From the FRAMED creator, Joshua Boggs, comes RiffRiff Games’ hard-boiled occult stealth title, Sleight of Hand.
Sleight of Hand is a third-person card-slinging occult noir stealth sim from the powerhouse team at RiffRaff Games; that’s a team helmed by Joshua Boggs, creator of multi-award-winning noir puzzle game FRAMED. It’ll be looking to infiltrate the rain-slicked streets of Steeple City as a day one Game Pass launch for Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC (or Steam) in 2025.
Step into the gumshoes of Lady Luck (voiced by Debi Mae West, Metal Gear Solid’s Meryl Silverburgh), 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.
A rough world in Sleight of Hand
In Sleight of Hand you’ll get to 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 Hand Cannon.
Listen to the devs
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.
“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,” said Joshua Boggs, CEO and Game Director at RiffRaff Games. “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 honoured to walk side by side with this team as we push the stealth action genre in a brand new direction.”
Sleight of Hand will launch on Xbox Series X|S and PC via Xbox Game Pass and Steam in 2025.
