Slay the Spire Review - Nintendo Switch
Slay the spire feels like a 2019 version of Dead Cells and it case you missed that game last year, that is a very good thing. It’s a perfect blend of genres with simple yet deep mechanics that force you to always be looking for the best possible solution. This addicting gameplay loop and a thought out in game achievement system make this game a worthy addition to your library.
Slay the Spire is a near perfect blend of dungeon crawler, rogue like, and deck builder but never leaning to far in one category. You pick your path to some extent either choosing to fight enemies which allows you reap the rewards which usually include some gold, a potion and a new card. The gold you find can be used at merchants along the path should you choose to travel that direction. Merchants offer cards, potions, relics and can even remove cards from you hand. This can be a run saving feature should you become cursed while exploring a dungeon trying to find a new relic. Finally, relics add a passive ability to your character which can drastically change your fortunes. No amount of relics will be enough as they are invaluable ranging from healing at the end of each room to applying shield every turn which saves you from having to play a defensive card.
While the runs can feel familiar, they never feel repetitive as the amount of variables at play in any single run always keep it fresh. The way in which the cards you choose in the order you play them along with the relics you may find in the dungeons combined with which path you take depends on what enemies you might find. The randomness of the card drops after each battle never allow you to settle into a comfort zone as you always need to be fully on your toes thinking about how your enemy will counter your attack. Do you spend all your points on defense or do you push the attack hoping to confuse the enemies negating the attack. How you choose your path will also drastically change the output but challenging choices await you around every corner. Even the simple practice of stopping at a rest sight becomes complicated when you must decide if healing is smarter than strengthening a card in your deck.
Similar to Dead Cells, the point of progressing and levelling up is to permanently unlock items and cards that may be found and used on your next run. Slay the Spire challenges you to not become complacent as you are just as likely to die on the 5th floor (I don’t want to talk about it) as you are on the 50th. With the random nature of this game, sometimes things align well for you and sometimes they don’t.
Slay the Spire isn’t a visually challenging game and is quite basic for the most either shown in 2D battles or text screens. The story is non existent but there is some sharp writing throughout the game spiced in here and there. The only thing you know is you select one of the pre made characters that have slightly different features and attempt to climb the spire. There are also daily climbs that try to put everyone on the same playing field to compete for pride on the leaderboards.
Technically this game shouldn’t have any issues running on the Nintendo Switch as it isn’t demanding in the slightest, especially when we have seen some truly gorgeous games with plenty on the screen before including Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey and even recently Luigis Mansion 3. Unfortunately, the game hitches a little every time you die for a few seconds. It’s not game breaking and doesn’t hurt the immersion but it can be frustrating when you know the outcome of the enemies last attack but are forced to wait a few seconds before the game can officially tell you the bad news. This is a minor nitpick in an otherwise great game. I would gladly sacrifice a little technical hiccup to have this game on the switch as it is a perfect fit and a real time melter as you are always enticed for just one more room.