Griftlands

 PC
User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 50 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 29 out of 50
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 50
  3. Negative: 8 out of 50

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  1. Welkinz
    Jun 13, 2021
    8
    It is a good combination of deck building and rpg games. Sal is the easiest character, so make sense to make her the first chapter of the game. Rook is probably the most difficult charater.
  2. Technocat
    Aug 9, 2021
    9
    Griftlands is a great deckbuilder with an interesting setting, entertaining story, and innovative way of handling the "combat vs social encounter" dilemma most RPG fans find themselves in. For those people who enjoy "Slay the Spire" but are looking for more plot in their games.
  3. Antibomb
    Jun 12, 2021
    9
    Even though the main plot is the same, every run is a new adventure and not only a chance to tackle the same enemies in different ways. The card battles are nuanced, the replayability almost endless and both story and style is well made.
  4. sumho9
    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
  5. MortalisUmbra
    Jun 15, 2021
    10
    This one and Trial of Fire are the best deck builder roguelike games I ever played...
  6. Kdd97
    Jun 19, 2021
    9
    A seriously complex and interesting game. Each playthrough takes between 2-4 hours (depending on how much side content you decide to do), and each of the 3 characters has easily 2-3 playthroughs worth of differentiated storyline to choose from. The game is well written and fun to play once you get the hang of it.

    Theres a fairly steep learning curve; I don't think I would recommend the    A seriously complex and interesting game. Each playthrough takes between 2-4 hours (depending on how much side content you decide to do), and each of the 3 characters has easily 2-3 playthroughs worth of differentiated storyline to choose from. The game is well written and fun to play once you get the hang of it.

    Theres a fairly steep learning curve; I don't think I would recommend the game for someone who hadn't played something more simplistic like Slay The Spire (not that the games are that similar, but if this is your first deck builder you may find yourself a bit lost early on).    … Expand
  7. Dirc
    Jul 31, 2021
    10
    Fantastic narrative driven deckbuilder RPG with roguelike elements. Very smoothe and polished. Great art and character design. Very good writing. Love this game!
  8. Skuxoftheday
    Aug 8, 2021
    10
    Awesome unique card builder with heaps of character development. I'm not a fan of card builders but I love this game.
  9. salrooksmith
    Aug 9, 2021
    8
    very good deckbuilder roguelite with just enough intriguing gameplay to make you feel you playing one more run. Story had trouble with pacing but not requiring understanding to advance. Can try out different builds each equally viable with each run
  10. Froothe
    Aug 19, 2021
    9
    This game is amazing! I recently discovered it through a friend and I've been playing it almost everyday since. I've put so much time into Slay the Spire (StS) which is a giveaway for how much I love Rogue-like deckbuilding games and this one is exactly that, but then times two, because you are actually building 2 decks in this game. Different, or lets say more than in StS, you really getThis game is amazing! I recently discovered it through a friend and I've been playing it almost everyday since. I've put so much time into Slay the Spire (StS) which is a giveaway for how much I love Rogue-like deckbuilding games and this one is exactly that, but then times two, because you are actually building 2 decks in this game. Different, or lets say more than in StS, you really get the feeling that you take your character through a story in this game, which makes winning or losing that much better or worse in my opinion, because you've actually spend way more time on a run. I would definitely recommend to check this one out!… Expand
  11. Afghani
    Jun 7, 2021
    10
    One of the best, maybe even THE best, deck building game I have ever played. Basic cards and mechanics are very similar to Slay the Spire, but there is a lot of originality in gameplay (i.e. two separate decks build at once instead of just one) and card abilities/synergies. Aside of that graphics are gorgeous (if you are familiar with Klei's art style you will feel like home here, itOne of the best, maybe even THE best, deck building game I have ever played. Basic cards and mechanics are very similar to Slay the Spire, but there is a lot of originality in gameplay (i.e. two separate decks build at once instead of just one) and card abilities/synergies. Aside of that graphics are gorgeous (if you are familiar with Klei's art style you will feel like home here, it especially resembles comic-like feel of Invisible Inc.), story is very good (as for card game, of course) and whole game is so addictive - OH MY GOD! Must play if you fancy deck builders and/or other Klei's game. If none of the above - feel free to subtract 2 points from my score. Either way - very good game!… Expand
  12. TomasLacerda
    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.
  13. fivfiv
    Aug 7, 2021
    0
    Not impressive... another deck builder game.
    Maybe the visual can be some highlight
  14. PapaJustifyTV
    Jun 6, 2022
    0
    Russian nazi language is there, but no Ukrainian. 0 from me. I'm so tired of this...
  15. Oshiri_Maeda
    Jun 10, 2021
    5
    I'm not a deck building fan, however Slay the Spire was somewhat fun and this game feels like a confusing mediocrity.
  16. CompleteIdiot
    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 atA 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.… Expand
  17. mugen_is_here
    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.
  18. Gamer2077
    May 27, 2022
    3
    Appalling experience and very overrated game defines Griftlands for me. The stories are rather uninspiring, short to enjoy them and too long for the type of gameplay. The game is repetitive and very slow.

