Sleight Of Hand
A new title, Sleight Of Hand, is announced and bringing us some new magic with Sleight Of Hand in the coming years
Things always seem to slip out there when it comes to smaller studios and the announcements, which feels like it was the case for Sleight Of Hand here. A new title on the way from RiffRaff Games for the Xbox Series X|S and PC. A new title that will take us back into the detective noir setting of things. A new title that will also have us taking on the role of a witch in the setting and tossing cards out there to make it through everything. A different kind of magic than what would be expected from a title like Sleight Of Hand, but it does hit so many fun little notes that we can overlook all of that and get excited for what is on the way in 2025. If we can survive that long of a wait…
It can be slightly seen, pun intended, that Sleight Of Hand is going to be a bit of a stealth game as well as an action on where we will be needing to toss special cards about to get certain things done. More or less, this feels like the specific way we will handle the special abilities and actions of our witches in the game as they set out to bring the evil coven they left down. All with the cursed deck of cards that was liberated out there and gives off all of these special things in Sleight Of Hand. Things like being able to teleport about the world or bind guards out there. For those feeling truly deadly, some can even kill those searching for us. That is how the following trailer and gameplay description make it all sound, at least.
Sleight Of Hand — Announcement
Sleight Of Hand, the third-person card-slinging occult noir stealth sim from the powerhouse team at RiffRaff Games, infiltrates the rain-slicked streets of Steeple City as a day one Game Pass launch for Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC in 2025.
Step into the gumshoes of Lady Luck, a revered former occult detective fated to return for one final job: taking down her former Coven. Her departure was less than amicable; last time, she lost her left hand. Too tired to fight fate any longer, and with more overdue bills than bucks to her name, Lady Luck strikes out to Steeple City with cursed deck in hand, ready to track down everyone from her past life.
Slink through a hard-boiled city rife with taboo, where knowledge of ritual magic and possession of cursed artifacts separate the haves and the have-nots. Wield Lady Luck’s cursed cards to cast a smoke-based menagerie of magic. Navigate around patrolling ruffians by Evaporating into smoke. Faced with a group of huddled-up goons? Even the odds by intertwining their fates with the Chain Smoker card — now any cards cast affect them all at once. Snuff them out with a lethal card, or choose an affliction to help Lady Luck sneak right past.
Silently take out enemies using powerful card and state combos. Inaccessible guard causing problems with a spotlight? Take him out by marking his position with a Hex card, which tags any target within line of sight. Once Hexed, other cards combo with this state, like Peekaboo, which teleports the player behind any Hexed target in view. While lurking behind the unsuspecting goon, you don’t need a card to know a silent takedown is the next play to get through.
Upgrade the deck and assemble the perfect hand for each highly replayable level, all built to encourage experimentation. Stick to subterfuge with Glimpse to see enemies behind walls and blind them with Ignorance to slip by undetected. Become a wickeder witch by taking out guards in one shot with a Hand Cannon.
Discover hidden passwords to access secret pathways through speakeasies and interrogate former friends of Lady Luck’s ex-coven to settle “old debts.” Gain new powers, intel, and cards to bring the coven leader in. Just hope the cards pulled come out in Lady Luck’s favor.
Sleight Of Hand will launch on Xbox Series X|S and PC via Xbox Game Pass and Steam in 2025.
I am a fan of the art style we are getting here for Sleight Of Hand and the gameplay sounds like a nice twist on some systems that played out well before. Systems that sounds like the only deviation here is that we will be tossing cards instead of light orbs on the screen to pull things off. Nothing wrong with that, especially if it makes for a great gameplay experience, but something to take note of. As long as Sleight Of Hand takes more from Dishonored or BioShock to get this mechanic done, then it will be something we will want to play through on top of getting a fun new story to place into our memories out there. Unless I am missing the basics of this game from the cinematic trailer with no gameplay.
Do you like the look and feel of Sleight Of Hand as it all stands here or do you need to have more to be able to get excited about it all? Do you think the gameplay will function like we have seen in those other games or will the card placement and uses feel like something vastly different? Will the cards be single-use only and then force us to use other methods to get things done if we use up certain ones early on in the game? Head down to the comment section and discuss all of that as you so wish. We will keep eyes on Sleight Of Hand and see what new magic it will pull out there. Please keep on coming back here to see and hear about all of it as it flows out to the world.
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