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Roguelike Deckbuilders have been on the rise since the meteoric launch of Slay The Spire. Plenty of classics have spawned since, such as the excellent Monster Train, the ambitious Death Roads, and the disturbing Tainted Grail Conquest. Despite the growing market for these games, new twists are always on the horizon, and Wildfrost looks to bring its own deck of quirks to shake things up.
Wildfrost is developed by Chucklefish and developed by the tag team duo, Deadpan Games and Gaztier. It launched on April 12 2023. The game is staggeringly beautiful to behold, but beneath its charming exterior lies a game that is waiting to crush you over, and over again. Every move could be your last, and winning is never a guarantee.
More Wildfrost content:
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The Plot So Far
Wildfrost, despite its cutesy graphics, is set in a post-apocalyptic world that has been ravaged by an eternal winter. The eponymous Wildfrost has engulfed the world, the Sun has been corrupted, and now only the small village of Snowdwell remains. It’s up to you and your band of companions to save the world – or die trying.
As you play you will unlock new story fragments in your journal, with every character having their own entry. More nefarious things are revealed at the game’s “conclusion”, giving the story a nice sense of weight. It can also be completely ignored if you just want to engage in the battle system.
The Battle System
Wildfrost is a Roguelite Deckbuilder. This means two things:
- Death is permanent
- Your deck starts weak, and you need to improve it over time
Wildfrost has all the trappings to make an excellent core, and it’s a core that has been refined since the genre’s inception. What makes Wildfrost so unique is the battle system itself. Whilst you are still drawing cards and playing them on the battlefield, the companions you play remain.
This is because Wildfrost uses a two-lane system, and you can, for the most part, move freely between your turns. This allows you to dictate who attacks where and who gets hit first, among other things. You will be moving your units around constantly trying to find the optimal way to absorb and deal damage, giving each turn a sense of weight.
Not only that but when units die, there is a sense of permanence. Companions who fall in battle are weakened in subsequent battles, and if your leader dies, well that’s an instant game over. This combined with the auto-battling aspect of the attack system makes for a tactically rich – yet unforgiving – system.
Upgrading Your Town
Like most Roguelites, Wildfrost allows you to progress even when you lose – and you will lose often. These are in the form of challenges, and these challenges unlock things back at Snowdell. These tend to be new buildings in the early game, and as you get further into the game, you will start to unlock new cards.
Items will be crafted for you at the Workshop, new Companions will arrive at the Hot Spring, and new Factions will join the fight. Even if you don’t think you’ve got the chops to go all the way to the end, you can still plan your next run around completing specific Challenges to enhance future runs. Victory is not the only path to success. You can check on your Challenges at any time to boot.
Randomised Leaders
Earlier we mentioned Leaders, and this is because leaders are arguably your most important unit. They start on the battlefield on Turn 1, and if they die, it lights out. However, your Leader is randomised. You get a selection of 3 at the start of every run, and it’s up to you to make the most out of the wacky combinations.
Some Leaders are monsters in combat, others have bizarre effects, some are incredibly squishy, and some start weak by having the potential to skyrocket with the right combination of support cards and Charms. This alongside the other randomised elements inherent to the genre makes Wildfrost wonderfully replayable.
Balancing
The one area Wildfrost starts to fall a smidge is in its overall balance. Some runs are destined to end in failure because you simply didn’t get the Cards, Charms, or Items you needed to succeed. Wildfrost is brutally difficult, and whilst you can likely get through the first few battles, once you go beyond your first boss, things get far more difficult.
A single mistake could lead you into an unwinnable state, the order of operations is not always clear, and interactions between cards can get messy. Throw in a distinct lack of reliable healing, and enemies rocking massive health pools (with damage mitigation), and you are looking at a potentially frustrating experience. If defeat staring you down at every turn is not your thing, Wildfrost might not be for you.
That’s all we have on Wildfrost for now. Be sure to check out our Guides, Lists, and Walkthroughs for more Wildfrost content.
