A musical RPG that shreds expectations, harmonizes deckbuilding with rhythm, and totally rocks with the new-gen hardware.
Fretless – The Wrath of Riffson isn’t a stiff RPG that came out of nowhere with a huge splash. No, it slammed in with loud guitar solos and amps turned all the way up to 11. This is a passion project by Ritual Studios. It’s a deck-building RPG with rhythm-based combat and the ridiculously cute idea of taking down Super Metal Records, an evil music empire. The developers have shown off the game at several PAX events. Early demos added to the excitement, and now it’s a full-on headliner.
Fretless – The Wrath of Riffson doesn’t just play a tune; it makes you a part of the band. It’s based on a concept that was worked on for years. As Rob, a fretless hero, it’s your job to stop Super Metal Records from polluting the world with their soulless music. Fretless – The Wrath of Riffson doesn’t waste time telling you too much.
Instead, it leans heavily into the ridiculousness of monsters, incorporating music themes and dialogue that is both silly and sincere. The plot isn’t a sprawling saga; instead, it’s more of a framework for the great moment-to-moment gameplay. What you’re here to do is hit solos and slap demons into submission, not figure out the meaning of life.
Fretless – The Wrath of Riffson is a rhythm-based, turn-based RPG with deck-building elements at its core. You choose riffs, which are cards that represent attacks, buffs, or defense, and play them in a certain order during each battle. The catch is that every card comes with a QuickTime rhythm event. If you hit the right beat, your effects will be stronger. If you miss, you could take more damage or make a mistake with your attack.
You get better at timing as you go along, and a crescendo meter builds up. This meter controls your speed. When you release a crescendo, a fast-paced rhythm game begins. If your fingers can’t keep up, you can either destroy your enemies or lose badly.
Not having a strong deck is not enough; you also need to know your rhythms. You can learn the beat, the pattern, and the feeling of syncing with your build, like a professional musician syncing with their bandmates.
Fretless – The Wrath of Riffson’s combat is a breath of fresh air. Enemies don’t just wait for you to finish your song; they send out attacks ahead of time, so you have to plan ahead and choose whether to defend, debuff, or go full face-melter. You can use four different weapons. Each one has its own cards, passives, and rhythm patterns. Every new instrument has a different way to be played, from the snappy acoustic starter guitar to the synthy electric beasts.
Let’s look at the “Slap” build. It is based on a meter that goes up with each hit and can be boosted and multiplied. It’s one thing to get 30 Slap points, and then it’s another to deal 600+ damage that would make any rock god envious. As the saying goes, you “find your groove” by experimenting with weapons and finding your favorite beat.
Boss fights in Fretless – The Wrath of Riffson take the formula to a higher level with their own unique rules and devastating peaks. These aren’t just HP sponges; they’re rhythm gauntlets that test your timing and ability to plan your moves.
Do you like puzzles? They’re real. But they’re not very important and mostly just break up fights. They won’t make you crazy, but they also won’t get in the way. One of the best parts of Fretless – The Wrath of Riffson is the rhythm combat.
It’s not enough to make the strongest deck; you also need to learn how to beat it. Every fight with an enemy turns into a jam session, and every hit that hits home sounds like a musical punch. The added rhythm layer makes the turn-based formula much more interactive, which was really missing.
Although the rhythm parts are enjoyable, some people may not like them. If you’re not on time or have trouble keeping your rhythm, some battles can be frustrating instead of fun. Even though the puzzles are fun, they are too easy and don’t really test your brain.
Instead of grinding XP like most games do, Fretless – The Wrath of Riffson rewards players who explore and try new things. In battle, you gain experience points and collect Riffs, which are cards that you can change and improve at workbenches.
You can make your game even more unique by adding mods and pedals. Mods are passive effects that you can attach to certain instruments, and pedals are universal bonuses that you can mix and match. Not having to grind for hours is never a bad thing. Progress is natural, and customization is where the real depth is.
Fretless – The Wrath of Riffson looks great because it combines hand-drawn charm with musical flair. The enemies are creatively made. For example, Xylamanders are lizards with xylophone-shaped backs, and tambourine spiders are another example. Every place you go is a musical wonderland.
As you walk by flowers, they chime, and haunted forests feel alive with spooky tremolos. The animations are smooth, and each weapon has its own way of attacking. Everything flows together, which makes even the slower parts feel lively.
Where Fretless – The Wrath of Riffson really shines is in its sound. The music, written by real rock and metal musicians, is always great, and it sometimes adapts based on how well you play. Attacks have clear sound cues. In terms of sound and mechanics, crescendos hit hard. It sounds like music to walk around in the world. Each note sounds like it was meant to be there. Flowers jingle and spiders hiss.
This is more than just good sound design. It’s making a world through sound. Even if you’re not musically inclined, you’ll like how the game uses sound to help you figure out who you are. Without a doubt, Fretless – The Wrath of Riffson is a loud, proud, and strange game, and it looks great because of it.
It takes the tried-and-true formula of turn-based RPGs and adds a rhythm mechanic that really works to it. There’s more to it than just a trick or a one-line joke. The rhythm integration makes every fight more exciting and tense. Getting the rhythm right never gets old, especially when it changes the course of a battle or turns your Crescendo into a monster-smashing show.
But what makes Fretless – The Wrath of Riffson stand out is how much it cares about the bit. The game creates a world that feels really alive, from the monster names (Xylamanders still makes me laugh) to the environments that consistently come up with new ideas that sound as silly as they look.
The sound design isn’t just for show; it’s an integral part of what makes this world feel like it does. There aren’t many games where even walking through grass sounds like music, but Fretless manages to do it.
Another big plus is that it’s easy to get to. You don’t have to be good at music to enjoy Fretless – The Wrath of Riffson. The rhythm timing is easy to get the hang of, the combat gets harder over time, and there are a lot of Mods, Pedals, and instruments you can use to make the game fit your playing style
Like getting rocked out with heavy Slap-based combos? Do it. Want a setup that is safer and more defensive? Doable in every way. One of the best things about the whole experience is that you can play however you want without getting in trouble for trying new things.
Still, Fretless – The Wrath of Riffson isn’t perfect. The puzzles are so simple that they feel like filler, and the story is cute, but it won’t stick with you like the music or combat will. If a player has trouble with timing, the rhythm mechanics might be a bit challenging for them, but the game is forgiving enough that it never becomes a significant issue.
