If there’s two genres we’re seeing plenty of these days it’s deck-builders and roguelites.

Rarely together, though, which makes Wildfrost such an interesting proposition. This chilly new challenger from Deadpan Games and, believe it or not, Chucklefish, is out to defy convention and try something new.

It succeeds for the most part, creating a compelling card-battling experience that offers a new run every time while also managing to make the player feel like they’re making progress each and every time.

The difficulty curve is especially brutal, though. For a game with such a relaxed, vibrant and stylish aesthetic, that may catch you offguard just a little bit, but you’re going to lose a lot in Wildfrost. Especially at the beginning.

There’s two reasons for that. Firstly, better cards don’t unlock until you’ve done a few runs and managed to build up Snowdwell. By fulfilling a series of challenges and objectives through your runs, like dealing x amount of damage or playing certain cards, you’ll gradually unlock new buildings and bring in resources needed for them to create new things.

It’s a fascinating approach as it helps the player stay connected to the game and want to keep diving back in, even though you’ll wonder what it is you’re supposed to be doing at first. Or how you’re supposed to have any chance at success.

But the more you play, the more you’ll be able to progress through the small playing field which is opened up by various pathways, some taking you to treasure chests, some to find new allies to help you in battle and some to charms which can be equipped for various bonuses.

Wildfrost does become more fun the more you invest in it, and honestly, it’s the perfect Switch title as you can combine controller play with touchscreen. Which many will find is the preferred way to play these games having had Hearthstone and Gwent on their iPads.

Each game starts with a leader which you pick at the start of the run. All leaders have a different vibe to them and a unique quirk which sets them apart. So, sure, one could be lower health than another, but their skill might make them more powerful in the longrun, or they may have an attacking stat that others don’t.

You have to protect the leader at all costs, as once they’re downed your entire run is over. So this is where getting pets and allies in to defend you becomes crucial and so you position them on the board like a more frostier version of Guess Who in the hopes of keeping your leader safe.

Of course, it’s easier said than done as you’ll fight against cards that can attack entire rows or ones that attack cards at random no matter where they are on the board. So you can shift rows and postions at any time without losing a turn.

The general hook itself is compelling, as once you get through the initial confusion and delirium, the game will naturally start to open itself up to you. You’ll learn which sort of leaders you gel most with and equally will open up even more options with other clans who give you a whole new deck of cards to play with.

Before long, bosses you were struggling with become a doddle and you blitz through early stages without a second thought and impossible feats eventually become…well…possible.

I loved that about Wildfrost. It definitely has that ‘one more run’ appeal to it, which is so important for any roguelite to get right. But equally the variety of cards on offer, and the different enemy attacks you have to think about keep you on your toes as you watch enemy counters tick down and become more deathly aware of their potential damage output and the implications it can have on your crew.

Like, if you use a certain type of attack on an enemy, that can actually buff another enemy, increasing their damage and making them even more dangerous.

The length of the campaign itself is obviously going to vary. Card-battling pros can probably smash through this within 5 hours, others like me who are so-so will probably take a lot longer. But there’s also challenges you can work through and dailies to keep you coming back. Beating them, of course, gives you massive rewards and helps you build out your town and deck even further.

Wildfrost really hooked me and playing on Switch, I loved the freedom of being able to tap / swipe as well as moving with my controller. That said, I did have a couple of interaction issues using touch – dragging the charms, for instance sometimes just didn’t work and it was easier for me to just use the JoyCons. Though it’s not a massive issue as transition is seamless.

Another significant issue is text size. Even on the larger, Switch OLED screen, text is really difficult to read in Wildfrost with no options for accessibility. To make matters worse, some of the text is actually white on a bright yellow screen. Again, surely an easy fix to add in at some point, but it’s offputting all the same, especially considering how important text is to determining what you’re up against.

The biggest issue, of course, is the success rate. There’s a lot of failure in your future playing the game and to be blunt, quite a bit of it does boil down to RNG. It’s sometimes pure luck what cards will be in your hand and because switching hands does take a turn, you might finally get the perfect card but it’s too late to play. And some enemies are almost set up to be unbeatable unless you have a specific card.

That said, if you can find your way through the bumpy stages of the game, there’s a great, enjoyable, smart and creative romp here. It’s a game I hope gets a ton more options, modes, updates and even DLC because given a chance, this can build and grow to be something truly special. And many of the issues I’ve cited above could definitely be addressed with a few more updates.

Either way, if you’re looking for something a bit different from your card-battler or, indeed, your roguelite, I’d highly recommend Wildfrost, with Switch’s versatility in control sealing it as the best place to play right now.

Verdict

Wildfrost takes two of the most popular genres in gaming and mashes them into something quite different and mostly enjoyable. There’s a tough difficulty curve here, plus accessibility doesn’t appear to have been the game’s highest priority and there’s a few control issues on Switch, but what you have is a fast-paced, progress-centered battler that you’ll come to appreciate, maybe even love, the more time you spend with it. 

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Pros

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Wildfrost is out now on PC and Switch

Code Kindly Provided by Chucklefish for review purposes

Played on Switch