You'll Never Quit Slay the Spire. Here's Why

Рет қаралды 103,133

Күн бұрын

Have you ever wondered why you keep returning to Slay the Spire? Why no other roguelike deckbuilder comes close? This video has the answers.
0:00 Intro
1:30 Early Development
3:24 Single Player Benefits
5:57 The Issue of Bloat
7:36 Infinite Variability
9:20 Genre History
11:36 Beginner Friendly
13:57 UI Excellence
17:30 Roguelike Design
20:26 Making Losing Fun
24:31 Early Access Launch
26:55 Balancing Act
Sources:
www.rockpapershotgun.com/how-...
www.seattleindies.org/seattle...
www.gamasutra.com/view/news/3...
www.theverge.com/2022/6/30/23...
• How Slay the Spire’s O...
• Slay the Spire: Succes...
• GDC Plays IGF Nominee ...
www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1sr...
• Slay the Spire: Metric...
• Slay the Spire Intervi...
• Ascension 20 OTK on Ac...
www.screenhype.co.uk/slay-the...
/ indie-spotlight-mega-c...
justingarydesign.substack.com...
justingarydesign.substack.com...
forgottenarbiter.github.io/Is...
baalorlord.tv/commands/wr
Description:
Discover the secrets behind the enduring appeal of Slay the Spire in our latest deep dive video! As seasoned Slay the Spire players, you've likely spent countless hours climbing the Spire, and wondered why no other roguelike deck-builder quite matches Slay the Spire's allure. In this video, we explore why Slay the Spire stands out, delving into the innovative game development approach of Mega Crit's founders, Casey Yano and Anthony Giovannetti.
Learn about the early days of Mega Crit, where the duo left their IT jobs in Seattle to create Slay the Spire, a game that quickly became a favorite among deck-building enthusiasts. We discuss the meticulous playtesting process that shaped Slay the Spire, the influence of card game mechanics in Slay the Spire, and the benefits of Slay the Spire's single-player design.
Understand how Mega Crit balanced the complexity of Slay the Spire with accessible mechanics and a user-friendly interface, making Slay the Spire enjoyable for both new players and seasoned veterans. We also cover Megacrit's unique difficulty progression system in Slay the Spire, from battling the Corrupted Heart to the ascension levels, ensuring that Slay the Spire players always have new goals to strive for.
Our video highlights the history of the deck-building roguelike genre, tracing its roots back to Dream Quest and showcasing how Slay the Spire polished and expanded upon these foundations. We reveal Slay the Spire's thoughtful design choices, like the intent system and map generation, which enhance player strategy and replayability.
Finally, we dive into the vibrant Slay the Spire community, including the robust modding scene that adds endless variety and replayability to Slay the Spire.

Пікірлер: 432

@oberonjr6320 21 күн бұрын

Yes I will. When Slay the Spire 2 comes out

@indiegameoasis 21 күн бұрын

Same tbh

@ethanlarge3572 21 күн бұрын

Why not both? 😎

@q335r49 21 күн бұрын

I really hope they bring back the watcher archetype as that is all I play. Though, tbh, theres shouldn't be any reason why they wouldn't, it's a pretty unique archetype that requires, appropriately enough, blind deck foresight

@Artawii 21 күн бұрын

i hope it has coop, slay the spire has a coop mod called together in spire and it’s so so fun

@TostonDePana 21 күн бұрын

darkest dungeon 2 is a thing so I wouldn't bet on a sequel scratching the same itch.

@missingno_fgc 21 күн бұрын

Important correction regarding winnability! Forgotten Arbiter was not trying to prove how many seeds are winnable, merely to find one seed he could easily prove was definitely unwinnable. To do so, he set a very narrow set of criteria that he knew could set up an impossible early Lagavulin, then brute force searched for a seed with those exact criteria. This doesn't mean that every other seed is definitely winnable, just that he didn't find another seed with that exact Lagavulin fight. Proving how many other seeds are winnable is pretty much combinatorically impossible to solve. All we know is that there is *at least* one seed that we could successfully prove to be unwinnable.

