Is Slay the Spire 2 Worth Playing Yet? Early Access Game Review
Same Rogue-like Addiction, New Shiny Coat of Paint
Okay I’m only a little late getting around to this one since it came out on the 5th.
The past few weeks have been absolute chaos if you follow new releases or Early Access updates. With horror games and updates popping up everywhere like mushrooms smashed with some T-Virus (yes, I may have Resident Evil Requiem still on the brain), something was bound to get pushed down the list. Yeah yeah, I still haven’t played Poppy Playtime Chapter 5, but I still swear I’m going to play next…probably…maybe.
Watch another ten games drop next week and Falcon Punch my plans to the shadow realm again.
Anyhoo, I carved out some time for Slay the Spire 2 – the long awaited sequel to one of the most addictive roguelike games ever created. If you’ve played the first game though, you already know the problem…the moment you tell yourself you’ll do “just one more quick run” before bed is the exact moment you’ve made a terrible decision. Three hours later you’re still staring at your deck wondering why the hell you thought starting that run was a good idea.
So when Slay the Spire 2 finally arrived in Early Access, expectations were obviously pretty damn high. Slay the Spire didn’t just become popular. It basically helped create an entire genre of deckbuilding games, like its spiritual predecessor Darkest Dungeon, explode across the indie scene.
Any sequel stepping into that legacy has a lot to live up to.
So after spending some time climbing the new Spire, my feelings are honestly, a little mixed. The good news is that the game is still ridiculously fun. The slightly awkward news is that right now it also feels extremely familiar.
Maybe, a little too familiar?
Slay the Spire's Climb of Nostalgia
For anyone who may have missed the first game, Slay the Spire 1 was built around a simple but dangerously addictive loop. Each run starts with a small deck of annoyingly basic cards and a map full of branching paths. As you climb up the tower’s branching paths you fight enemies, collect relics, upgrade your cards, and slowly but surely – turn your deck into something far more powerful than what you started with.
The legit beauty of the system is how every choice matters though.
One relic can completely change how your deck functions. One risky event can either create a godly broken combo or just absolutely demolish your run in funderful fashion.
Slay the Spire 1 Compared to Slay the Spire 2
Slay the Spire 2 sticks very closely to that same formula: you still climb up through the acts filled with enemies, treasure rooms, merchants, and strange little events that occasionally reward you and occasionally punch you square in the face. You still build your deck one card at a time while trying to balance offense, defense, and whatever ridiculous combo you’re attempting to assemble on the fly.
That structure worked amazingly in the first game and it still works here. The problem (if you can really even call it a problem) is just how similar the experience feels during the earlier parts of the game.
When I first booted up Slay the Spire 2, I had a weird moment where I genuinely had to double check that I wasn’t just replaying the original again with some forgotten sexy graphics mod installed. The flow of a run feels honestly almost identical to the first game and even most of the cards are just repackaged from the OG game…which, hey, I guess that means the learning curve is practically nonexistent for returning players. Yay?
But even the pacing of unlocking characters feels very familiar.
Just to be 100% crystal clear though: none of this makes the game bad!
Far from it, actually. The core gameplay loop was already fantastic. It just means that the sequel currently feels less like a massive reinvention and more like an insanely upgraded version of the same experience.
Unlockable New Characters in Slay the Spire 2
So like I said – as you work through your early runs, you gradually unlock additional characters just like in the original game. Familiar faces like The Ironclad and The Silent appear early as playable characters, which does make it easy for returning players to settle into a nice ass-kicking rhythm fairly easily.
After playing with the first couple of familiar classes, you’ll finally get a taste of some new content and unlock both The Regent and The Necrobinder. These character are definitely some of the more interesting ideas introduced so far and I’ll be making a breakdown of all of their stuff soon (before or after Poppy Playtime 5, who knows).
Slay the Spire 2 New Character: The Regent
Once you start experimenting with these new class mechanics though, you finally get a glimpse of where this sequel could go as development continues and honestly, I’m really excited to see that.
By the way, I thought it was funny that after you unlock the two new characters – Slay the Spire 2 decides to pull a cute little bait and switch: after unlocking a brand new character, you might expect the next reward to be another fresh addition to the roster. Well, in actuality you’re greeted by a familiar returning face from the first game as the last playable character: my boy The Defect (who is honestly my favorite anyways, so I’m glad they threw him in!).
Again, the game is in Early Access so I’m absolutely sure we’ll be getting more in the future.
Okay, but the Visual Upgrade is Honestly Bananas
In my humble opinion, where the sequel truly stands out right now is its looks, not it’s personality and you can tell immediately that Slay the Spire 2 is a massive visual upgrade compared to the original game.
