Wildfrost's first big update makes life easier for players old and new
Out of all the roguelike deckbuilders that have followed in Slay The Spire's footsteps, Wildfrost is my second favourite. The cardplay never quite reaches the dizzy heights of Spire or Monster Train, but it's far cuter than either of them and still absolutely splendid. Now's a great time to pick it up, too, because its first big update is primarily aimed at clarifying rules to help new players avoid all the painful deaths I suffered through.
Developers Deadpan Games have released a roadmap, too, revealing a rough plan for what they're working on next.
I'll sell you on it, first: Wildfrost hews a little more closely to the Monster Train mould, in that enemies come at you from two different lanes while you plonk fellas down to defend your main Leader unit. Success comes from weaving your way through varied but rarely overwhelming abilities, like a barrage effect that hits every unit in a row or spikes that deal some damage back to attackers. It does a great job at imbuing many turns with a sense of satisfaction, as you punch out dangerous enemies just before they can shred through your lines.
You can move your units around, too, so it's more dynamic than Monster Train - part of the challenge is in building an effective machine from the interlocking strengths of your units, while the other part is all about manoeuvring those components around so they simultaneously soak up damage, deal damage in the right places, and leave your units lined up so their abilities bounce off each other most effectively. There are lots of trade offs, inviting lots of mulling. It's good!
The Fixers and Tinkers update has a few neat changes that let you get at that goodness faster, with an extended tutorial and a sorely-needed option to see the
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