A Voracious TCG set in the Sunless Snowy Mountaintops of Wildfrost

As part of my adventures in the Xbox Game Pass environment, I ended up replaying Wildfrost, now Wildfrost is a roguelike deck-building game where you pick a chamption from three different factions, and then build your deck around that faction. Its a fun light light-hearted game that is fairly dense in its mechanics.

Wildfrost was originally released in 2023 for the Nintendo Switch and Windows. It was later ported to other consoles in 2024, and it also appeared in Xbox Game Pass, which is where I picked it up.

So I originally played it when it was first released, and I remember enjoying it, but clearly, it was a bit rough around the edges. If I recall right, there were a couple of bugs that I kept encountering that made the game feel a bit off. The game did have some updates following it. However, I only picked up back the game when I was browsing the Xbox Game Pass catalogue, and I discovered it was there. I decided to play it because I wanted a casual game, and it stuck out to me much more than it did before.

It is like six pages.

The game is fairly light on story and lore, but mostly, it's about vanquishing the evil that has taken root in this very snowy world. Lore pieces are given to you very sparsely, with only about six pieces of lore that you collect throughout the game.

The core of the game comes in its roguelike mechanics and very complicated interactions. I did manage to complete a run in the game, only for the game to absorb my deck that I built to win and then give me a new goal of defeating the deck that I created.

It was a bit disappointing, honestly. I did spend close to 10 hours getting to that point where I was playing mostly casually. Especially since my Xbox Game Pass has expired now, and I won't be renewing it for a while, I won't be able to reply to it.

And that's something I do think you'd need to consider, the game very much wants you to pour more time into though. I suppose that is what you should expect from a roguelike game.

Every Time

Each run begins with you selecting a champion from one of the 3 factions, each of these champion cards are randomly generated, and its up to you to then build decks around its strengths and weaknesses. Once you select a champion, and by extension, a faction, you get to pick your first of 3 companions - these can be increased later in the game - you usually have to complete quests to unlock more and different companions. The game will give you a starter deck based on the faction you picked and then it tosses you onto the map.

Here you follow a linear set of battles, often just branching off to collect coins, or other cards, new stores, or other characters that offer you anything from power ups to deck customization.

Each battle plays out with you dropping your champion on the board and drawing a hand of cards. You are typically only allowed one card play per turn. Each card on the board has a count-down timer, and after x turns, the cards proc (i.e. activate) and either attack, cast a spell/effect, or both. There are a large number of variations and effects, and if you attach charms to your cards, you can modify your cards with different power-ups, expanding your card's power or severely weakening it.

Not only do you build a deck, but you effectively build each of your cards. The game has a mechanic known as 'charms'. When you equip a charm to a card (maximum three charms per card), you cause your card attacks to gain new powers.

Doing both of these things in tandem is how you will ultimately be able to conquer the board and the battles, even as they become increasingly more and more unfair.

In the battle, there are six slots spread over two rows for both you and your enemy. Typically each card will only attack the very first slot on the enemy side. Some cards will come with features and variations that will allow cards to affect other cards and even your own cards.

There are quite a lot of cards and effects, and I can't possibly list and explain them all, but I do know it can become quite chaotic, and depending on how much of both you and your enemy have effects on cards, it can be a hassle to manage and keep track of. I cannot tell you how many times I ended up losing a run because I mis-tracked what the various cards could do at any given time.

No doubt at the end of it, though, I wasn't even frustrated. The game provided enough indicators that, ultimately, it was my fault for not paying attention.

There is ... more?

Once you do complete a singular run for the very first time, the game takes the champion and the deck that you used in order to make a new enemy for you to face. Your goal then becomes defeating that new set. To be fair, there is an in-game lore point as to why that happens.

After that, the game introduces you to several new mechanics, in particular, new 'purple' bells that make the run harder to complete. This is an optional thing. If you pay attention to the negative bells, you should be able to use them to your advantage going forward.

This new mechanic has a good number of bells, and you'll have to complete more runs to unlock all of them. The same can be side for new companions, new charms, new cards. Completing different quests throughout your run will give you access to new characters on the world map and new items.

These characters can provide you with the ability to destroy cards in your deck that you don't want, it could be a shop with charms or cards, it could be treasure chests that reward you with new cards, there is also a character who duplicates cards including all of your cards modifiers. The treasure chests, in particular, provide you with an option for 3 cards either based on your faction or cards that could potentially work together with your faction, and you get to select one to add to your deck.

Surrender to the elements

Despite my enjoyment of the game, and make no mistake, I enjoyed it enough to play during my work hours (don't tell my boss), getting to the end only to put it back at the very start was a hard pill to swallow. I am aware this is how roguelike games usually play out.

If you're a fan of TCG games or roguelike games, play this game. There is so much charm and genuine love in this game that it comes across in every aspect of the game. And the truth is even though I only managed one completed run, I am looking forward to picking it back up once I renew my Xbox Game Pass subscription.