Slay the Spire

Masterpiece of game design. Extremely easy to get into but has more depth than hundreds of other games you'll play. If you're hesitant in trying this because you're not into cards or deck-building, but are still somewhat interested, this is a great place to start.

Fun, much addicting and better than drinking alcohol.

This game is the simplified version of card game—math addition, subtraction, multiplication, division—combined with a fun, unique visual style and some RNG elements sprinkled through to keep things fresh. If you know what you're doing and play the right way, I'm confident you can pretty much always make it to the stage 3 boss and beat it, making it perfectly balanced up to a point where it feels that even through the RNG, you still have control over how each run goes. The items feel fun, and building combos around them or picking/getting ones that fit your deck feels great. The game lets you take as much time as you need to decide what to do and really think your moves through, meaning a slip-up is mostly ever made by haste of your own accountability. Overall, this is just a great wind-down game for when you wanna play something but also just watch a video or chat with friends on the side, and I could see myself or others easily losing a hundred or more hours into. I would definitely recommend Slay the Spire wholeheartedly.

I’ve sunk many hours into Slay the Spire, and it never gets old. Building a deck as you climb, adapting on the fly, and finding clever ways to make your cards work together - it’s super addictive. Every run feels different, and I’m always telling myself “just one more try.” No fluff, just tight mechanics and endless replayability. Still the gold standard.

Beaten the game on a20 with Ironclad and the journey felt like going to a job I hate, it was difficult not to quit before reaching the end. The cards are just so boring and everything feels lame, even with strong corruption decks, strength decks, or bodyblock decks, there's nothing exciting about it. I also won with Silent and Defect but not on high ascensions like I did with Ironclad. Eventually, I couldn't muster the motivation anymore to try Watcher. I find it such a drag to double and triple check every time if I'm truly taking the best path on the map, and calculating cost vs benefit for elite fights vs campfires. I really wanted to give this an honest try and kept pushing until a20 win on Ironclad, with long breaks between runs. Collecting the keys for the heart fight is yet another boring activity. There are so many things to think about and the reward is always a build that feels shallow and plays without excitement. Just plain boring numbers crunching. Relieved I can finally uninstall the game and move on from this. My main motivation for this review is to help those who are like me and want to beat every single game they buy. If that's you, be careful with this one. You might end up regretting this purchase when you realize what a drag it is and then you're stuck investing hours into this to finally beat it. If you don't care about beating it on the highest difficult, then I don't think my review should worry you much, just try the game and stop after you're fed up obviously. Personally I would say that instead of buying this game, I would highly recommend playing Monster Train, that was a fun & exciting journey with much more depth than StS provides imo. I loved Monster Train even on the highest difficulty, it was always fun while being challenging and deep.

The idea of a roguelike deckbuilder is very intriguing. I like both genres. Slay the Spire was arguably the first to really hit it big by combining the concepts, and seems to be universally acclaimed. I was certain I would love it, but found it too random and time-consuming. Disclaimer: If you do like the game mechanics and are looking for a game to spend countless hours in, you are in for an absolute treat. There are altogether 20 difficulty modifiers that can be unlocked, and a daily challenge, and you can create special runs with a wide variety of customized rules, and there are mods. The UI and game flow are good. The cards are mostly well balanced, and they offer vast tactical depth, you can learn new tricks even after dozens of hours of playing. Unlike many card games, Slay the Spire is not ruined by greed-induced DLCs, the base game has everything. This review tries to shed light on why it still may not be for everyone. For me, the first few runs were awesome. Every normal game consists of 3 acts; every act has 16 "floors" (monsters, shops, rest places, and mystery locations) and 1 final boss (Acts 1-3 have three possible bosses each). It took 3 or 4 attempts with the first character (Ironclad) to beat all three acts for the first time. The first couple of runs with each of the three new characters that became available were also very interesting, as they have completely different cards and starting relic, thus requiring and enabling different strategies. However, soon repetitiveness started to hinder the enjoyment. There are not many monster types, after just a few runs one has seen them all. With enough successes, one can unlock Ascensions, i.e., new difficulty modifiers (like "shops have higher prices"), but they don't add content. Eventually a very challenging Act 4 can be opened, but Acts 1-3 still remain the same. Vast majority of runs end in failure. Very little is gained with failed runs; sometimes new cards or relics are added to the pool from which things are randomly assessed to your future characters. But usually failed runs were just wasted time, and as I usually failed in Act 3, quite a significant amount of it. Major part of the challenge and the variety in the game comes from randomness, mainly random distribution of cards; one can also gain random abilities in the form of relics (permanent) and potions (temporary). This is not a typical deckbuilder, you can't freely pick the cards in your deck. Instead you are dealt a default hand, and then gain random additional cards along the way (after beating a monster you are typically offered 3 cards, of which you can pick one; sometimes there's a shop in your path that sells a small selection of random cards). While there are only a handful of different monster types, you don't see which of them are in the encounters along your path, so you can't pick cards to match their strengths and weaknesses. You can only try to blindly develop as good tactic as possible with the cards you're dealt, and hope you get lucky. You can craft strategies, study the enemy AIs, and streamline your deck during a run as much as you want, but if the game won't give you the card(s) essential for your strategy at all during the run, or won't deal them at the time you'd crucially need them during an encounter despite your best min/max efforts, or places you against a strong monster that your deck style doesn't work against, there's nothing you can do but try and try again. To top it off, there are random special occurrences that can ruin your runs. An example: in Third act there was a "?" in every path (i.e., an unknown location, it is not possible to see what they contain beforehand), the one I visited triggered Memory game (no option to refuse to play), it resulted in "Normality" curse added to my deck (no way to avoid addition); the curse made my carefully curated deck impossible to use as planned. After the initial delight, Slay the Spire turned into a frustrating, vexing experience to me. The runs take too long with too little reward, and failure or success depends too much on RNG. Even when I "won" a run, I didn't feel accomplished, just relieved that luck was on my side that time. And yet, although I didn't really enjoy playing after the first few runs, I did find Slay the Spire to be highly addictive, in the way slot machines are addictive. Just instead of money I was wasting time. Maybe this time <x> happens / doesn't happen, and I can finish the run! I think I learned a pattern! Wonder if I can beat this Ascension! One more attempt... And that's another hour gone. And then again. And again. Against the same handful of enemies. I have rarely been so relieved about the decision to uninstall a game. And there you have it, a rare cautionary tale among the abundance of praises. Your mileage may vary wildly (see disclaimer).