@duhsbo 22 күн бұрын

I have two thousand hours on this game. And after seeing this video, its just amazing how a team of only 2 people drove a beta process so amazing that put AAA studios to shame. And the balancing may explain why I don't explain the mods so much. I respect the effort, but the balancing of vanilla it's unmatched

@mawillix2018 19 күн бұрын

Watcher

@justacryptid4687 16 күн бұрын

wraith form and watcher are simply not balanced

@shrewdagency6588 16 күн бұрын

Wonder if a combination of machine learning and patches could be used to balance the mods more efficiently at some point...

@LFielding07 16 күн бұрын

@@shrewdagency6588From what I've seen of AI trying to learn other games, it doesn't seem possible at this time. There's too many decision points, too many decision trees. For example, it would take an AI a very long time to realize that the Hexaghost boss in Act 1 needs to be burned down quickly versus fighting The Guardian at a steady pace, or taking advantage of the way The Slime Boss splitting mechanic works. The sheer variance of STS makes it difficult for a LLM to gather useful data.

@shrewdagency6588 15 күн бұрын

@@LFielding07 yes perhaps the better strategy will be to just refine and mod on the current player dataset. Be interesting to see if someone works out a shortcut for this with the new tools available....

@mikehawk8984 19 күн бұрын

As a mainly YuGiOh player, a card game with no set rotation and like 10,000 cards, I definitely agree that it's best to keep the card pool manageable in order to facilitate both draft and a relatively friendly new player experience. I can't tell you how many times I've tried to get friends into YuGiOh and they look at the insane learning curve mixed with thousands of cards with paragraphs of text and say "yeah that's a no from me dawg" 😅😂

@Docsfortune 14 күн бұрын

As a Yugo-boomer, I’d like to recommend Pokemon TCG; it’s simple, it’s still complex, and it’s the most popular game in the world for a reason; oh, and it’s less than 60$ to get a competitive deck at minimum-rarity. After that, try Supershow SRG; my wife hates all things fantasy or games but will actually play that game with me. Not for you, mind you, I’m aware that modern Yugioh players are indoctrinated. For your friends who you want to play with!

@Ghorda9 9 күн бұрын

and almost all of those cards are useless

@mikehawk8984 9 күн бұрын

@@Ghorda9 for the most part I'd say you're right, but there are cards that will suddenly become insane after being useless since they released. Cards like "smoke grenade of the thief" and "appointer of the red lotus" come to mind right off the dome

@endofjourney665 8 күн бұрын

I entered Yugioh when zexal anime was out ie XYZ summons. Then the game still felt manageable despite some decks clearly being meta, also this was played in an improv client unlike today. I tried reentering a year or two ago because I do really love the game but it just turned into first turn draw for me. Every third game was either lost or won on the 3rd round, mostly dependent on how many handtraps you have. That is stupid. I played Phantom Knights and even then felt a bit overwhelmed with the combo sheet. Imagine my surprise when I opened DDD combo sheet... The game is going to die once this generation drops it which I hope will be soon cuz Konami are greedy af

@Pax_Mayn3 6 күн бұрын

I've had the binding of Isaac game for years and I've never played it once with anybody. People just don't like card games casually.

@erikkelley412 17 күн бұрын

Just started playing in 2024 cant believe ive been missing out on such an addicting game for so long

@myotheraccount17 11 күн бұрын

Bro same. Wild that I slept on this for so long.

