Framed developer Joshua Boggs has revealed Sleight of Hand, a third-person stealth action sim and deckbuilder coming to Xbox Series X/S, PC, and Game Pass next year. Developed by RiffRaff Games, a new studio helmed by Boggs, Sleight of Hand debuted during today’s Xbox Partner Preview, showcasing the game’s “hardboiled” occult noir leaning in the stealth genre.
While today’s reveal was strictly cinematic, RiffRaff says players will wield “cursed cards to cast a smoke-based menagerie of magic” while navigating around “patrolling ruffians by evaporating into smoke.”
Check it out for yourself below in the Sleight of Hand reveal trailer:
“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,” a press release reads. “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.”
As an example of gameplay, the press release explains the following:
“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.”
In Sleight of Hand, players can upgrade their deck and assemble hands for each “highly replayable level,” built to encourage experimentation. You can stick to subterfuge with the Glimpse card to see enemies behind walls and then blind them with the Ignorance card to slip by undetected. The Hand Cannon card allows you to take out patrolling guards with a single shot.
“Making this game has been a long time dream of mine,” Boggs, who is CEO of RiffRaff and director of Sleight of Hand, writes in a press release. “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.”
Here are some screenshots from the Sleight of Hand reveal trailer:
Sleight of Hand hits Xbox Series X/S, PC via Steam, and Game Pass sometime in 2025. For more, read about Boggs’ acclaimed game, Framed.
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