Wildfrost is a fast-paced and deceptively cute take on Monster Train

gamesradar.com:

Wildfrost looked a heck of a lot like Slay the Spire when publisher Chucklefish unveiled it at a Nintendo Indie showcase earlier this year, and it's been in the back of my mind ever since. Now that I've finally gotten my hands on it – as co-developers Deadpan Games and Gaziter host a demo alongside Steam Next Fest – I see that it's actually a heck of a lot like Monster Train, which is itself a lot like Slay the Spire. To my delight, the rogue-like deck-builder genome continues to mutate, and Wildfrost is another immediately engrossing riff on the ever-evolving genre. My demo build only covered the tip of the iceberg, but Wildfrost has already proven itself a cute, charming, and utterly coldhearted card battler. Buckle up folks, because there are more frost puns where those came from. Apologies in advance. 

The Monster Train ancestry starts to pop out almost immediately after Wildfrost begins. Once again, we're going on a long journey hoping to set something on fire, only this time we're reviving the sun to stave off eternal winter instead of reigniting Hell itself. Also like Monster Train, Wildfrost splits combat into lanes of units where the frontliner takes all the hits (unless something modifies attack targets, and a lot of stuff does). Long-time deck-builder fans will notice some other familiar keywords and mechanics, but Wildfrost uses these ideas as a primer to build a dynamic game of strategy that stands out from its peers. 

The biggest difference is Wildfrost's alternative to mana, which is the go-to resource for most card games. Instead of a mana cost, cards are free to cast but most come with counters, and this system shapes the entire game. When you play a card, every unit on the board – friendly and enemy –