apparently, i am addicted to deck building games just like this one. ooof. what is sleep, again?

yeah... I slayed the spire... whatcha think about that... This game needs no introduction it's a classic among classics, it inspired an entire genre of insale good highquality fun games. I have more than 200 hours on this game and counting, honestly I don't even need to tell you that this game is good, you already know it is

It just didn't click with me. Far be it from me to suggest that Slay the Spire is a bad game---I'd give it a "meh" if I could---but mostly it made me think about any number of other roguelikes I'd rather be playing---ones with better style and brisker pacing.

Counting the downfall community mod i've sunk 1k hours in the game so i can definitely recommend it if you want a game to spend time on, a usual casual run is roughly between an hour to an hour an a half however if you like to speed run then congrats there even an achevment, speaking about achievements they are 100% possible so if you like achievement hunting give it a try, the modding community is great so the replay ability is definitely present and in my opinion definitely encouraged, for a rouge like there isn't much meta progression other than unlocking cards and relics for future runs the game rewards you for learning patterns and can punish you for overestimating your deck and while some card do feel underwhelming when compare to some cards however none of the cards are a unusable, clash for iron clade can be a good form of early game damage but can be a trap against say against tri sentries but in a attack focused deck can help against say gremlinnob if you have to block, each character has there own play styles so you have options say you dislike aggressive style characters well defect or silent my suit you more with orbs, poison or discard strategies or even thorns if you have the time, so if you enjoy deck builders i would suggest giving this one a chance

The game has a nasty lockscreen bug in fullscreen, lost my work having to force close the computer, bug was noted in 2018 still in the game 7 years later :(

Interesting and fun card game

It's a classic for a reason. Simple to understand yet quite deep mechanically, with a lot of quality mods that add content on the same level as the base game, StS simply has something for anyone who likes deckbuilders / card battlers. It basically has infinite "one more run" energy. If you ever get tired of it, just take a pause ; trust me, the itch'll come again soon enough, and you'll find another mod to try, or another character that you haven't quite mastered yet. It's just a really good game. Can't wait for the sequel!

I don't get it. It's a fairly solid game, but overall mediocre as far as I'm concerned. It's very short, fairly easy, not very diverse and much too RNG dependent in a way that punishes build diversity. For example, you might make a build centered around the concept of playing many free or inexpensive cards in long combos. It looks like a very strong build and you clobber everything on your way to the act 3 boss. Then you win. Or you have bad luck, get Time Eater as the boss and basically insta-lose. What is the moral? you pick: 1) tough cookies: you have bad luck, you lose 2) don't play that sort of build Either way you see it, it's poor game design. It's not fun to lose a run near the end because you simply had bad luck, and it's not fun to be locked out of ways of playing the game that otherwise make sense, just because there happens to be a boss you may or may not randomly run into who is built around hard-countering that play style. Glad I got this heavily discounted, because I definitely don't think it's worth full price.

