Let's discuss: Slay the Spire
I wanted to try a new type of post: just taking a particular videogame and see if there are others who would like to talk about it.
To start I'm taking Slay The Spire. A beautifully balanced game with infinite replayability. What are your favorite classes? What is your favorite way to win the game? What is the highest ascension you've beaten? Are there similar games you enjoy? Let's go!
I wish there were more cards.
I have played it a decent amount, but I probably wouldn't still play it if it wasn't also on my iPhone (there's a "plus" on Apple Arcade that looks identical, too).
I like Monster Train better mechanically for the reason that it does feel like there's a lot more variety, though I dislike how short the runs are to build a deck with. (I'd like Slay the Spire to go longer on a good run, too).
I haven't been too far on ascensions. I don't think they're really more entertaining. I mostly do the daily runs because at least there's variety there.
Sure there aren't that many cards but those cards are so well balanced. Every single card has its uses so you're constantly presented with interesting decisions. It feels like almost every other roguelike has dead time where you're just going through the motions whereas in slay the spire you're making decisions from floor 1.
I find there's a lot less variety in my monster train runs. Most classes have a distinctly best strategy and the artifacts generally also funnel you towards that strategy. For example, I can't remember the last time I played an Umbra run that didn't set up a morsel engine behind a warden or alloyed construct - as far as I'm concerned, those are the same strategy, it doesn't feel different. The only other build I think is viable is just "play Shadowsiege," which rarely happens early enough to build for it.
Every class in STS has at least three viable archetypes and almost every run within those archetypes still feels different to me.
The game itself is great, the UI/UX is just on another level. The UI has no ambiguity, is very responsive to input and just feels smooth. The wording on the cards is also excellent and consistent.
StS is a joy to play and I bet it's also really great on the Steam Deck.
It's really great on the Stream Deck. The controls work perfectly. I played it a lot while commuting.
I played it for about 400 hours on deck. I never play games for longer than 60h :D
I almost exclusively play for A20 heart kills. I play all 4 classes but in a "whichever I feel like today" way. I tried rotating between the characters for a while and really didn't enjoy playing silent or watcher while in the wrong mood for those classes.
My favorite deck in recent memory was probably a silent discard combo with Grand Finale as the only damage-dealing card in the deck. My favorite archetype in general is probably ice defect. A good all-you-can-eat ironclad run is great too.
I don't think I agree that STS is especially well balanced - some regular hallway combats do irrationally more damage on average even to players much better than me (for example, floor one jaw worms or any act 3 darklings). In general, the game could be quite a bit harder on A20 and still be fun for players who want a challenge. It's also weird to me that A1 makes the game easier compared to A0. Between the classes, there is a class which is clearly stronger than the others. However I also don't think this is a bad thing. Imbalances create more opportunities for new experiences, and for different kinds of players to have different kinds of fun. And that certainly agrees with "infinite replayability." I'm sure in 5 years' time I will still be seeing interactions I've never seen before.
I prefer more casual games, but I do like Slay the Spire. I don't think I've tried to get past A4. I got bored with it a while back and downloaded expansions. I LOVE Downfall and kinda like PackMaster, too. If I am feeling lazy, I will do a custom run and pick my starting cards, and choose 'slow' and 'big game hunter' options as well. It makes me overpowered, but -- again -- is enjoyably casual for a change.
Hey, games are supposed to be fun. So if you're able to modify it in a way that makes it more enjoyable to you than that is 100% valid!
I'll check out downfall!
I love Slay the Spire. It's been a while since I played it on PC but nowadays I play it on my phone or tablet every now and then. I backed the Slay the Spire boardgame on Kickstarter that will be shipped some time soon and I can't wait to try it out.
I think the max I got was Ascension 6, I'm not that good at deck builders I think. The Silent and Ironclad are my favourites and I play whatever fits my mood. Getting insane high block together body slam is just as much fun as getting insanely high poison stacks. I never once made it through act 4 sadly.
The music is also something I really enjoy, it fits the game so well! Sometimes I listen to it while driving or working.
You can totally do act 4, I believe in you! Just make sure to remove weak cards (strikes) whenever you can. And try to get enough card draw (an upgraded Pommel Strike does damage and draws 2 cards for example).
Card based roguelites are one of my favorite genres and StS is maybe the best one. Wish there was more content.
Lately, I've been having a bit of fun with Monster Train on steam.
I mostly play it as a kind of chill casual game. I like to do endless more on ascension 1 and slowly build up the most broken deck imaginable (there's many options). I just stop when I get bored of it, I usually don't die ever on endless if I made it past the initial run.
I absolutely love this type of post! If there is interest I would definitely be down to make this another weekly stickied thing alongside the other thread. Anyone feel free to chime in if they want to see that
I was hoping to get some conversation going and it seems to have worked out well! I would love to help out / keep posting these kinds of things regularly. People could dm possible candidates for the next post or put them at the end of their comments. I'm also interested to do this for games that I know are popular but that I don't play, always fun to hear people being passionate about stuff :).
Ironclad is my first and still my favorite class, strength scaling is just so satisfying when even your strikes start to do insane damage. I also love entrench to get very high block and then body slam to turn that into damage :).
Completed all characters on A20 with heart kills.
Ironclad is so good to rely back on for consistent builds, I feel like. I think I have the most fun with The Silent and The Defect, personally, but Ironclad runs are just so straightforward and there's so many good builds.
If you haven't played StS: Downfall yet you should.
Ok I'll try it out soon! Thanks for the recommendation.
