Article written by SweetSprinks and PandatasticMan
As content creators, we know we fall into the same old rut of playing the same games day in and day out. This inspired us to get back to our roots as variety streamers and focus on a new game once a week and give you, our readers, a quick breakdown of the game. How easy it is to learn? How enjoyable is it to play? Does the game have any replay value? Just a small thing to share our opinion on a game with our viewers and readers!
This week’s game is Griftlands by Klei Entertainment. Griftlands is currently available on stream for 19.99 USD. There’s also a free demo!
“Griftlands is a deck-building roguelite where you negotiate, fight, steal, or otherwise persuade others to get your way. Every decision is important, be it the jobs you take, the friends you make, or the cards you collect.”
Klei Entertainment
That is the description of the game as the creators describe it and we have to say that it is pretty spot on. It’s definitely a unique card-based game. Not only do you have a more traditional card-combat-like game wherein you choose different cards to impact your opponent in a myriad of different ways, but you also have ARGUMENTS!!! Yeah, there is a social combat system that plays similarly to the Physical Combat, but with a twist. The best part is how these two aspects work in tandem. You can, for example, start a social combat to rattle someone before you physically fight them to give you an advantage in the upcoming physical conflict. Further, each and every choice in the game feels meaningful and impactful as your choices can lead to lasting consequences both bad and good.
Further, there are three separate characters you can play as. Each their own storyline that happens to share the same background characters and environment. Each character plays with completely different mechanics so they feel fresh when you try the game over again with a new character choice. To add a further layer of customization, your choice of how you build your deck or what grafts (cybernetic upgrades) you take can make even playing the same character a second time a slightly different experience.
So now we go into our three-part breakdown of the game.
How Easy to learn is Griftlands?:
PandatasticMan –
“I think this game has a well-thought-out tutorial that if you pay attention to it, will definitely make the transition into playing seamless and enjoyable. I found little to no difficulty grasping the deck-building mechanics, though mastery of those mechanics was eased by my extensive experience with Rogue-Like card games.”
SweetSprinks –
“Personally, I think the game is a fun challenge. Starting out, Griftlands gives helpful tips on how to work its specific mechanics, but not much more. It’s simple enough to pick up if you’ve ever played a rogue-like or deck-building game before. If you haven’t played those types of games before, I imagine it would be a bit more of a struggle to truly pick up and play. However, there are different difficulty levels you can pick to start, including a story mode where the actual combat takes a backseat to the storyline. Also, through gameplay, you can gain modifications and cards that you can use to modify your character for your next game!”
How Enjoyable is Griftlands?:
PandatasticMan –
“I found this game to be a blast. I sat down to play it and the hours QUICKLY flew by as I got engrossed in the story and the unique physical/social combat system. The graphics are great, in a cartoony style of way and the fact that it doesn’t matter what language you speak natively as the characters all talk in a kinda fake gobbledegoop voice-over accompanied by subtitles was a real plus.”
SweetSprinks –
“I absolutely loved playing this game! Honestly, I binged it when I first started for a bit longer than I care to admit! The storylines for the individual characters are really fun, and the unique social combat system is great too! Intimidating my enemies is my preferred method of combat, but I’m not afraid to physically beat them down! As you play, the different people you come across can either be your enemy or your friend, and as they do they provide you with buffs. Depending on whether they like you or not, that buff can either be beneficial or harmful and can really impact your game. There’s also something really fun about hearing the character and NPCs talk, as Griftlands has its own language. Don’t fret though! Subtitles are provided!”
How Replayable is Griftlands?:
PandatasticMan –
“I definitely feel this game is not a source of INFITINTE replayability but the fact that each character can be played easily twice thru with a rather unique experience, and the fact there are three separate characters you can choose from gives this game a hell of a lot of replayability and is one of my FAVORITE aspects of the title.”
SweetSprinks –
“Through gameplay, you can gain modifications and cards that you can use to modify your character for your next game! There are also different difficulties available. You can decide to make a negotiation-heavy or combat-heavy run. Depending on the NPC, one of those tactics is usually easier than the other. Plus, the modifications you can add to your character when you get started can really boost your chances of survival. Not to mention the time-sensitive side quests, the quests themselves where you pick a path, and chance encounters on the road! There are so many different ways to play this game that the replayability is HIGH!”
In Summation:
We feel like Griftlands is a spectacular game that has a truly unique card battle system. The fact that you can demoralize your opponent with a battle of words to make them weaker in the physical combat that is about to occur just blows our minds. The plot is solid and the graphics will hold their own long after games become prettier. In general, we have to say this is one of our top games of 2021, and we are still enjoying it in 2023.
| SweetSprinks | PandatasticMan | |
| Enjoyment | 5 out of 5 | 4 out of 5 |
| Ease of Learning | 3 out of 5 | 3.5 out of 5 |
| Replayability | 4 out of 5 | 4 out of 5 |
| Total | 12/15 | 11.5/15 |
SweetSprinks and PandatasticMan give Griftlands an overall rating of 3.9 out of 5 stars!
Happy gaming everyone!
Yay! Griftlands!!
Cool!