Game Review: Slay the Spire 2

Published: 2026_10_06

Slay the Spire 2 is my personal game of the year 2026 so far. It takes all the concepts from the first incarnation and develops them further. While (not yet) as balanced as the first one, it is generally more fun to play, has better animations, and is just a great game.

The first game opened up a new genre: Roguelike deck builders. Every game starts 'from scratch', and players slowly build a deck that can overcome all the opponents the game throws at you. It is a beautiful formula for a simple, yet complex game. Every time a decision is made, is with a small set of choices - for instance, choosing 1 of three cards to add to the deck - thereby preventing decision paralysis. Yet, every choice matters as in it will improve or worsen your deck.

A single game in the first one took me around 1 hour, now, in the second version, I usually end a round at around 40-50 minutes.

This short round makes the game playable even if there is not too much time available for gaming.

Somehow, the pacing and the flow of the gameplay feels better in the 2nd version; yet it is hard to pin down what exactly makes the difference.

If the fist Slay the Spire was a great game, the second one is already a masterpiece - even though it is merely in early access.

It improves upon the first game in every aspect. Graphics, animations, gameplay. Additionally, there's a multiplayer mode now, even if I have not yet tried that one out.