With Ironclad, I really love when you get a good strength build going. Demon Form early game is so cash money
With the Silent, Poison builds are my go to, but if you get a good something going with Shivs in the beginning, it's so much fun.
The Defect, I recently defeated A3 with a channel lightning build - where you channel for every time you get hit. I was channeling, i think 6 every hit and had +4 focus, so when the heart did the 4x12 attack, it destroyed itself. Felt incredible.
I haven't yet figured out a solid strat for The Watcher, but divinity is fun and I enjoy going full wrath, but having enough defense to back that up proves difficult.
In terms of similar games, if I'm feeling a little more casual/braindead, Peglin is a lot of fun with a similar deckbuilding style. I have yet to figure out any really good builds and I think some balls are definitely better than others, but it's still fun and super casual.
This is a game I keep coming back to. I love it, and it's got great replayability. I'm glad the phone version works well now.
Was it bad previously?
My experience with it on Android had several weird bugs
These seem resolved now
This is the game I play on my Steamdeck the most. Great for five minutes or 45. I’m at ascension 14 or so.
Haha the same, thanks to my deck it became over half of my total steam game time :D
I could never really get into this one. Too much to try to remember with the cards and just not my style overall. Seems like a great game for the genre just not my cup of tea.
I found it one of the only ones that did click for me, because all effects are explained on the screen itself (or behind a hover). So I was glad I didn't need to remember every mechanic to get started with the game.
But I totally understand you, I've also bounced of certain well regarded games.
First game of this style that i really enjoyed. The characters actually feel and play differently, the mechanics make sense and finding synergies is so much fun. My favourite is the silent but I'm not actually that good; haven't finished the game yet but have gotten damn close a couple times.
I enjoy it, started playing recently! All the fun for me is in trying to find good loadouts completely on my own. I don’t want to watch some YouTuber show me the absolute maxed out best loadout, because that’s the entertainment to me. Progress is slow, I still haven’t cleared the game lol, but when I do, I know it will be my own choices that got me there. No shame in researching how to win if that’s your thing, I just love diving into games like this blind.
One of my favourite games! I've got over 400 hours on Steam and some more on mobile. Did all achievements but I'm still struggling with A20 Heart kills so I haven't gotten tired of it yet. My favourite class is probably the Silent. I also like the Watcher a lot, but she's a bit too easy and her decks can feel a bit too similar. The Ironclad has grown on me since I've realised that the exhaust cards are good actually. And that he's not really focused on attacks. Defect is my least favourite but I do play all four. My favourite way to win is with Snecko Eye! Getting an early Snecko Eye and then picking all the expensive cards is a lot of fun.
I've been meaning to play a few similar games like Monster Train or Wildfrost but so far I've always felt like I need to get back to StS to improve a bit more instead.
For people looking to improve I'd recommend jorbs and Baalorlord on Twitch and YouTube, they're chill and very good at the game.
A similar game I really enjoy is Beneath Oresa.
I've beaten the game(act 4) with every char except the poison one. The best phone game ever. The balance is a bit iffy though, Watcher is just way more consistent than other characters but Defect is my favourite
As for similar games I like Monster Train, I've enjoyed it nearly as much but it doesn't have the same longevity imo.
Every character is 100% consistently winnable at low ascensions, I believe
Man wtf? Defect and watcher are the two that make no sense to me at all, especially the defect. I’m best with the silent. And by that I mean I’m A17 on the silent and like… A2 on the defect
How the crap do you play the defect??
There are many strategies, the most obvious one it to
You can also do the same with frost instead of lightning, you'll have so much block nothing will touch you, you can then use cards like claw for damage. Upgraded Buffer card might be my favourite in the game
The problem with defect is that the cards you get on a given run might screw you over, not fitting any strategy whereas the watcher always has a valid strategy based on switching between calm and wrath stances if he doesn't get something better like divinity or alpha.
i will never not simp for shiv silent. easily my favorite way to play. wonderful game.
i like to play what I call A20EZ cuz I'm not the best at the game: play A20 on custom, with sealed draft, vintage and the ending modifiers. it's very fun to just start with a strong deck and get tons of relics!
it also feels like it teaches me what is actually strong in terms of raw card synergy, which has been very nice for learning how to get better at the game without suffering through being bad at the game as much.
I really struggle to stay alive, I find I am always having to heal and spend resources on staying alive instead of attacking. Are you guys that are making successful runs constantly defending???
It helps to shift your mentality to "how can I do the most damage as fast as possible to minimize the number of turns a fight will take"
Real success, especially at higher ascension levels, comes from maximizing draw and energy so you can play more cards to do more damage more faster
I also seem to end up with the same problem. I either defend too much or die attacking and it's annoying. I can't seem to ever find a middle ground that works. I swear all my runs I've run are just flukes.
Cool, I'll check out this game now. On GoG and a native Linux version
I suck at the game, so winning isn't an option for me. But I really like either going poison or daggers for the skull wearing guy. I haven't even bothered with ascension as I'm still trying to do the keys thing while beating a run with a single character.
I'd say the closest I've played to Slay the Spire's "pick a path" style deck builder would be Peglin and One More Gate. Peglin is definitely a lot closer to Slay the Spire as you start off a blank slate every run (minus custom mode), whereas One More Gate is, so far, you do a run, come back to the hub area, buy/sell cards/upgrades, do another run to get slightly further.
Pretty much the only other deck builders I have are ones where you don't get to choose where you go next and go from battle to battle without any path choices or chance based event areas (Shotgun King: The Final Checkmate and Ardor).