Slay the Spire

 PlayStation 4
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 136 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 93 out of 136
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 136
  3. Negative: 24 out of 136
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  1. Elvensong
    Aug 17, 2019
    3
    I play games to relax, de-stress, and have fun, while also providing a reasonable challenge. I don’t know why these days, but it seems indie developers always publish the hardest games. It’s frustrating to waste hours studying and researching on this game only to be defeated again. There should be compensation for putting time in these games, like fate points.

    But to sum it up, too    I play games to relax, de-stress, and have fun, while also providing a reasonable challenge. I don’t know why these days, but it seems indie developers always publish the hardest games. It’s frustrating to waste hours studying and researching on this game only to be defeated again. There should be compensation for putting time in these games, like fate points.

    But to sum it up, too much RNG, too steep a learning curve, too complicated, you “try so hard but in the end, it doesn’t even matter”. Not for the general public, not even for gamers (I could spend up to 50+ hours a week), but for a select few.

    P.S: I do appreciate the time and effort making this game and the graphics, but please, remember your clientele.    … Expand
  2. R7critical
    May 16, 2021
    1
    At first it might appear to be a fun game, then you realize: you're barely participating.

    99.99% of this game is LUCK based. If you roll poorly on your relics, cards, potions, or draws in battle it can cost you the entire play session. That aside, let's go over the basics: the art is pretty amateurish, the sound design is almost nonexistent, and the controls are serviceable - all you    At first it might appear to be a fun game, then you realize: you're barely participating.

    99.99% of this game is LUCK based. If you roll poorly on your relics, cards, potions, or draws in battle it can cost you the entire play session.

    That aside, let's go over the basics: the art is pretty amateurish, the sound design is almost nonexistent, and the controls are serviceable - all you really have to do is pick things and confirm, so that's simple enough.

    Some more downsides to the game are:
    the lack of any saved progression - there's no feeling like anything is improving as you play, so if you're into "Leveling up" this isn't the game for you. The only way to "get better" at this game is to get lucky early into a run, or restart your runs until you get the perfect relics early on.

    Since you're so limited in your in-battle actions you really need to lean on good relic and card drops to get anywhere. Your run can completely fold up if a boss decides to drop the wrong three rare cards and you don't get what you needed, but you won't realize it until it's too late and you come up against a brick wall that requires a specific strategy you weren't able to build for.

    If you're looking for a gambling game, this isn't a bad choice: IF it's on sale. Don't pay full price for this, it's an absurd ask for what you get.    … Expand
  3. Ughduty
    Aug 10, 2019
    0
    Its all fake! Everything in this game is predetermined! I can prove it to you. At the start of a battle remember your cards. Force quit the game and reload it. The next draw will always be the same which could never occur if the cards were drawn randomly. So unfortunately its all fake!

    I expect a card game to be random. By that I mean that cards should be drawn randomly. Not in this    Its all fake! Everything in this game is predetermined! I can prove it to you. At the start of a battle remember your cards. Force quit the game and reload it. The next draw will always be the same which could never occur if the cards were drawn randomly. So unfortunately its all fake!

    I expect a card game to be random. By that I mean that cards should be drawn randomly. Not in this game, you either get cards drawn preselected by the developers or their random card drawer is extremely bad implemented. I had a deck of 50 cards and one of the cards I had five times in the deck. Next draw I get 4 of those 5 cards onto my hand! Do you know how low the odds are for that to happen?! And this did not happen only once, it happens all the time. After this the game became unplayable for me.    … Expand
  4. Partygambler
    Apr 8, 2022
    2
    Getting this game for free is ok, but I wouldn't waste any money on this. Too high difficulty even in the early levels, no real progress between the runs and for me not a real rogue like.
  5. bhappenstance
    Sep 27, 2022
    4
    Slay the Spire is a great game...to a point.
    The problem is that the endgame -- once you have cleared the base quest with all three characters -- is preposterously difficult, even for a Roguelike. In a genre classic such as Hades, the player is rewarded for experimenting with different builds based on drops. In StS, if you don't luck out and get the exact right combination of cards, at    Slay the Spire is a great game...to a point.
    The problem is that the endgame -- once you have cleared the base quest with all three characters -- is preposterously difficult, even for a Roguelike. In a genre classic such as Hades, the player is rewarded for experimenting with different builds based on drops. In StS, if you don't luck out and get the exact right combination of cards, at exactly the right point in the game, you're totally effed. Enemies are idiotically overpowered, and minor mistakes can be catastrophic. This turns what was an absolutely thrilling and addictive experience into a lame, frustrating grind. Why bother to keep playing if it all comes down to dumb luck? An enormous disappointment.

    UPDATE: Dropped the score from a 6 to a 4 due to the absurd end-game difficulty. Your capacity to slay the heart has virtually nothing to do with skill, and is entirely based on luck. It is *possible*, but will require you to get every requisite card, in a particular order, while landing only on enemies that it is possible to defeat. The developers ruined an otherwise excellent deck-building experience with ridiculously imbalanced difficulty. A challenge is welcome, but rolling the dice -- which is all that the latter stages of Slay is -- gets very boring very fast.    … Expand
  6. Crutchshifter
    May 6, 2022
    2
    Rogue Likes are just a crappy excuse for a game with no content. Add deck building and absolutely no point? Even worse.

Awards & Rankings

8
#8 Best PS4 Game of 2019
79
#79 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2019
98
#98 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2019

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
88

Generally favorable reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 7
  3. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. TheSixthAxis
    Jul 4, 2019
    90
    Slay the Spire takes the best parts of roguelites, dungeon crawlers, and card games, and mixes them together into an unholy, but absurdly enjoyable game. It’s the kind of game that gets under your skin and uses it like a tent, just camping out and reminding you that you aren’t playing it. It’s the kind of game that you can jump in for one quick run and suddenly realise that you've been playing for five hours and should really be asleep. It’s the kind of game that is easy to play, hard to master, and impossible to put down. What more could you want?
    Read full review
  2. God is a Geek
    Jun 4, 2019
    90
    Slay the Spire is a hugely enjoyable single-player deck-builder that feels genuinely unique in its genre.
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  3. Game Rant
    Jun 2, 2019
    90
    Slay the Spire may have some slight performance issues in the transition from PC to console, but the game is still one of the best deck-building games out there. It’s definitely one of the best titles published by Humble Bundle so far, and it deserves its spot among the top-rated games of 2019.
    Read full review
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