Playing the demo during the next fest I immediately knew this would be one of my favorite deckbuilders. Wildfrost is a fantastic game that imo really elevates the genre.
There's a level of polish in this game that's several steps above the competition. The art, animations and soundtrack are top notch and result in the game feeling super smooth.
This level of polish is also apparent in its mechanics, the game boasts a set of very simple cards using several relatively simple keywords that all strongly fit the game themes and still present a lot of strategic depth when combined together.
The tactical element is also a big part of what makes the game unique and so enjoyable, and also, I assume, why so many steam reviewers are struggling with it. Every encounter is built to be challenging (there's no filler small encounter like you'd find in StS) and you have a lot of decision to make every turn as you can freely rearrange your units before you play a card, allowing you to choose who will take hits and/or dish back. Being limited to one card a turn and the enemies being dangerous also means the game is very punishing, often one mistake will be enough to end the run even when you have a great build, alternatively it also means wins are very achievable with mediocre ones if you play correctly. Personally I found this to give it a great learning curve which really fits the lower amount of encounters (and run time) but I can definitely understand it being frustrating if you're used to simply winning with strong decks in other deckbuilders.
The game handles progression in a way I adore, there's no straight meta upgrades like in Hades or most roguelites nowadays, simply variety unlocks a la Isaac to complexify the game as you go, it's even done in a similar manner as the unlocks are achievements based, giving you reasons to pick up unusual builds and great replayability.
The game still has some pitfalls however, I found that despite most builds being viable, they often end up feeling similar as you look for the same things to make them work (multi-strikes, barrage...). There's also one specific encounter that will always require 5D thinking and still be dependant on RNG (the aimless + teeth one) which can be pretty tiring. The game also doesn't have enough variety in its encounters in general.
Still, after 22 hours and beating the final boss on the highest difficulty, I'm really happy about my experience with wildfrost and will definitely eventually be back to grab the rest of the unlocks. Highly recommended to anyone familiar with the genre who's not afraid of a challenge.
There's a level of polish in this game that's several steps above the competition. The art, animations and soundtrack are top notch and result in the game feeling super smooth.
This level of polish is also apparent in its mechanics, the game boasts a set of very simple cards using several relatively simple keywords that all strongly fit the game themes and still present a lot of strategic depth when combined together.
The tactical element is also a big part of what makes the game unique and so enjoyable, and also, I assume, why so many steam reviewers are struggling with it. Every encounter is built to be challenging (there's no filler small encounter like you'd find in StS) and you have a lot of decision to make every turn as you can freely rearrange your units before you play a card, allowing you to choose who will take hits and/or dish back. Being limited to one card a turn and the enemies being dangerous also means the game is very punishing, often one mistake will be enough to end the run even when you have a great build, alternatively it also means wins are very achievable with mediocre ones if you play correctly. Personally I found this to give it a great learning curve which really fits the lower amount of encounters (and run time) but I can definitely understand it being frustrating if you're used to simply winning with strong decks in other deckbuilders.
The game handles progression in a way I adore, there's no straight meta upgrades like in Hades or most roguelites nowadays, simply variety unlocks a la Isaac to complexify the game as you go, it's even done in a similar manner as the unlocks are achievements based, giving you reasons to pick up unusual builds and great replayability.
The game still has some pitfalls however, I found that despite most builds being viable, they often end up feeling similar as you look for the same things to make them work (multi-strikes, barrage...). There's also one specific encounter that will always require 5D thinking and still be dependant on RNG (the aimless + teeth one) which can be pretty tiring. The game also doesn't have enough variety in its encounters in general.
Still, after 22 hours and beating the final boss on the highest difficulty, I'm really happy about my experience with wildfrost and will definitely eventually be back to grab the rest of the unlocks. Highly recommended to anyone familiar with the genre who's not afraid of a challenge.