In Graphite, a character’s level of artistic detail tells you exactly how deeply they have surrendered to a lie. When you first encounter the game’s heroes, they are simple, crude stick-figure doodles scrawled in black ink across blue-ruled notebook paper. But as your party ventures further into the campaign, these raw sketches bloom into highly detailed, beautifully shaded grayscale portraits. This visual transition mirrors the game’s tragic premise: you are playing through a tabletop campaign drawn by a grieving child—known as The Scribe—who is using paper, household junk, and ink to process trauma. The heroes he draws believe their world is entirely real, completely unaware they are merely coping mechanisms for a kid trying to grow up.
How Graphite Plays
At its core, Graphite is a lane-based, tactical roguelike RPG where strategic synergy and timing outweigh raw power. You assemble a party of heroes drawn from a roster of seven distinct classes. Each character serves a specific mechanical purpose; players have highlighted combinations like using the Monk and Bard for front-line presence and crowd control, while utilizing the Hunter and Rogue as back-line supports to generate extra gold and utility.
Progressing through a run means navigating a dynamic timeline. Instead of a standard node map, you draw illustrated pages from a tarot-inspired adventure deck. These cards present narrative “choose-your-own-adventure” scenarios where your current party composition, held items, and past decisions dictate your options. You might choose to help a mysterious stranger, hunt for buried schoolyard treasure, or take a dangerous shortcut. Combat encounters trigger when your choices go awry, pitting your party against hand-drawn monsters that can actually evolve mid-run, forcing you to adapt your strategy on the fly.
The combat itself is engaging and demands quick thinking, though RipRed has built in some thoughtful concessions. For players who find the tactical speed a bit overwhelming, there is an toggleable auto-battle option. While player reviews note that the automated AI isn’t nearly as clever or optimal as manual play, it remains a welcome accessibility feature for those who want to focus entirely on the story and build crafting.
What Players Love
With an overwhelmingly positive 95% approval rating on Steam, Graphite has quickly won over its quiet pocket of players. The praise centers heavily on the game’s incredible value-to-content ratio. Priced at just $8.99, players are finding an unexpected amount of depth. Several reviews mention putting 30 to 50 hours into the game without yet uncovering the “true ending.”
The progression loop is highly satisfying. The game starts relatively easy to let players learn the ropes, but the difficulty ramps up in a way that feels challenging yet fair. Players also love the mechanical freedom, noting that the game lets you pull off wild “shenanigans” by breaking the game with creative artifact synergies. Because each of the seven characters features their own distinct narrative arc—complete with a unique, personal second boss fight—every run feels like a meaningful step forward rather than repetitive grinding.
What Frustrates Them
Despite the glowing praise for its aesthetics and design, Graphite does have some rough edges that potential players should keep in mind. The most common quality-of-life complaint is the lack of an in-game logbook. Because the narrative is deeply emotional and delivered in fragmented chunks across different character runs, players express frustration at not being able to easily look back and piece the Scribe’s overarching story together in one place.
Additionally, the game has suffered from minor technical hurdles. Despite its seemingly lightweight 2D notebook aesthetic, some users have encountered unexpected performance issues. One player reported having to refund the game due to high resource usage on an older system, suggesting that the game badly needs an FPS lock or better optimization for modest hardware.
The Verdict
Graphite is an exceptional find for strategy fans who love roguelikes like Slay the Spire or Darkest Dungeon but crave a more intimate, character-driven narrative. If you enjoy theory-crafting party builds, appreciate highly original hand-drawn art styles, and don’t mind the lack of a story tracker, Graphite offers an incredibly generous and emotionally resonant experience for less than ten dollars. Just be sure your PC’s hardware is up to date to avoid any performance hitches.
Key Facts
- Developer: RipRed
- Publisher: indie.io
- Release Date: Jul 27, 2026
- Price: $8.99