@ozielflores5617 10 күн бұрын

I got this game at GameStop for 5 dollar and getting this game has been the gaming choice I have done this year

@vitorcustodio5899 21 күн бұрын

StS is the closest any videogame has ever come to perfection. Not saying it's the 100% best, but it's the most flawless in it's genre

@2011ADRO 17 күн бұрын

It's definitely the goat game

@erikkelley412 17 күн бұрын

Only thing I can think of is slightly outdated graphics but who cares when the game play is so addicting

@BoneDog1215 17 күн бұрын

It’s a 9/10 that would be a 10/10 if the visuals and music didn’t suck

@erikkelley412 17 күн бұрын

@@vitorcustodio5899 If they had like 2 more playable characters and a 2-3 more enemy types and 2-3 more random encounters and a 1-2 extra bosses maybe 5 more relics would have done a lot for the longevity also but can't complain since there's mods to do this just woulda been nice in the base game

@ataridc 17 күн бұрын

The important thing is it had really good foundations. They set other developers up for failure because the only option is to add more on top of sts solid foundation and every addition affects that structural integrity. A good example is Pirate Outlaws, a game I enjoy, but they throw like a dozen characters at you that all play very differently. It just feels kind of messy and overwhelming contrasted to sts super elegant stripped down design.

@maginkub 19 күн бұрын

For me it's also the simplicity of STS that makes it so good. Cards' texts are simple, keywords are limited, and synergies don't feel forced. Most games that tried to imitate or improve it tried to added too many layers of complexity which made them less pleasant to play because of mental overload.

@solsystem1342 18 күн бұрын

I definitely understand. I love alina of the arena but I barely play it because it's so hard to be on point for long enough to finish a run and try and close out the final boss. Like, I love that death coins carry over between rounds because that encourages people to try their best to push through another boss or the other stuff that gives coins I forget even when you think a run is doomed. And when the combat works it's truly electric. I have never had a more satisfying turn in any other roguelike than the highest highs of this game because when you juggle a crossbow, broadsword, and dagger, and sheild over the course of a single fight between your two hands it makes you feel like a stylish swashbuckler. Like here's a few situations that just mentally pop off: slashing at a horde of spiders surrounding you with a broadsword. Throwing a rock into an illusionust's face and having him disappear revealing that was just a clone and charging over to deliver the killing blow to the real boss before he manages to start summoning in more. Repeatedly breaking the caster's shield but leaving them alive to force them to drain more of their brutes life to restore it. Only landing the killing blow when you can put both of them down in the same turn to avoid the enraged fight entirely. 😍

@raphaeld9270 14 күн бұрын

@@solsystem1342 Thanks for that comment, I downloaded the demo and will try it out. Have a great day :D

@raphaeld9270 3 күн бұрын

@@solsystem1342 Bought the game, thanks for the great recommendation. It's been a blast so far. Two-handed is harder at first, since the weapons are locked for the turn when you use them, but that only adds to the great tactical decisions for this turn and the next. Thanks again, I'm happy to have learned about this game ^^

@chrisbessey358 2 күн бұрын

Forreal! I tried so hard to like Monster Train

@Avonus 22 күн бұрын

2000 hours and about half of those are with modded characters. It's stupid how good this game is.

@riverstarmusic8656 22 күн бұрын

Seeing their story makes me hope the an indie group would pick me to be their musician 😂 I love this game , but I love that the devs stuck with it for so long even more!

@GreyWithCreamium 21 күн бұрын

I'm at 1k+ hours now across PC, PS and iOS. I didn't think I'd ever have a 'forever' game, a game I could always replay, but StS is that for me. I've done tons of A20 runs on all characters but even then I still always come back. It never gets old, it may be my favorite game of all time. The sequel has some mighty big shoes to fill.

@marthsinclair3796 15 күн бұрын

Sometimes I feel like an extreme outlier for thinking that Spire is merely ok. I've played it, I didn't hate it, but it just doesn't appeal to me as deeply as other games. I love card games, I even love other deck build roguelikes like Monster Train or Nowhere Prophet, but Spire just doesn't grab me in the same way. Sometimes I just feel completely deranged in not being able to see the same appeal in it as most other people I've talked to about the game.

@christian5256 4 күн бұрын

I feel you. I played it for a few hours and got through a few runs, but it doesn't grab me. I think it's because I played other similar games first, that took heavy inspiration from StS, like Cobalt Core and Backpack Hero, which I've sunk lots of time into. There's something to be said for the aesthetics, too.

