Take one part extremely well-made deck builder, put in a dash of a bad rogue-like reward loop, and sprinkle in some cheap bullshit and you get Slay the Spire - an extremely satisfying roguelike deck builder that will let you build yourself up and feel great before pulling the rug out from under you, kicking sand in your face, and laughing at you.
Slay the Spire genuinely has some incredible highs, but the lows of having what feels like an invincible deck and then getting the perfect combination of bad card draw and enemy attacks that results in your sudden defeat feels bad. Nothing feels better than feeling like you’re in control of how well you do in a game. Consequently, nothing feels worse than feeling like a loss was totally out of your control. Making it worse is how long the runs are and how little you get when you finish one.
My favorite roguelites are the ones that respect your time. The ones that let you progress and unlock meaningful upgrades whether you win or lose a run. Slay the Spire has no interest in this. It has no interest in rewarding you for your time. The best you’ll get are a couple more relics and cards added to the pool. Nothing that helps you feel like you’re progressing and certainly nothing to make future runs easier. Your success in Slay the Spire depends 100% on 2 things - your ability to build a good deck, and a decent amount of luck… and maybe more patience than I have.
I’ve spent hours dying in countless other games in this genre. I’ve got no problem losing in roguelikes and lites. What I do have a problem with is spending over an hour in a single run with nothing to show for it at the end of that time. I ain’t got time for this. I’d rather spend my time playing something that respects my time. And yet, as I sit here bitter about my most recent loss to the bullshit final boss, all I can think about is booting the game up and starting another run. Because despite all the parts of the game that feel unfair or unsatisfying, the core gameplay is just so damn good.
+ Genuinely some of the most satisfying deck-building I’ve ever played
+ Getting a good deck together that synergizes well feels real good
+ Addicting
- Losses often feel unfair and kind of bullshitty
- No cross-run progression
- Runs are too long
- Heavily luck-based
- Ugly art style
Slay the Spire genuinely has some incredible highs, but the lows of having what feels like an invincible deck and then getting the perfect combination of bad card draw and enemy attacks that results in your sudden defeat feels bad. Nothing feels better than feeling like you’re in control of how well you do in a game. Consequently, nothing feels worse than feeling like a loss was totally out of your control. Making it worse is how long the runs are and how little you get when you finish one.
My favorite roguelites are the ones that respect your time. The ones that let you progress and unlock meaningful upgrades whether you win or lose a run. Slay the Spire has no interest in this. It has no interest in rewarding you for your time. The best you’ll get are a couple more relics and cards added to the pool. Nothing that helps you feel like you’re progressing and certainly nothing to make future runs easier. Your success in Slay the Spire depends 100% on 2 things - your ability to build a good deck, and a decent amount of luck… and maybe more patience than I have.
I’ve spent hours dying in countless other games in this genre. I’ve got no problem losing in roguelikes and lites. What I do have a problem with is spending over an hour in a single run with nothing to show for it at the end of that time. I ain’t got time for this. I’d rather spend my time playing something that respects my time. And yet, as I sit here bitter about my most recent loss to the bullshit final boss, all I can think about is booting the game up and starting another run. Because despite all the parts of the game that feel unfair or unsatisfying, the core gameplay is just so damn good.
+ Genuinely some of the most satisfying deck-building I’ve ever played
+ Getting a good deck together that synergizes well feels real good
+ Addicting
- Losses often feel unfair and kind of bullshitty
- No cross-run progression
- Runs are too long
- Heavily luck-based
- Ugly art style