Griftlands

Griftlands PC is a narrative roguelite deckbuilder from Klei Entertainment, built around turn-based battles, negotiation card games, and branching decisions in the broken-down sci-fi world of Havaria. The current Steam and Epic Games Store listings still use the original name Griftlands; no rebrand, replacement edition, or renamed PC storefront version is indicated.

Two decks, two ways to solve a problem

Every run asks you to manage separate battle and negotiation decks. Combat cards handle attacks, defense, status effects, and character-specific abilities, while negotiation cards let you pressure an opponent's argument, protect your own position, and resolve conflicts without immediately drawing a weapon.

This dual-deck structure is the game's defining strategic demand. A negotiation-focused build can improve a deal, recruit help, or weaken an enemy before a fight, but unavoidable battles still require a capable combat deck. Strong runs come from balancing both systems rather than treating one as optional.

Encounters are turn-based and card-driven, with action points limiting how much you can do in a turn. Combat rewards planning around enemy intent, allies, status effects, and specialized card synergies, while negotiations revolve around reducing an opponent's resolve and maintaining the strength of your own core argument.

Three campaigns across Havaria

You can play as Sal, Rook, or Smith, with each character offering a separate campaign, map, faction network, card pool, and mechanical identity. Sal is a mercenary pursuing profit and revenge, Rook is an aging spy with a personal agenda, and Smith is a reluctant figure drawn into a larger conflict.

The campaigns are not simple character skins. Each hero changes how cards, negotiations, relationships, and encounters fit together, giving the game three distinct narrative routes instead of one campaign with interchangeable builds.

Runs combine authored story beats with changing quests, events, enemies, and social situations. The overall world remains recognizable, but the exact sequence of opportunities and conflicts can shift, encouraging repeated attempts to discover different outcomes.

Relationships are part of the build

Havaria's factions and characters remember what you do. Killing someone can damage your standing with their allies, while sparing an enemy may leave a future threat alive. These decisions affect access to social boons and banes, which can provide useful advantages or impose penalties during later battles and negotiations.

You can also hire mercenaries, recruit pets, and bring allies into fights. Party members are more than extra damage sources because the relationships created through quests and choices can influence whether certain characters assist you, oppose you, or become available in later situations.

Progression also includes grafts, equipment-like upgrades that modify battle or negotiation performance during a run. Grafts give a successful route additional shape, but they do not remove the need to draft sensible cards or respond to the risks created by each campaign.

Players who enjoy decision-heavy card runs with a more focused combat loop can compare Griftlands with turn-based roguelike deckbuilders such as Slay the Spire. Griftlands is less purely combat-focused, but both games reward careful deck size, route planning, and adaptation after failure.

Story Mode, Brawl, and replay value

The main experience is built around character campaigns and their branching events. Story Mode provides a more forgiving way to follow the writing and learn the systems, making it the practical starting point for players who are new to deckbuilding roguelites.

After progressing through the main experience, Brawl Mode offers a more concentrated format focused on battles and negotiations rather than the full narrative route. It is useful for players who want to test builds, practice card interactions, or spend less time following campaign dialogue.

Higher Prestige levels increase the challenge after the basic campaign structure becomes familiar. The long-term loop is therefore based on learning the three heroes, refining both decks, exploring alternative choices, and handling increasingly demanding rules rather than unlocking a traditional permanent party.

Content model and storefront status

Griftlands is a paid single-player PC game rather than a free-to-play product. The current Steam and Epic listings present the base game as the main purchase, with the three character campaigns, their specialized systems, and the game's repeatable run structure included in that package.

The current storefront pages do not advertise a gameplay season pass, recurring card shop, or paid expansion structure. Steam does list Workshop support, which gives the PC version an additional user-created content ecosystem rather than a publisher-run stream of card packs.

The Steam Workshop currently exposes mods involving new cards, characters, translations, quest lines, and other changes. Workshop content is optional and separate from the authored campaigns, so players can experience the original game without installing community modifications.

PC features, controls, and localization

On PC, Griftlands is available through Steam and the Epic Games Store. Steam lists Steam Workshop, Steam Cloud, Family Sharing, Remote Play on Tablet, and single-player support. Epic lists cloud saves, controller support, and single-player functionality.

The game uses a 2D, hand-illustrated presentation built around an overworld map, character portraits, dialogue scenes, and card-based encounter screens. It is not a real-time action game, so the important PC input concerns are readable card selection, map navigation, and comfortable interaction with menus.

Controller support is advertised on the Epic Games Store listing, while Steam highlights the game's platform features without presenting a separate full-controller-support label on the page. Players who prefer mouse and keyboard should find that control method naturally suited to the card and dialogue interface.

The current Steam listing identifies interface and subtitle support for English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish. Full voice localization is not listed, so players should expect the written dialogue and interface to carry the experience.

Who should play Griftlands?

Griftlands is a strong fit for players who want story-rich deckbuilding, turn-based strategy, meaningful social choices, and runs where negotiation can change the shape of a later fight. It is especially suited to players who enjoy experimenting with several systems at once.

It is less suitable for players looking for online co-op, competitive multiplayer, real-time combat, or a purely abstract card battler with little narrative context. The campaign structure asks you to read dialogue, track relationships, and accept that some choices create future problems.

Players who prefer a stranger card-game adventure with puzzle solving and genre shifts may also enjoy experimental roguelike card games such as Inscryption. The two games differ sharply in tone and structure, but both make card mechanics part of a broader single-player experience instead of treating them as isolated combat systems.

Griftlands FAQ

These answers cover the practical questions most relevant to buying and playing the current PC version.

Is Griftlands still the current PC name?

Yes. Steam and the Epic Games Store currently list the game as Griftlands, developed and published by Klei Entertainment. No current storefront rebrand or replacement PC edition is indicated.

The original title is therefore the correct name to use when searching for the game, its Workshop content, community guides, or store listings.

Does Griftlands have multiplayer or co-op?

No official multiplayer or co-op mode is listed on the current PC storefront pages. Griftlands is presented as a single-player experience, including its campaigns, negotiations, battles, and Brawl Mode.

Steam Remote Play on Tablet is listed as a platform feature, but that does not turn the game into an online co-op title. The core design remains solo.

How do the combat and negotiation systems differ?

Combat decks focus on defeating enemies through attacks, defense, status effects, allies, and character-specific mechanics. Negotiation decks target an opponent's resolve and arguments while protecting your own position.

Because the two systems use separate decks, a strong strategy must account for both. Negotiating can avoid some fights or create advantages, but major encounters still make battle preparation important.

Does the PC version support mods?

Yes. The Steam version includes Steam Workshop support, and the Workshop includes community projects such as new cards, characters, translations, and quest content.

Mods are optional and are not required for the three authored campaigns, Story Mode, Brawl Mode, or the game's Prestige difficulty progression.

What languages does Griftlands support?

The Steam listing shows interface and subtitle localization in 11 languages: English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

The storefront does not list full audio localization for those languages. Griftlands is primarily a text-driven narrative game, so subtitle availability is the key localization consideration.