Sights & Sounds
- The card and character art are fine. There's nothing that's too interesting or ugly. It just looks fine
- The music is also just fine; serviceable but ultimately forgettable
Story & Vibes
- The story, if I'm undersanding the tiny bits of lore and hints that are dropped, is not very complex. A whale/god gets kicked out of his tower (the spire) by some evil new power, and now he's sending adventurers to go wreck up the place. You're one of those three (eventually four) adventurers
- I'd mostly refer to the vibe as "austere". As nice as the gameplay mechanics are, Slay the Spire feels bereft of personality or charm
Playability & Replayability
- The gameplay is an interesting mix of deckbuilding and roguelike mechanics that, for better or for worse, spawned a slew of cheap imitations. I suppose that's the sign of a good (or at least financially worthwhile) idea
- The deckbuilder mechanics are fairly standard. The character you choose has a standard deck of cards that you can upgrade or remove throughout the course of play. Sometimes, you'll be given additional cards as rewards or run into a shop where you can purchase them
- Some cards, however, are only obtainable through leveling up characters
- You'll also obtain relics, which can add boons or provide bonuses to make your life easier. Choosing good relics that play well into your deck's strengths is the key to doing well and finishing a run
- The actual card game is pretty standard: deal as much damage as you can while avoiding as much damage as possible. It's always in your best interest to finish battles quickly to minimize HP loss; sure, there's opportunities to heal, but they aren't always predictable
- This is the sort of roguelike that gives you a map of branching and converging paths for you to choose from. Charting a course is a strategy game in itself. For example, if you're at half health, do you take a path that leads to a boss battle you're somewhat confident in winning (high risk/high reward), or do you take the path to the shop, which won't kill you but also may not be selling anything you want?
- A game like this is basically infinitely replayable if you enjoy the mechanics
Overall Impressions & Performance
- I can see the quality and depth of the gameplay, but I grew bored with Slay the Spire not long after unlocking the 4th character. It's not that I dislike deckbuilders in principle; I just need some narrative, art, music, or literally anything else to hook me. Without that, it just seems like a CCG without the social aspect. I was never much of a lunch table MTG kid, but I did like borrowing a deck and playing with my friends
- That said, the interactions, rules, and synergies that make up the core gameplay are good. I'd probably love this game if it possessed at least one other interesting quality
Final Verdict
- 7.0/10. A high-quality, mechanically deep deckbuilder that makes good use of the roguelike mechanics but is otherwise devoid of bells, whistles, or personality. Its gameplay can carry it a long way, but not all the way
- The card and character art are fine. There's nothing that's too interesting or ugly. It just looks fine
- The music is also just fine; serviceable but ultimately forgettable
Story & Vibes
- The story, if I'm undersanding the tiny bits of lore and hints that are dropped, is not very complex. A whale/god gets kicked out of his tower (the spire) by some evil new power, and now he's sending adventurers to go wreck up the place. You're one of those three (eventually four) adventurers
- I'd mostly refer to the vibe as "austere". As nice as the gameplay mechanics are, Slay the Spire feels bereft of personality or charm
Playability & Replayability
- The gameplay is an interesting mix of deckbuilding and roguelike mechanics that, for better or for worse, spawned a slew of cheap imitations. I suppose that's the sign of a good (or at least financially worthwhile) idea
- The deckbuilder mechanics are fairly standard. The character you choose has a standard deck of cards that you can upgrade or remove throughout the course of play. Sometimes, you'll be given additional cards as rewards or run into a shop where you can purchase them
- Some cards, however, are only obtainable through leveling up characters
- You'll also obtain relics, which can add boons or provide bonuses to make your life easier. Choosing good relics that play well into your deck's strengths is the key to doing well and finishing a run
- The actual card game is pretty standard: deal as much damage as you can while avoiding as much damage as possible. It's always in your best interest to finish battles quickly to minimize HP loss; sure, there's opportunities to heal, but they aren't always predictable
- This is the sort of roguelike that gives you a map of branching and converging paths for you to choose from. Charting a course is a strategy game in itself. For example, if you're at half health, do you take a path that leads to a boss battle you're somewhat confident in winning (high risk/high reward), or do you take the path to the shop, which won't kill you but also may not be selling anything you want?
- A game like this is basically infinitely replayable if you enjoy the mechanics
Overall Impressions & Performance
- I can see the quality and depth of the gameplay, but I grew bored with Slay the Spire not long after unlocking the 4th character. It's not that I dislike deckbuilders in principle; I just need some narrative, art, music, or literally anything else to hook me. Without that, it just seems like a CCG without the social aspect. I was never much of a lunch table MTG kid, but I did like borrowing a deck and playing with my friends
- That said, the interactions, rules, and synergies that make up the core gameplay are good. I'd probably love this game if it possessed at least one other interesting quality
Final Verdict
- 7.0/10. A high-quality, mechanically deep deckbuilder that makes good use of the roguelike mechanics but is otherwise devoid of bells, whistles, or personality. Its gameplay can carry it a long way, but not all the way