    The cards offer no enjoyable synergies nor mechanics, poorly explained and unnecessarily complicated. All classes do pretty much the same things just cards are reworded. Negotiation    Appalling experience and very overrated game defines Griftlands for me. The stories are rather uninspiring, short to enjoy them and too long for the type of gameplay. The game is repetitive and very slow.

    The cards offer no enjoyable synergies nor mechanics, poorly explained and unnecessarily complicated. All classes do pretty much the same things just cards are reworded.

    Negotiation battles are original but don´t add that much value to the overall experience and it´s hard to fully understand what is going on. These just drag the gameplay.

    Variety of monsters and graphics are about right. Unfortunately, this game looks good but all the mechanics feel very bland, it lacks depth.    … Expand
  19. TeutBusnet
    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    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!    … Expand
  20. hardkot
    Oct 8, 2022
    8
    Deck Building Gem

    Visual (8/10) I like general sci fy design and drawing characters, but card design a bit average, for example in battle deck you can find a lot of card with same dagger, also after upgrading cards they will have same picture and same design, so you need to double check description, for card game is a minus. Also music is average and almost don't change in different    Deck Building Gem

    Visual (8/10) I like general sci fy design and drawing characters, but card design a bit average, for example in battle deck you can find a lot of card with same dagger, also after upgrading cards they will have same picture and same design, so you need to double check description, for card game is a minus. Also music is average and almost don't change in different locations. Interface is very important in card games. So my first impression was - emm another one messy over headed interface, but after some games I can say that it's very helpful, you just need to get used yo it.

    Gameplay (8/10) Gameplay is very addictive because you constantly upgrade your perks, cards, get new one and you can check different playstyles through one party. Great Idea to have more playable characters with different styles and story missions. On the other hand not so many perks are really unique and main strategy is pretty straightforward.

    Story (7/10) Story is pretty average, but I really like characters. And the fact that to know full picture you need to play this game more than one time. I think that all sci-fi lovers can fnd some references to different universes.

    So all in all, I like this game and still have it installed on my PC, so I can play it time to time. I definitely can recommend this game to everyone, neither you are big fan of card game, or just want to start your journey.    … Expand
  21. RumbleBelly
    Jun 12, 2022
    10
    Phenomenal art style and world building combined with great deckbuilding and roguelight mechanics. Here is hoping for future DLC

Awards & Rankings

26
#26 Best PC Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
84

Generally favorable reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 8
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 8
  3. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. CD-Action
    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]
  2. Edge Magazine
    Jul 16, 2021
    80
    Absorbing. [Issue#361, p.112]
  3. The Indie Game Website
    Jul 9, 2021
    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.
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