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# Slay the Spire 2 - Video Games I Love
- URL: https://www.npiedy.com/slay-the-spire-2-video-games-i-love/
- Published: 2026-09-13T08:28:10.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-13T08:28:10.000Z
- Description: 82 hours in and still no burnout. A deep dive into why Slay the Spire 2's deckbuilding, roguelike structure, and character design keep me hooked.
- Author: Naveen Piedy
- Tags: video games, rougelikes, deck builder, card games, indie games, slay the spire

Despite having around 82 hours of game time in Slay the Spire 2, I have yet to feel the burnout. The obvious answer is that I love the game, and I loved its predecessor. This post is a deep dive into why.

🤖

What is it?   
Slay the Spire 2 is a deckbuilding roguelike: climb a mysterious tower, building a card deck from what you find, fighting randomized battles where no two runs play the same.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f7/10/f7101a80-6932-4b03-b4dc-971108e4b353/content/images/2026/09/STS2Mmap.jpg)

STS2 Map Screenshot

## Lets talk about Deck Building

Deckbuilding games, as the name implies, are ones where you build a deck of cards. Some popular examples are Pokémon TCG, Magic: The Gathering, Legends of Runeterra, Hearthstone, and of course Marvel Snap. I've been a Snap addict for a long time. These games are also referred to as CCGs, or Collectible Card Games, where you pay money to earn cards, build a deck, and compete with other players.  
  
Sounds simple? Yes. But there are tons of cards and rules, and you have to aim to build a deck with proper synergy. That's the hook: easy to get in, but difficult to master. It's min-maxing on steroids. The downside: it's expensive. I was spending way too much on Marvel Snap, chasing the high, the high that comes with a well put together deck, working as intended and crushing my opponent. To quote Hannibal from The A-Team, "I love it when a plan comes together!"

On top of that, these games keep releasing new cards, power-creeping old ones. Sometimes the balance goes out of whack.

Slay the Spire, both the games, give me that high while being a single-player game with no microtransactions. Of course there are other single-player deckbuilders. The reason I love these games in particular is that they're roguelikes and immaculately balanced... for the most part and have variety. 

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f7/10/f7101a80-6932-4b03-b4dc-971108e4b353/content/images/2026/09/battle_screen.png)

Fighting A monster

## Roguelikes - Where Failure is necessary

I like to think roguelikes are like recursion. You keep iterating till you hit your goal, or in this case, simply win. You die a lot, learn each time, and use what you learned to inch further toward your goal. One small deviation is that each run is different — most games have randomized rewards each run, making each run unique.  
  
In some games, with each attempt, you unlock something new and grow stronger, Hades is a good example. In others, you become stronger just from experience.

Slay the Spire games in many ways fall into both the categories. You unlock new cards/relics into the pool as you win, but a lot of your improvement is pure skill A typical rum starts with you having a starter deck, climb the spire, defeat monsters, choose cards of given rewards. This is how you deck build. 

Slay The Spire Official Trailer

Difficulty and synergy are key. If it's too easy, there's no challenge, and the game loses its appeal, so roguelikes tend to be high in difficulty. But at the same time, the game needs to be solvable. Cards need to be designed with synergy in mind, enabling multiple builds and combinations. Balancing both is the key here, and this is where I think Slay the Spire excels.

## Pick Your Poison

I have explained the fundamentals of what makes these games work. Couple that with the easy-on-the-eye but gorgeous art style, well-thought-out card mechanics, and different characters, and you have a complete banger of a game.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/f7/10/f7101a80-6932-4b03-b4dc-971108e4b353/content/images/2026/09/character_selecting_screen.png)

Character Selecting Screen

Of course, each run is unique, you can build your deck a certain way, try out different builds, and the map is randomized as well. But what I've neglected to say is that there's more than one character to choose from.

Each character has their own playstyle. Ironclad is a straightforward, basher-type character, aimed at easing players into the game. Silent is more roguish, with poison, shivs, and knives at her disposal. Regent is more of a balancing act, managing a secondary resource called Stars alongside your normal Energy. Necrobinder is a summoner, with a pet to control, so you need to think in terms of managing a party of two. And finally there's Defect, whose schtick is using different orbs to build an autonomous damage-dealing pipeline.  
  
Of course, there are way more builds and intricacies to these characters than I can cover in this blog post. But the gist of it is, you get to experience a variety of playstyles, and each playstyle has its own variance.

## How does all of this come together?

I typically start a run by picking a character or using the randomize option. Then I map out my route for the climb, picking the path I think is best. One monster at a time, one turn at a time, I climb slowly, facing elites or mini-bosses along the way, before finally reaching the top and battling the stage boss.  
  
That's one map. If I'm good enough, I have to do this three times, building my deck along the way, getting stronger, and putting together combos. For example, there was this Defect run where I kept stacking power cards and defense cards. (Power cards are a card type you play once per combat that give a lasting buff for the rest of the fight, rather than a one-time effect like most attacks or skills.) The trade-off with power cards is that I need to set them up, meaning I'm low on defense that turn. I was struggling with energy and damage output. Once I got a card called Subroutine that gave me 1 energy per Power card played, everything clicked. My frustrations from before turned into a power fantasy, all my power cards were essentially free, and I mowed down every boss.

The amount of balancing, creativity, lore design, and enemy design that has to be done to make this game loop work is nothing short of a miracle. There are too many moving parts that need to be tightly integrated, and Mega Crit (the developers) deserve to be applauded for it. The fact that they managed to do it once, and then come back and do it again, better than the first time, leaves me in awe.

A wonderfully polished, well-put-together masterpiece that can be played over and over again.

If any of this was interesting, I'm hoping to write about this kind of thing fairly often — please subscribe if you want it in your inbox. Thoughts, disagreements, or your own experience with Slay the Spire games? Drop a comment, I read them. And if you want to find me elsewhere: [goodreads](https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/120692883-naveen-piedy?ref=npiedy.com), [letterboxd](https://letterboxd.com/naveenpiedy/?ref=npiedy.com), [github](https://github.com/naveenpiedy?ref=npiedy.com) and [linkedin](https://www.linkedin.com/in/naveen-piedy-47b7336b/?ref=npiedy.com).

Screenshots and key art courtesy of Mega Crit Games. Check out [Slay the Spire 2 on Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/2868840/Slay%5Fthe%5FSpire%5F2/?ref=npiedy.com).