@KhristianBolano 20 күн бұрын

I have roughly 275 hours in Slay the Spire. Not the highest amount for me or for any player of this game, but I had SO much fun. I kinda want to replay it lol. I completed the game in Ascension 20 + Heart with the Defect, reached A20 with Ironclad as well. It's amazing how you can make the same deck concept with common key core cards but a way different run and win conditions sometimes. Or even make a completely different deck that is actually strong enough to make you overcome all the diverse difficulties a run can offer. BTW, the April 2024 spike of players was because they announced Slay the Spire 2 in that same month. It's actually crazy

@coopstain1728 15 күн бұрын

Can you please give me some tips? I want to play it, I just am so bad at it.

@KhristianBolano 15 күн бұрын

@@coopstain1728 1) Take your time to analyze the optimal path at the start of an Act. Every character has its weaknesses so it depends on what you're playing of course. In general, Act 1 should consist in more fights rather than events because you want card rewards. This lets you have a wider array of card choices later because you start to develop your strategy earlier this way. You ideally want to take on Elites. Depending on the character you're playing though, some elite fights will be harder or easier. Your game knowledge will lead you to prepare for specific elite fights in some acts, depending on your class and deck. Look for Campfires. Upgrading cards is good, and having a Campfire just after an Elite fight is a godsent. Don't pursue shops too early in Act 1. You actually want to delay a shop as much as possible in Act 1.. Imagine entering a shop with not enough gold to buy relevant cards. You basically miss 2 opportunities, because you waste that shop and most importantly you don't get any reward from that encounter. Some relics are also shop-only and only appear once in your run. This point was very long but it's very important. 2) Always value cards in terms of synergies. There are some bad cards in Slay the Spire, but for starters you can trust in the balance of the game and try out different strategies. You'll gain enough game knowledge to recognize where some strategies win and why some strategies fail. There are very few cards that are actually super powerful by themselves. Most of them are super powerful against a certain type of enemy so it's not like they're absolute powerhouses without taking card synergies in account. 3) I suggest to stick to a character until you win a run. You get to unlock new stuff, learn how the character plays out and you give yourself enough time to explore a fair amount of possibilities

@coopstain1728 15 күн бұрын

@@KhristianBolano Wow.. Thank you so much! This is extremely helpful and better than anything I could find online. I really appreciate you.

@KhristianBolano 15 күн бұрын

@@coopstain1728 if you want a specific guide for the ironclad, look up the Ascension 20 Ironclad Guide by Panacea (or someone called like that). It's a Google document so you can read it when you need it. It's great for Ascension 20 (the highest difficulty of the game) so of course it's valid for the whole ironclad gameplay. It's going to be way easier than the guide says of course, but the actual basics of the game expecially for the Ironclad are there. In fact, that guide made me learn much about the game that led me to complete Ascension 20 with the Defect first lol

@Mochi-xv8zo 14 күн бұрын

@@KhristianBolano you a real one 🤙

@dubbsyubbsy9815 21 күн бұрын

I have about 30 hours on Steam, where I first played it... but then I got it on mobile, where I'm now at 475 hrs lmao, this game is practically my daily driver. Most of my pals agree that Slay the Spire is probably the best "desert island" game to pick for many of the reasons you outline here. ("If you were stuck on an island with only one game, what would you take?")

@doctorplagus6477 17 күн бұрын

Also it s offline game

@coopstain1728 15 күн бұрын

Can you give me some tips? I am so bad at it but I want to play it. I guess I dont know synergies or something.

