Griftlands

Did You Know?

• During the 25th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Griftlands for Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year.
• Griftlands received 'generally favorable' reviews for Microsoft Windows according to review aggregator Metacritic.

Gameplay

Griftlands is a roguelike deck-building game with elements of role-playing and digital card games. The player selects one of several predefined characters, each a mercenary seeking fame and fortune on a planetary world home to an antagonistic peacekeeper body, pirates, and dangerous creatures. The world layout is fixed, but events, missions, and other elements are procedurally generated at the start of each new game. Gameplay alternates between moving on an overworld map, engaging in conversation trees to gain quests or shop, and card-based encounters. Each character begins with two predefined decks: one for combat encounters and another for negotiations. Players gain new cards from quest rewards or shops, upgrade existing cards, or remove cards from either deck. Special implants called grafts provide persistent effects, and limited-use item cards can be purchased from vendors. Computer-controlled allies may assist in both negotiation and battle. In combat, the player and opponent take turns; each turn the player draws a hand from their combat deck and uses action points to play offensive or defensive cards. The interface shows upcoming opponent attacks, allowing preparation. If the player's health reaches zero, the game ends. The player may kill opponents or overpower them to force a retreat, which can affect future missions and rewards.

Synopsis

Griftlands is set in a futuristic science-fiction fantasy world where humans coexist with anthropomorphic races such as the crustacean-like Kra'deshi. Advanced space-faring technology and energy weapons are powered by fictional sources Lumin and Spark. The setting is contested by factions including the Admiralty, the Cult of Hesh, the Spark Barons guild, and the criminal Spree. A finite set of defined NPCs populate all three campaigns with fixed appearances and allegiances, but their in-game roles are randomly determined, though some always serve as allies or boss encounters. The three playable campaigns follow different protagonists: Sal Ik-Derrick, a former indentured servant seeking revenge on the criminal who sold her into slavery; Rook, a secretive spy on a dangerous mission; and Smith Banquod, an alcoholic Kra'deshi vagrant returning home for his inheritance after his parents' death. In Sal's campaign, she travels to Murder Bay to confront the criminal Kashio. With help from childhood friend Fssh, she negotiates aid from either Admiralty officer Oolo or Spree overboss Nadan to infiltrate a high-stakes auction, where she fights Kashio and may kill or spare her before enjoying her newfound wealth.

Development

Klei Entertainment developed Griftlands. The game was announced at E3 2017 as an open-world RPG with turn-based combat similar to Japanese RPGs. After little public mention while the studio worked on Oxygen Not Included, Klei posted in October 2018 that they had announced the game prematurely. At E3 2019, the game was shown again with the same setting and art style but had shifted to a card-based system, dropping the open world and traditional combat. Griftlands entered early access on the Epic Games Store in July 2019, then on Steam on June 15, 2020, alongside a free demo. The full version was released for Windows and Linux on June 1, 2021, and for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on June 4, 2021.