Deck-building roguelite Griftlands from Klei is out now and it's wonderful

After only recently adding Linux support, Klei Entertainment has now officially released their incredibly stylish and engrossing deck-builder Griftlands.

What is it? "Griftlands is a deck-building roguelite 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."

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As far as deck-builders go, Klei has managed to jump into a popular genre with some already incredible games and do something none of them are doing yet. You have to hand it to Klei, their games always bring a certain special flair and Griftlands not only looks good - it's genuinely great to play through too. Even though their Linux support for it is quite new, the Linux build runs to perfection.

Not only are you building up a deck and throwing cards around as your abilities to conquer foes, you're also needed to think a little about your actions. There's consequences to a lot of what you do, be it making new friends or enemies and the way it's all blended together is pretty clever. Compared to the likes of Slay the Spire and other similar deck-builders, it feels a lot more like you would expect from an RPG adventure. While I adore other deck-builders, Griftlands has some nice story elements to really back it all up and keep you interested.

The way it mixes together different decks is great too. Since the game isn't all about taking down weird creatures in combat, it's also about dealing with people directly, where you can "attack" multiple points on their character and so you get a special negotiation deck making it also a conversational deck-building battle game merged into everything else.

Game Features:

• Battle Challenging Bosses - Test your combat decks against powerful foes with unique mechanics and attacks.
• Build a Team - or Buy One! - Hire mercenaries, find pets, or impose upon your friends to accomplish your goals.
• Master Hundreds of Cards - Each character has unique negotiation and combat decks to draft from. Get powerful item cards from fallen foes, or as rewards.
• Decisions Matter - Killing foes may incur the wrath of their friends, but sparing them leaves a dangerous piece on the board. Choose wisely, everyone remembers everything you do!
• Welcome to Havaria - Each playable character's story takes place in a unique environment, with different factions and locations to explore and exploit.
• Explore A Broken-Down Sci-Fi World - The world of Havaria is a harsh place, full of harsher denizens. Explore lush, hand-illustrated environments full of people who want to kill you.
• Playing Politics For Keeps - Each character has a factional allegiance and an opinion of you. Play politics between rivals, and try to capture the most powerful social boons. But watch out -- doublecross the wrong person, and you'll be subject to their bane!
• Outwit or Overpower - Overcome obstacles with the power of your fists - or your words. You'll need to pick your cards and play them right if you're going to survive. Build two decks simultaneously, balancing the tradeoffs of each.

If you like previous Klei games and/or you like deck-builders, Griftlands is a must-buy. I love it.

You can buy Griftlands on Steam. It's 20% off until June 8.