Creator behind Kojima’s 2014 GOTY helms a new witchy noir card-battler slated for Xbox Game Pass next year
RiffRaff Games, headlined by Joshua Boggs and staffed with industry veterans, revealed Sleight of Hand during the Xbox Partner Preview showcase.
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What you need to know
It may not be the spooky season, but RiffRaff Games has shared a witchy new trailer during theXbox Partner Previewshowcase. Sleight of Hand, a third-person card-battler with occult noir vibes and stealth sim gameplay, will shuffle its way to Xbox Series X|S consoles, Windows PC, and Steam in 2025.
The announcement trailer for Sleight of Hand introduces players to Lady Luck (voiced by Debi Mae West of Metal Gear Solid fame), a former detective who has been cast out from her former coven but is given the opportunity to return to Steeple City and exact her revenge. Missing her left hand but armed with a deck of cursed cards, Lady Luck can stealthily maneuver through the city’s shadows, taking out enemies with lucky draws or working her magic to sneak by undetected.
Players can use Lady Luck’s cursed cards to cast smoke-based magic that can help them move with stealth through Steeple City. Evaporate into a puff of smoke to evade patrols, take down goons with lethal cards stacked, and create stacked combinations that are undeniably powerful. Lady Luck will power up as players work their way through the old coven, settling the score of the past, gaining new powers, and bringing the coven’s leader to justice.
RiffRaff Games is helmed by Joshua Boggs, known for his work as the creator behind Hideo Kojima’s 2014 GOTY, Framed. The team consists of a slate of industry veterans with credits from heavy hitters such as God of War, Dishonored, Rise of the Tomb Raider,Call of Duty, Ashen, and more. Boggs describes Sleight of Hand as a love letter to Metal Gear Solid, hard-boiled noir, and the work ofHideo Kojima.
Making this game has been a long-time dream of mine. It combines my love of Kojima’s brilliant pioneering work in Tactical Espionage Action with Metal Gear Solid and my obsessive desire to push the envelope in making new gameplay experiences. In typical ‘me fashion’ (as the team here would say), I’ve sought to turn the genre on its head with a healthy dose of innovative card play. It’s been a hard road, honestly the hardest project I’ve worked on, but I am so honored to walk side by side with this team as we push the stealth action genre in a brand-new direction.
Sleight of Hand is slated to release in 2025 onXbox Series X|Sconsoles andWindows PC, as well as onSteam. Subscribers toXbox Game PassorPC Game Passwill have access to Sleight of Hand day one via the subscription service.
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Cole is the resident Call of Duty know-it-all and indie game enthusiast for Windows Central. She’s a lifelong artist with two decades of experience in digital painting, and she will happily talk your ear off about budget pen displays.