@dubbsyubbsy9815 15 күн бұрын

@coopstain1728 I dunno what level of tips you're looking for or how general or specific, but to be safe here's a few tips that really help me keep havin a good time: Don't underestimate the value of things that give you more draw / scry / discard / exhaust (deck/hand control). Being able to get the cards you need in your hand (draw / scry) and get rid of the ones you don't want (discard / exhaust) is suuuuper useful. Part of the fun of synergies is discovering them, and a good way to do this is to focus on solving the problem in front of you (have you been short on attack cards? Have you been struggling with groups of enemies? What's the path ahead like? etc). Thinking about it this way might get you to pick up some cards you hadn't considered taking before. Sometimes that card that sounded so unappealing the first few times you saw it ends up becoming a favorite, deck-defining card after playing around with it a few times, so don't be afraid to experiment. (But that doesn't mean you shouldn't skip card rewards if there's nothing you need / that fits whatcha got, definitely don't want to bloat your deck up). And finally - might sound a little bleak lol, but don't get too wrapped up or invested in any given run, there's no shame at all in dying and failure doesn't need to be stressful! "Oh no! Anyway". Be sad that cool deck you had is gone, but look forward to putting another cool one together next run! Anyhow, sorry if I went overboard but I hope this helps and I hope you have fun! Lemme know if you do wanna know more (general stuff like this or character specific stuff or whatever). I'm not super good and I lose a shitload of runs but I like to talk a lot, so. Edit: Oh, also: Never take clash. Always take claw. Claw is law.

@Ghorda9 9 күн бұрын

@@coopstain1728 focus on learning over winning and experiment a lot

@BenStrandberg 16 күн бұрын

I played until I unlocked the silent. Beat a run with her. Haven't touched the game since. I enjoyed my time with the game, but have no urge to return. I watch videos like this to try and understand why people invest so much time into this game, but I just don't get it.

@Ghorda9 9 күн бұрын

lots of different ways you can beat it, each run is different and it's difficulty helps elevate it.

@cowboy_k3147 Күн бұрын

Same

@silentrocco 10 күн бұрын

I always return to Dream Quest. To me a more fun, more unpredictable experience. And I love its short sessions, and the immediate readability of its simple card art. My forever game. Playing StS afterwards, it simply didn‘t get me hooked.

@MrTurjan 17 күн бұрын

Casey is probably the best expert in equilibrating a video game.

@anthonycantone3750 14 күн бұрын

If you like slay the spire, Dawncaster is a great game to try out.

@thesmashor4396 22 күн бұрын

20:23 "Making losing not frustrating, but fun. When you lose in Slay the Spire, it never feels like the game's fault" *Proceeds to show the exception to this rule, Time Eater*

@ToyKeeper 21 күн бұрын

Ah, the Clockwork Bastard. The only creature in the game I'm unhappy to see.

@KrivitskyM 21 күн бұрын

Enemies can be hard-counters. Play Defect with a full-on power build and face the Awakened One, tell us how that felt. Or Donu and Deca when you are Silent with Poison and no Corpse Explosion.

@user-ly5zh2iy8j 21 күн бұрын

15:43 "so the player can deduce all the necessary information from the first glance" proceed to show the cursed tome event, which hide the outcome from the player

@revimfadli4666 21 күн бұрын

@@KrivitskyMhard-counters forcing you to always pre-emptively avoid certain powerful combos to be safe does cut some fun off the game. No wonder Vault of the Void lets you know all the bosses and elites beforehand

@tylerdarlington4269 21 күн бұрын

@@revimfadli4666 Honestly I think that they aren't exactly hard counters. I've played 12 cards a turn every turn against time eater and still easily beaten the damage race. I've played power heavy decks against the awakened one and come out on top. Having enemies with powerful mechanics like this just means you need to ensure your deck has a solution, not that you need to avoid a playstyle altogether. If you're playing high volume card spam, time eater mostly means you need to Think More about your choices, and same with powers against Awakened One. And you have an entire act to prepare for whoever you're going against

@brainsmusic6119 16 күн бұрын

I've got a few hundred hours in STS, such a great game but for me personally I put Monster Train a little higher, I find just a little more replayability in Monster Train with the combining two clans

@sodakan676 22 күн бұрын

Wow this is a crazy high quality how does this guy not have more subs

@jrbiff18 17 күн бұрын

I own it on 4 separate platforms, and the board game too. So many hours, and i frequently start it up instead of games on my growing back log lmao

@megasparklegoomba6807 21 күн бұрын

If I'm being honest, STS is one of the only two games that I have routinely come back to again and again after I bought it.

