Fretless: The Wrath of Riffson (2025)

In this turned-based RPG, wield powerful legendary instruments, gather mighty riff attacks and save the land from Rick Riffson's devilish goons and musical hybrid monsters!

Music Role-playing (RPG)Adventure Indie Action Fantasy guitar playing cartoony music and rhythm rhythm game wholesome turn-based rpg youtuber nextfest february 2025PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac

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Character

Resolved, unpretentious, warm and plot-driven.

resolvedopen-ended
unpretentiousprestige
warmbleak
character-ledplot-driven
contemporarynostalgic

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From the critics

A few lines from each review; the whole review is on the critic's site. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.

DualShockersEthan KriegerJul 20259/10
This is a must-play for musicians that game, but I'd also wholeheartedly recommend it to the non-musicals as well.
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Loot Level ChillLyle PendleJul 20259.5/10
Fretless - The Wrath of Riffson is a musical RPG with spectacular combat, a lot of build options, and more musical charm than you can handle.
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Niche GamerMatt KowalskiJul 20259/10
The only reason we can not give it a perfect score is due to the game’s teleport mechanic not working properly on multiple occasions and that there is only one difficulty to play the game on; there were a few times where we had to relaunch the game because we would teleport and end up glitched outside of the map unable to get back in. We expect that this issue will be fixed in the near future, but until then, enjoy its ambitious performance.
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Screen RantLeo FaiermanJul 20254/10
Fretless struggles with the fundamentals.
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MinimapTyler HealyAug 20253.5/5 stars
Fretless - The Wrath of Riffson is far from perfect. The story is clichéd and one-note, and the combat lacks the necessary balance and depth to remain enjoyable, which is massively disappointing considering the core premise carries so much potential. That said, I still recommend giving [Fretless - The Wrath of Riffson] a try. The way it leverages music in its RPG and deckbuilder mechanics is so clever, and the environments are literally singing with charm. Ritual Studio’s inexperience may have been what holds this back from being a must-play title, but their dedication to creating a world bursting at the seams with the positive energy of music shines through, making Fretless - The Wrath of Riffson an enjoyable and worthwhile experience.
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Snippets via OpenCritic, where 85% of critics recommend it.

About the game

Platforms: PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac
Developer: Ritual Studios
Publisher: Playdigious, Klei Entertainment
Released: July 17, 2025
Modes: Single player
Perspective: Bird view / Isometric, Side view, Auditory
Engine: Unity
Time to beat: 7 h rushed · 8 h main story · 9 h completionist

IGDB rating 8.5/10 from 1 ratings.

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