The legend needs little introduction. This is the OG deck building roguelike turn based strategy game, and if you have played any other card-based roguelike/roguelite, you are probably somewhat familiar with this game's beloved mechanics. Must play.

This is my first deck building roguelike and wanted to check it out after hearing many good things about it. The game itself can be fairly addicting to play but after you lose run after run to bad RNG, it gets a bit old having to start over again from the beginning with your trash stock deck and dealing with the trash mobs early game. You can have a great deck only to have 2 bad hands/draws and lose most if not all your health to some random mob. You can have a great deck going only to face off against one of the mobs/bosses that hard counters your deck. Many non-deck building roguelikes lets you win combats through sheer ability even with bad RNG but in a turn based game like this, it's impossible. You may get some great relics that make the game extremely easy or you may get relics that literally do nothing for your deck but you had to lose half your health in a fight with an elite to get. Skill and ability doesn't feel like it contributes to victories as much as a good streak of luck. Save scumming works to a certain extent but the draw order is set upon entering battle. No amount of save scumming will change the order you draw your cards and you can only play them in a certain order to get the best outcome possible. Which means if your draws for the first several turns are bad and you don't get what you need, even with a great deck, you will lose and there is literally nothing you can do. There isn't a lot of variety of cards/builds and you will generally have about 2-3 builds per character. The game is fun for a few hours but doesn't feel particularly deep when RNG affects your probability of winning more than your ability.

[h1] It's Spire Slaying Time [/h1] [h2] No seriously when do we Slay the Spire? [/h2] Slay the Spire is a game that realistically requires zero introduction and if you enjoy roguelikes, deckbuilders, or just fun and engaging gameplay you probably already own this game or it's on your radar. If somehow, in the year of our lord and saviour 2025, you don't own this game - you need to buy it. It's cheap. You'll be supporting a tiny dev team who are incredibly passionate about games and about their fanbase. Most importantly it's incredibly fun and has so much replay factor. It is important to know that this game is very difficult and only gets harder the further in you get into it but it's incredibly satisfying to get right and only rewards perseverance and developing knowledge. Truly the definition of easy to learn and hard to master. This game is a hard and resounding must-buy. Please pick it up if the concept even vaguely interests you, you're in for an incredible, challenging time.

The perfect cure for a miserable day. My only complaint is that your gameplay is largely dictated by the gods of RNG.

Easy to learn, hard to master rougelike masterpiece. I've been playing this game on and off since early access and it's still fun as hell after all these years. Also has a multiplayer mod for those interested.

I Just Don’t Get It I’ve given Slay the Spire multiple tries, hoping I’d eventually see what everyone else seems to love about it. But after dozens of runs, I just don’t get it. I’m not having fun dying over and over again with barely any sense of progress. The game is punishing, and not in a rewarding way, it often feels like it punishes you just before you finally get a good deck. The balance feels completely off. Some enemies hit like a truck while you're still drawing basic strikes and defends. You’ll often get a bad hand at the worst possible time. it’s hard to build a good deck when the game gives you the worst cards you could get. The truth is, the enemies always seem to have the advantage. They hit harder and block more while you’re stuck praying for the one deck that actually works for you. Yeah there are mods you can download such as playing as One Punch Man or Dante from DMC but even that gets boring as it's the same dungeon over and over again. Maybe there's something I'm missing, but Slay the Spire just feels like a game that wants me to lose more than it wants me to learn. And after a while, that just isn’t fun.

casual lay back and think game. nothing is time sensitive and everything is bright and feels so good to build a deck meta that works

It's interesting until a certain point. After beating Act 3 with all the characters, you are able to reach the true final boss in Act 4. At that point, you have already experienced all there is to see in the game, and it becomes too repetitive and boring. Nevertheless, it is a good game for a couple dozen hours.

gf made me install boob growth mod for boob growth modded character help I think im into it

With over +100 hours in this game, making it to ascension 20, and after giving it several chances, I can't call this game anything other than trash. The RNG dial on this game is dialed up way to high. I get it, is a rogue-lite or rogue-like or whatever the fuck you want to call it, but at the end of the day, if a game punishes you for the game itself not rolling the exact specs for you, then its not a good game. There plenty of other deck builders out there, and many of them aren't as shitty as this one.

Great strategy deck-builder. Only complaint would be that you should get some more opportunities in select areas to shape your deck some more.

