The last hero, the Defect, is one where things become more interesting, and is what could be classed as the elementalist, with their additional attacks done through orbs that hover around the character. The Silent is more of the rogue of the game, based on poison attacks, with a trait that enables them to draw two extra cards at the start of combat. This class has a trait called Burning Blood, which enables the Ironclad to heal 6 health points after each fight, while their deck is based around powerful strikes, defensive options and demonic energies. The Ironclad is a standard character, a warrior class to put it in role-playing game terms.
All three heroes aren’t just visually different, they each have a different approach to combat, opening them up to various strengths and weaknesses, plus their decks are based around their strengths, giving them unique cards and strategies in combat. At the start, only the Ironclad is available, but after one play session this will unlock the Silent, which again, after one play then unlocks the final character, the Defect. One area that helps mix up the core gameplay are the three playable characters. Slay the Spire is simply about getting to the end without dying, no continues, no save points, it’s beat or be beaten, and that’s where the fun lies. Dungeons are split into acts, but there is no actual exploration as such, since the game is very basic in its map design – it is literally a 2D piece of paper with multiple routes drawn on with the symbols as destinations, with these representing the different options mentioned above as a player either fights, open chests or selects an outcome in a scenario. Randomly generated maps are filled with enemies, bosses, campfires and surprise locations, the latter are where the random story events appear to make each trek through the game a little different. There isn’t an overarching story, instead, Slay the Spire reminds me of some of those choose your own adventure books that ask you to turn to a page to see the outcome. Now the indie title makes its way to Nintendo Switch, another game that sits well being played at home or on the go, thanks to the structure and streamlined design of the game.
Initially starting life on Steam Early Access, Slay the Spire gained popularity on Valve’s digital platform, selling over 1.5 million copies. Slay the Spire brings a fascinating combination of roguelite concepts mixed with deck building gameplay.