Review: Slay the Spire – Endless Variety Wrapped in an Addictive Card-Based Roguelike
A deeply addictive deck building roguelike that keeps every run feeling fresh
Available on: PC, Mac, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, Playstation
Amazon Physical Copies*: PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Genre: Roguelike, Card Battler, Adventure
Developer: Mega Crit
Publisher: Mega Crit
How Cozy? ⭐⭐⭐
Game Verdict: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
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Slay the Spire is incredibly easy to start, and almost impossible to stop playing. I personally spent a lot of time with it on mobile, and it quickly became one of my go to games for short sessions that inevitably turned into much longer ones.
Despite being a strategy heavy roguelike, Slay the Spire feels surprisingly cozy once you settle into its rhythm. The turn-based combat removes any sense of pressure, letting you take your time, plan your moves, and enjoy the process of slowly building a powerful deck.
Story
Slay the Spire doesn’t put much emphasis on story, and instead focuses on atmosphere and progression. You’re climbing the Spire run after run, encountering strange enemies, mysterious events, and powerful relics along the way.
Rather than telling a traditional narrative, the game lets the story emerge through repeated climbs. Each run feels like a self-contained journey, shaped by the choices you make and the items you collect. It’s minimal, but effective and it never gets in the way of the gameplay.
Related: Looking for more roguelike games?
Check out my list of top roguelikes that still feel cozy
Gameplay
Each run begins by choosing a character, each with their own card pool and playstyle, before slowly building a deck as you climb higher through the Spire.
Key gameplay features include:
Deck-Building Combat: Turn-based card battles that reward planning and thoughtful decision making
Run Customisation: A huge variety of cards, relics, and items ensure no two runs feel the same
Meaningful Choices: Every card pick, relic, and path choice can dramatically change how a run plays out
Mobile-Friendly Design: Perfect for short sessions, especially on mobile, without feeling rushed
High Replayability: The constant variety keeps the game feeling fresh even after many hours
One of the biggest strengths of Slay the Spire is just how customisable each run feels. The variety of items and cards lets you experiment endlessly, creating wildly different builds and strategies. Even when you don’t manage to win a run, they rarely feel wasted.
Graphics and Visuals
Visually, Slay the Spire is clean and functional rather than flashy. The art style is simple, but charming, and does a great job of clearly communicating enemies, cards, and effects, something that’s especially important on mobile.
Animations are subtle, and the UI is easy to read, making it a comfortable game to play for longer sessions without feeling overwhelming.
Longevity
Slay the Spire offers enormous replay value. With multiple difficulty levels, endless build combinations, and a constant temptation to try “just one more run,” it’s a game that’s easy to come back to over and over again.
That said, the limited number of characters does occasionally feel restrictive. With only a small number of characters available, there’s a sense that the game could benefit from more playable characters to further expand variety, something I’m really hoping to see in Slay the Spire 2.
Conclusion
Slay the Spire is a brilliantly designed roguelike that excels at making every run feel unique. Its addictive gameplay loop, huge variety of items, and thoughtful deck building mechanics make it a standout in the genre.
While the limited number of characters can feel restrictive at times, the depth of customisation more than makes up for it. For cozy gamers who enjoy roguelikes, strategy, and games that reward patience and planning, Slay the Spire is an easy recommendation, and I’m very excited to see how its sequel builds on an already excellent foundation.
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