Start playing it now. Even if they do add stuff for launch, it’s a fully amazing game right now.
Yeah, I mean, it always felt finished to me. I ‘only’ got about 250 hours’ worth of entertainment before I got tired of it, but that’s plenty!
Curious about this game at the current price on GMG, but some recent grumbling about difficulty increases and practically-mandated deck builds to compensate are giving me pause.
By the time you start grumbling about the difficulty, you’ll probably have more than 100hrs trying out the various synergies with the cards.
For example, recently with the Ironclad (a warrior type) I totally owned it with a block based deck which I never thought possible until someone upthread highlighted the possibility. Got level 8 Ascension that way.
Yeah I would take those complaints with a block of salt. If ever there was a card game that doesn’t force you down optimal build paths, it’s Slay the Spire.
What @inactive_user said. Plus, those complaints are akin to “it’s really hard to beat Spelunky’s “hell” level and get the true ending” - it’s supposed to be hard, and like Spelunky you don’t have to go for that as your victory when you sit down for a session, it’s completely optional.
I don’t like hard games, as I’m old, slow, and dumb.
I love Slay the Spire. It’s not a story based game that I have to win or beat, it’s just plain fun to play. Yes, if advancement is your thing, it will challenge you, but it’s not a Souls-esque game at all.
It is somewhat luck dependent in terms of what cards you see, however. A lot of the FAQs that talk about builds assume that you get the right cards. I love playing the defect, but it’s possible to go through all three levels and never see cards that add more orbs, or more focus. It’s still possible to make it to the end, but it’s substantially more difficult.
Of course it’s still fun.
Thanks for the answers!
I’m at 287 hours, since this is my go-to game while sitting through dreary conference calls when I’m working from home. I would not say the difficulty has increased much recently - and there are certainly no mandated decks. Currently at Ascension 18 on the Ironclad, and each run plays differently.
Same with the paths you get. I’ve had stellar runs with easy paths in the beginning.
I was washing it for a while and picked it up a couple of days ago.
I get why people like it.
And I like it.
Short and fun, and after 2 games I’d unlocked all the characters.
Space tyrant however forces you to use Hoppy bunnies for far too long.
So far I am finding the defect the easiest. Only 2 levels in though, and I got lucky with an ice cream item, which lets energy carry over.
Pretty useful.
True, true. At ~150 hours I consider myself reasonably experienced, but occasionally I’ll get stopped cold on the first map. Map layout is also very important.
Yep, occasionally you get screwed one way or the other. But that’s roguelikes. And especially when you are still learning the game, you’re likely less screwed than you think you are.
The game feels a lot like Monster Slayers after the first play, at least to me.
It’s very much in the same vein. I find it much more interesting long-term personally, but there’s definitely some lineage there.
Completely agreed with the Monster Slayers comparison. I enjoyed that game a lot too, but have about 3x the time invested into Slay the Spire.
I bought monster slayers after playing StS for a while and putting it aside to wait for release. So in a world where StS exists, is there a reason to play monster slayers?
I mean, it’s a good game. Very good.
Monster Slayers doesn’t require much thinking. It’s relaxing and cute.
Basically, around the same mechanics, you got the relaxing Monster Slayers, the stimulating Slay the Spire, and somewhere floating about their father: the demanding and quite mean Dream Quest.