Man is this addicting! There is a bug though, where the audio settings always revert to default after you restart the game, wish it would just stay there, sooo maybe theres some hope for a lil' hotfix:)

Reviewing to say I 100%'d it. It's pretty good; the original Deck Building Rogue-like that inspired a whole genre. It's like balatro but for people who dont want to think about gambling.

This game is functional and able to operate, just as my good friend Edlo (who is not German) once said about some other game.

A truly great game. Spawned a whole genre. I play it with 3 of my roommates sometimes on the TV and we sit for hours talking about lines. It was a date activity for me for a long time. It makes you think critically. It pushes you. And it's a blast to copilot. Ticks all the boxes.

This game is strongly recommended for people who enjoy card games and like to use their brains.

Slay the Spire is a brilliant fusion of roguelike mechanics and deck-building strategy. It’s challenging, rewarding, and endlessly replayable. Every climb up the spire feels unique and unpredictable, forcing players to plan ahead, adapt to changing situations, and learn from past failures to improve in the next run. Even when you lose, it never feels like a waste of time — each playthrough offers new encounters, card combos, and strategies to explore. No two runs are ever the same, and building the perfect deck for each character is a satisfying puzzle in itself. The game's depth keeps it fresh, making it easy to sink dozens (or hundreds) of hours without growing bored. Slay the Spire is easy to pick up but hard to master, and it perfectly captures that “just one more run” feeling over and over again. A must-play for fans of strategy and challenge — Score: 9/10 for its depth, replayability, and smart design.

Very fun and engaging game. Can play on repeat!

Absolutely delivishly complex game that changes greatly as you learn it. You can spend years mastering it and not be done.

Great game. Tons of replayability. The standard by which I measure other roguelikes

Absolutely hooked by this game. The gameplay loop has so much variety and strategy that i hadn't expected, and i've unwittingly lost many a good few hours just by starting this game up. This game makes me completely lose track of time like no other, a really good fun time.

This is one of the games where I wish there was a neutral button, but, this game, despite being extremely fun, is so comically unbalanced, you either completely dominate the game, or get screwed by RNG and which bosses you get, a perfect example is a run I just had, I basically kept instakilliing everything turn 1, until I got to the 3rd floor boss, which had 2 36 health minions with strength buffs, and 300 HP, and it healed 10 HP every turn ontop of dealing 30-40 damage each turn, I managed to kill it, only for it to resurrect at FULL HEALTH, and kill me in one shot, I shouldn't have to explain why that feels overly unfair, I'm fine with a game being purposefully hard, but the difficulty in this game feels less like it comes from skill, and more like it comes from RNG and if you get a boss that Insta-kills, overall, only get this game if you are willing to spend multiple hours playing it only to lose over and over again, if you expect to win a run everytime, you won't have fun

W Game frfr (i was forced to type something to post the review, game is great lol)

The greatest deckbuilder of all time. It's a classic for a reason, and everyone who liked the genre should play it.

definitely one of the most timeless games ever. have been playing on and off for a few years now and ive yet to get truly burnt out from playing it. so fun!

Difficult to get into at first. For me, it takes longer to start enjoying this game than other games, but once it clicks then holy hell is it so damn good. Try it if you're tired of Balatro and wanting something with more depth. Just beat Ascension 20 in under a month.

I'd consider this to be my first deck-builder game and while I feel like I really suck at it, and there's a lot I don't yet understand, I'm really enjoying it. I keep running through the game and seem to be making it further each time, usually, and I think I'm making progress. There are a ton of cards to choose from, great artwork, and so many abilities via relics, potions, etc. that can really affect the outcome of each battle. I love the randomness as it really makes me stop and think, trying to think two steps ahead if I can, and really just keep me focused on the game. I've had it for a few days now and surpassed 8 hours between my PC and Steam Deck, and I suspect this'll become one of my most played titles by the end of this year.

This is a great game. It requires luck, and the ability to build a deck that can win.

Slay the Spire more like Slay the Spire because I am going down a spiral of madness after this game because I find myself playing the game more often than not.

balatro if youve been eyeballing it but think it's "not really your kind of game" just pick it up and try it, it's an incredibly well-spent $6 and refundable if you don't vibe with it

One of those just really well made games that has so much in terms of being replayed. A game I have not put enough attention to

got a god run first time i played and reached the hearth first time in less than 60 minutes. already know im about to get my ass handed to me in the next few runs. 10/10

Great strategy card game. highly additive and challenging . lots of fun.

Very cool game. Simple to understand and challenging at the same time (the more you climb the levels).

For those wondering if the game is worth it. YES! even if you are not into the deck building games, this one is so fun and you have a lot to do.

best card game. end of discussion. only thing this game could be perfected on is by having more characters which will be included in Slay the Spire 2. Perfection! Muah *chef's kiss*