@gregorys9629 18 күн бұрын

What's the other?

@megasparklegoomba6807 18 күн бұрын

@@gregorys9629 ULTRAKILL. I just keep coming back, no matter how many times I fail a P-rank or a CB run.

@stubcub 3 сағат бұрын

Just hit a World Record on one of these games cool to see people are still talking about them!

@thelordz33 20 күн бұрын

>me watching this video having never played Slay the Spire: 😮

@kobarsos82 20 күн бұрын

You have no idea how crazy good this is. Once in a lifetime game for sure.

@yesterdayingaming 21 күн бұрын

Sometimes you just don’t get the cards you need on higher ascensions and it does feel like you did most things right and it didn’t work out for you. Sure, this can be mitigated greatly by having more game knowledge. That’s the “funstration” that drives people to play this game to death!

@Ghorda9 9 күн бұрын

you get around that with versatile small decks that have the option to lean into a couple different strategies if needed.

@irelicym 21 күн бұрын

The only rougelike deck builder that made me feel the same as StS has been Balatro - not sure if I’ll reach the same 2K hours I have in StS though 😅

@itsanorange7484 20 күн бұрын

what a great analysis! Now I know excactly why StS is currently my favourite game for like 3 years already

@ZaItan1 17 күн бұрын

I'd love to hear more in-depth examples of how they leveraged play-tester telemetry data to tweak mechanics, enemy behavior, and card/relic statistics. It's incredible and wonderful to discover how every card (even clash!) has its shining moments. I'll bet there were many threads of common and unique experiences and journeys through the game the playtesters shared w/ Casey and Anthony. Examining all those logs was probably impossible, but in aggregate maybe they found patterns, and the give-and-take of responding to player's failures, frustrations, and successes probably helped shape the strategic, emergent gameplay/meta we see today: preparing for deadly enemies we've seen before, we know what they'll do on each turn, by scrapping together solutions. This is the biggest reason the game is so immensely replayable. The game is brutally difficult, even at low levels for many players. But also patient, not just fair. You keep playing and you soon realize (just as the in-game characters do) "I've seen this fight before. I know what to do now." And becomes: "I know what's coming. I'm not sure what I'll have by then, but I can prepare."

@ZaItan1 17 күн бұрын

Many other games have too much variance (in which learning doesn't come naturally), or too little (there's not as much to learn).

@TheAngryCoyote 12 күн бұрын

There’s a good GDC talk about slay the spire I recommend you watch. They go into the data analytics side of how they used data to balance the game.

@inevgames 19 күн бұрын

This was one of the first games that I 100% unlocked the achievements. Now I sleep with dreams of making a similar game

@HonRedMan 15 күн бұрын

Dead cells and slay the spire were the first games I bought on Steam. Although I had played hundreds of hours of pirated games before that. These games made me think "I want to pay the developers money". And since then, I've only played games I've bought)

@elikurtz729 17 күн бұрын

Recently the Slay the Spire Boardgame came out and it is a blast that can be played fully cooperative up to 4 players or true solo :D They adapted the cards for a more suitable board game feel but totally retained the strategy and overall feel of the game including unlocking the Heart and 20 ascension levels. There is even a way to create random dailies ^^. We love it to bits currently ^^ (otherwise highest char is lvl17 all others above 14 in the app)

@GeorgeNoiseless 18 күн бұрын

Well, uh. this is fascinating. Quit StS back in 2018 at 20 achievements (probably ~30). Tried to get back into it in 2024 and quit again after finishing a few sessions. I'll be the first to admit I'm not the biggest deckhead out there, but I've upwards of 60h on each of the deck builders that I played since then. All the respect to the OG that started this craze! ,,, but I just don't get it.