And I’m not hating on the first one – the first Slay the Spire had its own legit charming style, but at the time, it was clearly a small indie project. The artwork was simple, the animations were mid, and the environments were basically just static backgrounds that did their job without drawing too much attention.
But the Slay the Spire 2 looks incredibly more polished just all across the board.
Slay the Spire 2 Graphical Overhaul is Purdy
Characters are more detailed and animated with much more personality. Combat effects pop off the screen in a way that makes even simple attacks feel satisfying. Cards themselves look sharper and more expressive (which might sounds like a small thing until you realize how much time you spend staring at them during a run).
Even the damn interface has been cleaned up in subtle ways that make navigation easier and a lot more cleaner. Menus feel smoother, tooltips are easier to read, and the overall presentation just feels more…refined.
I actually replayed the OG Slay the Spire right before jumping into the sequel just to refresh my memory. The side by side comparison is kind of mind boggling with the level of detail. The new game doesn’t just look a little better. It looks like someone took the original and gave it several years of elbow grease and love.
For a roguelike game, that level of visual effort is honestly appreciated.
Early Access Means it Still Isn’t Finished Yet
All of this brings us to the current reality of Slay the Spire 2: remember that the game is still in Early Access and that the version available right now is 100% not the final product.
What players are experiencing today is essentially the foundation of what the full sequel will eventually become. The core systems are already in place. The climb is still addictive. The gameplay still manages to trap you in the classic “one more run” cycle that made the OG game that badass that it was.
What’s obviously missing right now is the full layer of new content that will eventually separate this game from its trailblazing predecessor. More cards, more relics, more characters, and additional acts are all expected to arrive during future development, so don’t get all whiney about the lack of new content just yet. Those additions will probably reshape the entire experience quite a bit once they start stacking everything up together.
So at the moment, Slay the Spire 2 feels like a beautifully polished skeleton of what it could be in the future. And you can tell Mega Crit has been drinkin’ their milk, because the bones are strong. The gameplay works. The developers just haven’t finished filling the tower with all the weird nonsense yet.
But when that new content train does eventually pull into the station, I could see the sequel easily growing into something that surpasses the original game in popularity for sure.
Slay the Spire 2 FAQ
Is Slay the Spire 2 finished?
No. The game is currently in Early Access and is expected to receive more cards, characters, and content during development.
Is Slay the Spire 2 different from the first game?
Of course, but the Early Access version still feels very similar to the original. The biggest changes so far are visual improvements and new playable characters like The Regent and The Necrobinder.
How do you unlock new characters in Slay the Spire 2?
All you have to do to unlock the new characters in Slay the Spire 2 is simply complete a run with the last unlocked character. For example, to unlock The Regent you just have to play a run as The Silent. Although you want have all of the cards unlocked, it’s a good way to learn each classes basic mechanics if you’re new to the series.
When Will Slay the Spire 2 be out of Early Access?
There hasn’t been any concrete dates set yet, but Slay the Spire 1 was stuck in Early Access for about a year and a half. So with all of the new content planned for Slay the Spire 2, I think we probably have a hot minute before any full release and I would probably even bet on something closer to late 2027 or early 2028.
Is Slay the Spire 2 worth playing now?
If you loved the first game, absolutely. Just keep in mind the sequel is still growing and will likely change a lot over time, so if you want to be a part of the testing and see every iteration of Slay the Spire 2 before it’s full release – make sure to try it for yourself on Steam!
Final verdict on Slay the Spire 2?
Honestly, judging Slay the Spire 2 too harshly right now for a lack of new content would probably just be unfair. What’s available now already is fun, polished, and very easy to sink hours into without realizing where your whole damn night went.
At the same time, the current Early Access build feels extremely close to the original game. For now it often feels like you’re playing a much prettier version of Slay the Spire rather than a dramatically different sequel.
But, again, that doesn’t stop it from being awesome.
I’ll happily keep climbing the Spire and trying new builds while the game continues to grow. Mega Crit have already proven that they understand what makes this series special, so I’m totally fine waiting for the full release and trying everything out on the way.
In the meantime, if one of my runs collapses because of bad RNG, terrible card choices, or a relic clearly designed by a team of chaotic asshats – I will continue blaming the game instead of my own decisions of course.
As is tradition.
This was a commentary article based on publicly available information and personal opinion. Readers are encouraged to form their own conclusions based on the sources cited.
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Jose Madre
March 10, 2026
Hey hey hey hey hey hey hey hey I like this game
RqWXPKehTnUYDGToCqkIvDZ
March 11, 2026
its funny I just tried it and was thinking the same thing that it kinda played like the first one alot but still good though