In the world of Wild Frost, the sun is dead, evil forces corrupt everything they touch, and everywhere is covered in ice and snow. But when you play the game for the first time, you will be surprised at how pretty and cozy it is. The card-based battles, likewise, seem bland at first with their simple rules and effects, but before long you'll be knee-deep in head-twisting strategy.

Wildfrost is a deck-building roguelike, reminiscent of Slay the Spire (open in new tab) and Monster Train (open in new tab). After choosing one of three randomly generated adventurers (and they're all cute), you set off on a journey across the map, choosing nodes to visit for cards and buffs as you engage in turn-based battles with the intimidating denizens of the tundra. If you lose the battle, you will be sent back to the village, where you will check the permanent items you have unlocked before taking on the next battle.

The battle takes place in two lanes, each with space for three allies and three enemies. Most cards are instant effects, such as damaging or freezing the enemy, but only a few hero units can be placed in the lanes. Once played, characters do not attack immediately. Instead, each character has a countdown that ticks down each turn until it acts; only one card can be played per turn, but the order of heroes can be rearranged at will. This is important, because each friendly or enemy attack targets a specific point in the lane they are currently in.

Everything is beautifully put together into a multi-layered puzzle. Not only do you have all the information about what will happen on each turn, but thanks to the countdown, you know what will happen five or six turns later. Success means not only knowing when to use key cards, but also constantly shuffling formations so that key damage dealers can focus where they need to be and tanks can absorb incoming attacks. If the leader dies, it's game over, and allies cannot be unnecessarily sacrificed. Every blow, whether it is one that is fired by you or one that is aimed at you, must be perfectly designed to hit where you are aiming.

Finding the right strategy can be difficult and even a bit overwhelming, but you never feel like you are missing any important information. The game's presentation is brilliantly clean and simple, with colorful icons and a simple but effective UI that tells you everything you need to know at a glance. It makes it easy to learn to play, and whenever the game throws up a new mechanic, it's easy to see how it fits into the broader tactical tapestry.

The clever presentation is further enhanced by the utterly charming cartoonish art style; Wildfrost's world is full of unique and endearing creatures such as wooden robots, belly men, and crystal crabs, and the fun extends to the game mechanics The fun extends to the game mechanics as well. Protect your heroes by giving them acorn shells instead of armor, and buff their damage with chili peppers. To make a card free to play, you attach a "numlin" to it. The gnomlin is a little goat creature that pops its head out of the top of the card and jumps around happily when played. It is truly bursting with personality, and in a crowded genre, it is surprising how fresh a sometimes familiar effect can be just because it does not have the expected name or animation.

Equally imaginative and memorable are the game's enemies. Every battle is a series of waves that eventually culminate in a formidable opponent, but essentially each battle is its own boss battle, requiring a unique tactical approach. From the towering robot that shuffles the team under target fire, to the bone-armored wildcat that retaliates each time it is attacked, to the giant penguin that grows stronger each time it defeats one of its hordes of minions, each is a unique challenge and an endearing and bizarre creation. Every battle is an important and interesting challenge, and feels like an important stepping stone to the ultimate goal: "The battle for the world is a battle for the world, and the world is a battle for the world.

That goal is to reach the last boss with a deck powerful enough to defeat him. Reaching that goal requires hard-won knowledge of not only what the boss will do, but also what cards and buffs to get. The events along the way are a perfect mix of randomness and control, as you search for powerful cards, cut down on weak ones, add buff "charms" to completely change their roles, and duplicate your favorite cards. In particular, once played, units are removed from the deck unless benched for a healing rest, allowing the player to focus on a consistent strategy.

Once you succeed in defeating the last boss, the game takes a very clever twist that I don't want to spoil here.

The goal is always to keep you on your toes, and "Wildfrost" has that magical "just one more time" quality. But as it stands, I don't think there is enough variety and progression to keep it going as long as fans of the genre expect. I have played 200 hours of "Slay the Spire" and have yet to accomplish anything. At about 12 hours into "Wildfrost" I feel like I've seen most of what this game has to offer. It was a very enjoyable 12 hours, but I felt that substantial DLC and post-launch updates are needed to reach the level of replayability of similar games.

Many of the late-game unlocks are so specific and complex that they lack the charms to pursue. For example, stacking 50 acorn shells on a single target to unlock a new charm requires building an entire deck that relies on a specific lucky pull and awkwardly prolonging the battle to achieve it. While some may appreciate the puzzle-solving element, for me it feels like the game is not playing to its core strengths.

But that's really a minor criticism. Viewed as a modest but punchy 12-hour challenge, it is a breath of fresh (and cold) air to the genre. Lured in by its charm, sucked into its fierce head-to-head battles, victory is always in sight.