84
CRITIK
Griftlands is a deck-building rogue-like where you fight and negotiate your way through a broken-down sci-fi world. Every decision is important, be it the jobs you take, the friends you make, or the cards you collect. Death comes quickly, but each play offers new situations and strategies to explore. Play as Sal, Rook, or Smith. Three unique character campaigns with their own specialized decks, abilities and maps to explore. Sal is an adventurer out for profit and revenge. Rook is an aging spy working his own agenda. Smith is an idle loafer who might just save the world. Each playable character's story takes place in a unique environment, with different factions and locations to explore and exploit.
Game analysis
Critik Scorecard
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Reviews
18 reviews found90
IGN
Jun 13, 2021
Summary and quote unavailable.
90
Screen Rant
Jun 11, 2021
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. Next: Backbone Review: A Must Play Post-Noir Adventure Griftlands is available now on PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
88
Game Informer
Jul 5, 2021
Griftlands is an ambitious package. Not only does it combine two different compelling deck building systems into one game, but it’s attempt at relationship building feels like a small-scale version of what I loved about Mass Effect. Best of all, it pulls it off. Griftlands leverages the strengths of card-based roguelikes, delivering a different experience with each adventure, providing various deck archetypes for each playable character, and every in-game day brings new objectives to keep the experience fresh. The Griftlands may be an unforgiving, harsh place to live, but it’s a world I’d like to keep visiting.
86
The Games Machine
Jun 7, 2021
Summary and quote unavailable.
85
GameCritics
Jul 26, 2021
Griftlands’ successful experiments in branching narrative, combined with a deckbuilding system that ranks among the genre’s richest, make it one of my favorite roguelikes to date. Whether I’d recommend it on Switch, however, is another matter. Roguelikes sing on handhelds, but anyone opting to experience Griftlands on Nintendo’s hardware is setting themselves up for a massive learning curve that may turn prospective players off. One way or another, though, Griftlands is a title that deserves every roguelike fan’s attention. Disclosures: This game is developed and published by Klei Entertainment.
85
The Indie Game Website
Jul 9, 2021
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. The artwork in Griftlands can only be described as gorgeous, even if some animations are stiff and others are used too many times, but the most important point is that it picks up on the overall theme of exploitation.
85
Xbox Tavern
Jun 21, 2021
A tightly written, well thought out card building game makes Griftlands one of the best in its genre. However, the starting hours need to be pushed through to grasp its complexity.Become a Patron! This game was reviewed based on Xbox One review code, using an Xbox One console.
80
Edge Magazine
Jul 16, 2021
Summary and quote unavailable.
80
CD-Action
Sep 1, 2021
Summary and quote unavailable.
80
Eurogamer Italy
Jul 7, 2021
Summary and quote unavailable.