Slay the Spire

Slay the Spire

A roguelike card game.

Overview

Slay the Spire has game mechanics similar to collectible card games. You collect cards to build a deck. You play cards to do damage or block damage. That sort of thing. On top of that, you have different classes to play, and there is a strategic map to travel with boss fights.

Features

Card Play

The basic card play is fine. Normally it's not all that deep and choices are obvious. However, sometimes you will have to make tough decisions, especially considering that damage you take persists to the next fight. I would say the play itself is about as engaging as Hearthstone. 

Deckbuilding

With most card games, I find the deckbuilding to be the fun part. Playing cards is fine, but it's just the realization of the effort I put into making the deck. The deckbuilding in Slay the Spire isn't like traditional deckbuilders. Cards are offered randomly so it's difficult to set on a strategy from the start. When you think your deck is going in one direction, you still have to be adaptable because one amazing relic can change everything. The way you acquire cards feels a bit like a Magic: The Gathering booster draft, but slowly over the course of many battles.

There are many obvious strategies to aim for when building your deck. Even experienced players continue to find new combinations for success.

Update: After revisiting Slay the Spire, I have found the deckbuilding aspect to be very deep. The obvious and shallow strategies will succeed on easy difficulty levels, but success on harder modes requires a lot of knowledge about the synergies with the different cards and relics, and how they related to various encounters.

Roguelike

Permadeath adds an interesting element to Slay the Spire. It means that even in easy fights you are looking to minimize how much damage you take. Loot is very random and a single relic can make or break a run.

Who Should Buy It?

Anyone who tends to like roguelites and deck builders will enjoy Slay the Spire. 

Similar Games

Hearthstone is free and certainly worth trying.
Magic: The Gathering uses a pricing model that I dislike so I can't recommend it.
Dreamquest for IOS is a fantastic game very similar to Slay the Spire.