Wildfrost

Wildfrost is a 2023 roguelike deck-building game developed by Deadpan Games and Gaziter and published by Chucklefish. It was originally released for the Nintendo Switch and Windows and ported to Android, iOS, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in 2024.

Wildfrost
Title screen
Developer(s)	Deadpan Games Gaziter
Publisher(s)	Chucklefish
Programmer(s)	Will Lewis
Artist(s)	Asaf Gazit
Composer(s)	Paul Zimmermann
Engine	Unity
Platform(s)	Nintendo Switch Windows Android iOS Xbox One Xbox Series X/S
Release	Nintendo Switch, Windows 12 April 2023 Android, iOS 11 April 2024 Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S 10 December 2024
Genre(s)	Roguelike deck-building
Mode(s)	Single-player

Gameplay

Players attempt to stop an endless winter. They recruit randomly-generated adventurers and battle monsters in turn-based card battles. Up to six allied creatures called companions and six enemies fight in each battle. Depending on where characters are placed, they can be attacked by a different member of the opposing side. Characters also do not immediately attack but must wait their turn based on an Initiative system. The game ends if a character designated as a leader dies. Otherwise, adventurers suffer a penalty upon being defeated. Players retain some equipment permanently and can retrieve these items when starting over. The game has a cartoon-like art style, with various color palettes for each class of companion.^[1]

Development

Wildfrost was developed by Deadpan Games and Gaziter and published by Chucklefish. It was released for Nintendo Switch and Windows on April 12, 2023,^[2] and for Android and iOS on April 11, 2024.^[3] It also released on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on December 10, 2024.^[4] Wildfrost was developed using the Unity engine.^[5]

Reception

Aggregate score

Aggregator	Score
Metacritic	PC: 80/100[6] NS: 81/100[7] iOS: 87/100[8]

Review scores

Publication	Score
4Players	8.5/10[9]
PC Gamer (US)	83/100[1]
Pocket Gamer	5/5[10]
The Games Machine (Italy)	8/10[11]
TouchArcade	4.5/5[12]
Eurogamer (Portugal)	4/5[13]
Gamereactor	9/10[14]
IGN (France)	7/10[15]
Rock Paper Shotgun	[16]
ScreenRant	9/10[17]
Softpedia	9/10[18]

Reception

Wildfrost received positive reviews on Metacritic.^[19] PC Gamer wrote that the game had a "perfect balance of accessibility and strategic depth" and praised the art style, which it said gives it "buckets of personality".^[1] Though Rock Paper Shotgun said luck sometimes seems to play too much of a role, they called it "a genuinely fun game, with charming details and rewarding tactical combat".^[16] Siliconera said it "suffers from some balance issues", but they said it is "a game as beautiful, cruel, and cold as its sunless environment".^[20]