@richardfulton3135 21 күн бұрын

Really enjoyed the video felt like I learned a lot

@luisburgard5189 17 күн бұрын

i ve got 1400 hours, it was the perfect game to play along online lectures, because there is no timepressure and no need to focus all that much on the game, simply perfect

@FrescaLife 14 күн бұрын

1300 hours. Used to play a lot of MtG mainly for the deckbuilding and the draft format, but the pay-to-win nature of it and the need for an opponent eventually drove me away. You pay hundreds for good decks/cards, and get to use them once a week if you're lucky. Even online people would do messed up stuff like go afk when they realize they're losing instead of just conceding so you have to wait out the full 25 mins of their clock. StS fixed almost all of the design issues with MtG such as mana screw/flood, and got rid of having to wait on an opponent. It also has this perfect easy to learn, difficult to master complexity. You pay 15 bucks when it's on sale, one time, and you can play StS infinitely. That's just the vanilla version. Certainly my favorite game of all time as of writing this.

@tennicksalvarez9079 Күн бұрын

I have just recently gotten in mtga it really doesn't have a great beginner experience. the salty opponent and better cards a beginner has to deal with is bad.

@nilesamon7577 19 күн бұрын

The Slay the Spire boardgame is also pretty good. While it doesn't offer any new content it is fun to play this beloved game cooperatively.

@DMerk2012 17 күн бұрын

Wonderful video! Slay the Spire is one of my all time favorite games. I would love to see your thoughts on the board game as well :)

@marcosdheleno 13 күн бұрын

as someone who played the game, unlocked all characters, and unlocked all cards/artifacts for each of them. as well as finished a few runs with each. i gotta say, i dont really feel the need to play it again. its a fun game, dont get me wrong, but its too tiresome to continue playing. i dont play it for the challenge. i played it for fun. and after a while, i just wasnt having fun anymore, so i stopped. i may play it again in a few years, but i doubt i will keep playing for more than a week(which was around the time it took me to unlock the stuff). i dont think i even did a high dificulty either. i just dont really enjoy how brutal some encounters are. maybe if there was more stuff to unlock, i would continue to play. but as is. i think i already played as much as i wanted to, and moved on.

@platniumdr 22 күн бұрын

Great work on the video, it's clear you put in quite a bit of effort. I've reached the point where StS is a well worn and comfortable blanket, between the various devices it's hard to gauge how many hours I've put in. My basic approach is to just cycle through each character after every win, evenly climbing up to A20 on all characters, then resetting the profile and starting over. Oddly enough I rarely fight the heart because I find it unfun, but that's the beauty of the game; there's so many ways to enjoy it.

@shanewilliams9991 4 күн бұрын

Spot on. This game has limitless replay-ability and you nailed every reason.

@deskgo 22 күн бұрын

according to steam i have 1115 hours in slay the spire, but I have it on my phone so its probably around 1500 or so. Great video loved learning the history of the game.

@Brwykk Күн бұрын

I love the cloth on the go table to protect the wall🔥 These guys think ahead 😊

@thekillercardinal 13 күн бұрын

Lol the subtle Reynad dig

@blamsw3783 21 күн бұрын

@5:10 one of my most memorable ironclad runs was dead branch and necromomicon and fiend fire.

@DojdiQ 13 күн бұрын

I have watched(slept) every StS video in Jorbs channel, so, this is speak for itself

@Daremodesu 21 күн бұрын

Very nice video that a lot of StS players should watch. I was mostly aware of what's being said but it would be extremely informative to many other players. I have about 2000 hours, maybe a little less. I discovered it on Switch and now years later I migrated to Steam Deck and got the game a second time (I'm going through ascensions again) I learned about parts of the Early Access process retrospectively and it made me want to be part of it for the next game, which is something, since I usually prefer to buy finished games. I tried Downfall and it felt bloated and not as well balanced to me. I ended up replaying the main game a lot more instead.

