. The rest of it did not. The graphics were okay. Overall, skip it unless you're really into the genre of visual novels and dark-souls kind of tough fights but in a different mechanic with turn-based manner.
Mar 27, 2024
3
"Negotiation battled" are a neat concept, but it kinda falls flat. The main problem is that actual battles are what really matter in the end, and by negotiating you skip battles, and thus don't get to improve your battle cards. So you'll be playing a diplomatic playthrough, get into an unavoidable battle, and get curbstomped by ultra overpowered enemies with no chance to retry and lose hours of work.
