game: Slay the Spire
developer: Mega Crit
genre: deck-builder
platforms: PC, Nintendo Switch
release date: January 23, 2019
star rating: five out of five

review by Patrick Madden

You stand at the bottom of the spire, looking to climb to the top and best all in your way. The object of the game seems simple at the first glance, but the closer you get to your goal, the tougher the challenges. Once you have reached your goal, you have the option to climb again, but with an extra handicap thrown in.

This is the basic premise of Slay the Spire, a game recently released from open beta by its creators, Mega Crit. It is a gorgeous, cartoony, single player fusion of the deck-building and dungeon-crawling genres. Slay the spire has nearly infinite replayability by randomizing the run and challenging you in new and interesting ways.

There are three characters to play as, each of which has a multitude of different play styles. The Ironclad is generally regarded as a bruiser, The Silent is seen by most as a rogue, and The Defect is a magic-based character. With different strengths and weaknesses, it does take a bit of time to adjust to each and find out what works best for you.

Each of the characters starts out with a base deck of cards, with the options of adding, upgrading, removing or transforming cards along your journey upwards. There are also relics, which can help you on your trip to the top and can influence the direction of the path you were planning on taking.

The game is available on Steam and Humble Bundle, and it’s going to be on the Nintendo Switch as well. Mega Crit has spoken about releasing a mobile version, but no date has been announced on when we might actually see that come about.