TL;DR – A profoundly absorbing game, each run crafts a different narrative, making you want to take another spin, over and over again.

Disclosure – I was gifted a copy of this game.

Disclosure – This game was in Early Access when reviewed.

Slay the Spire II Review Introduction

In the pre-times, a number of my friends got hooked on this deck-building turn-based roguelike game that sort of came out of nowhere. I often struggle with deck-builders, so it passed me by, but I was always advised that I had missed a gem. Well, fast-forward several years, and the next game in the series dropped at the same time that a bunch of birthdays happened in my friends’ circle, and funny enough, we all ended up with a copy, and it has absorbed our lives since. So, it is time to dive into the world of Slay the Spire II or Slay the Spire 2 if you prefer Arabic numerals.

So, to set the scene, in a far-off, distant land, there exists a Spire, full of wonders and dangers. At the bottom of the Spire lives Neow, the Mother of Resurrection, sending wave after wave of adventurers up its many floors to defeat the Architect. You play as one of the many characters fighting your way past Monsters, Elites, and Bosses using your deck of cards to apply actions. You have limited energy each turn, so you need to work out how best to use your blocks, attacks, and special cards to take down the enemies before they come for you.

Early Access

Now, before we get into the review proper, I do need to make clear that it is still in early access at the time of review. This means that you go into it knowing that it is an unfinished game. You may ask why I am reviewing an unfinished game. A fair question. But my view is that once you are asking a consumer to throw down money, then they deserve to know what they are getting, and the list of games that never left early access is a mile long. I do need to say that during my time with the game, I have hit some game-breaking bugs, but thanks to a good saving system, the worst we have lost is having to restart a battle, so it’s not a major issue at this point.  

However, a couple of bugs aside, I am happy to say that this is a remarkable game even at this early stage. At the time of writing, there are still several placeholder art assets; there is no Act 4, and mechanically, you can still see some of the seams. But none of these takes away from the game, and indeed, when it comes to the placeholder art assets, they are actually quite charming. If any of the developers ever read this, a recommendation at the end of your development cycle is that you add a mode that is just the placeholder graphics.

The Run

Part of what makes the game so replayable is that there is so much variability that you will never have the same run twice. Now this does mean that once in a while, you will get a run where everything bad that can happen will happen. But so far in all my runs, that has only happened once, and that may have had a lot to do with a bad interaction with some Scrolls of Biting … I hate the Scrolls of Biting, like on a deep pathological level… they need to go … sorry, I digress. Every new monster you encounter will play slightly differently, and one of the joys of the game is getting to know all of their quirks and how to respond to them.

Mechanically, this is an impressive game, given just how many systems you need to have interact. Each character plays slightly differently, each run might unlock different cards, and that is on top of all the different relics and other bonuses that could dramatically change your playstyle. Synergies come and go, and that could be frustrating once you get the perfect combination, knowing that assortment will never happen again. However, each run unlocks new features, cards, characters, and relics, so there is always that drive to jump back in.

It is a strong drive to keep having you go back for more, when you start each match with that slow build, starting with just block and strike cards buffing out your decks as you proceed up the Spire. I am liking the Necrobinder at the moment with her wonderful Osty, but I love how differently all the characters play. But then, the cards you draw each run can push them into wildly different builds. For example, the cards you get each run might create different builds for each character. You could get all poison cards for the Silent on one particular run, or be a shiv queen the next. Or you could pick up a random card that synergises with your hand and become the king of the boulders. There are times when you want as many cards as possible, or times when you want to slim your decks down to guarantee you play a certain card as many times as you can. All of these possibilities make the game fresh every time. Now I assume there will come a time when I have experienced all the different permutations, I am already there with the monsters, but it is still enough to bring you back each time.    

Multiplayer

There are many changes from the first game, new characters, relics, and card mechanics. However, the big one that I want to talk about is the new co-op multiplayer mode. This is the one thing that called to me, because while the game had a solid foundation, it was clearly one that I would like to play with friends. Back in the day, someone would have the game up on the TV, and we would all watch someone run up the Spire, but it was clear that there was an opportunity to take it to the next level. I would say that most of my games at this point have been in multiplayer, and I feel it is here where the game shines for me.   

So far, the multiplayer integration has been smooth. Hopping on Discord with your friends and working out how best to use your cards to take down a foe is a real delight. It is like everyone has part of the puzzle, and you are working together to find the solution. Just the puzzle pieces are attack cards, and the solution is defeating an enemy. There is real joy in clinching a win at the jaws of defeat because you worked out how best to play all your cards together in that last do-or-die round. That level of camaraderie is often lost in games, but it is on full show here.

Communication is key here, so I am not sure how well it would play if you don’t have a voice connection. However, there are still several built-in tools that can help you here. A good example of this is the map, which you can all draw on to chart a course, send a communication, or write unspeakable things that shall never be spoken again. I would be cautious with playing with randoms. Some sound effect cues can be used to help suggest to a player who is taking too long deciding what to buy in the shop to hurry up and pick. All of these features combine together to make a solid experience for all players.

Recommendation

In the end, do we recommend Slay the Spire II? Yes, yes, we would. It is already at a state that I can confidently say it is worth the asking price, and we have much more game to unlock from here. That one-more-run drive is there, and I keep getting sucked back into it. Though this may also be read as a warning if you have any pressing deadlines ahead of you, because it will usurp your time if you let it, and I, for one, am glad it did.  

Have you played Slay the Spire II? Let us know what you thought in the comments below.If you liked Slay the Spire II, we would recommend Hades to you because it is another run-based roguelike that makes you want to go back each time and give it another try, over and over again.  

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Bluesky at @Tldrmovrev, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Feel free to share this review on social media and check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day.  Credits – All images were created by the staff of Slay the Spire II

Mega Crit Team – Anthony Giovannetti, Casey Yano, Marlowe Dobbe, Jake Card, Danielle Jenkins, Chris Gortz, Demi Montes, Anailis Dorta, Jose Pacio, Ed Lu, Clark Aboud, & Jake Rabinowitz.
Developer – Mega Crit
Publisher – Mega Crit