@FireTrtl 22 күн бұрын

Recently got my final a20 wins and pretty confident I'll always come back to sts from time to time

@damianaraque3038 10 күн бұрын

3:00 song?

@digdude9721 19 күн бұрын

What game was shown when you said amazing in the beginning?

@lair9792 19 күн бұрын

Think it's Monster Train.

@ArkAynJoel 16 күн бұрын

As someone who just started playing Slay The Spire and has fallen in love with it, this video provides fantastic context for why this game feels so great to play. Amazing work!

@Psiheim 21 күн бұрын

Ya I think im above 1000 hours at this point. 400 on steam and probably 300 on both the phones i played it on and switch. I platinumed the game 5 times and bought every physical version because i cant get enough. Great video love alot of the behind the scenes info on Cassey and Anthony!

@Tordek 14 күн бұрын

"In other games, this combo would be nerfed into the ground, instead in Slay the Spire they just nerfed it into the ground". Yeah.

@coopstain1728 15 күн бұрын

I have Slay the Spire and I tried it for one hour. I just couldnt get into it and I couldnt beat the first boss. I wish I knew the synergies better. How do I get better? Just play the game?

@cheese_man5105 13 күн бұрын

Honestly it took me a bit of trail and error to really understand what I was doing, my best advice is to keep experimenting with different cards and decks

@CosmicIceCream 21 күн бұрын

2,887 hours in StS as of today. I still play 5 or 6 times per week. I rotate between Ironclad, Silent and Defect as I don't enjoy playing Watcher. I've climbed the ladder from A0 to A20 many times, in fact rotating ladder is my favorite way to play so I've deleted and recreated my profiles multiple times. For those who aren't aware, rotating ladder is when you start at A0 with Ironclad, play until you win or at least unlock A1, move on to Silent and do the same, then to Defect (can include Watcher if you like but I don't), then back to Ironclad on A1...rinse repeat until you win A20 with all characters. Very fun, it let's you learn all the characters who play pretty differently from each other but share the same types of challenges. The difficulty starts out pretty forgiving at A0 but slowly ramps up to become very difficult by the time you hit A17 and higher. Love this game.

@coopstain1728 15 күн бұрын

Please give me some tips. I want to play it but I can never figure it out and I am terrible at it. :/

@Larimuss 18 күн бұрын

They spent hours tweaking, balancing the game, and adding different strategies. Instead of spending millions of dollars on graphics and marketing, they put love and work into the actual gameplay. What companies used to do before they became greedy mega corps.

@nehuengonzalez2381 3 сағат бұрын

144 hours and counting, one game that i came back every year, and alsonow understand why i watch so much videos of runs of slay the spire omg, its because itsso easy to underestund a run while you watch, awesome to know

@SteampunkGentleman 7 күн бұрын

Haven't played the game yet, but this makes me want to get it when I get the funds

@karlklein2263 19 күн бұрын

Damn this reminds me I haven't played 5 runs of sts today

@zojirushi1 9 күн бұрын

21:40 how to use mods?

@cameronmele2989 15 күн бұрын

I think I’m at about 1,800 hours all on mobile 😂 I’ve shown so many friends, and shown so many friends who already play why I keep playing. It definitely became my favorite game of all time once I started winning on A20 sometimes. Really looking forward to StS2

@Neelreel 11 күн бұрын

What is the game shown at 14 seconds?

@Unzockable 10 күн бұрын

Depends, right at the beginning of 00:14 is Roguebook, after that in the same second is Monster Train

@TStizzle19 12 күн бұрын

I have never played this game but this video has me interested in finally trying it

@ericd1022 5 күн бұрын

I just heard of this game from this video, ima def check it out, I love card games

@emidemi7211 15 күн бұрын

I have zero hours in Slay the Spire, but this video convinced me to pick it up.

@aldogutierrez6637 19 күн бұрын

I barely discovered this game about 5 months ago… only put in about 120 hours. But yeah, I’m pretty obsessed with it lol It’s a great game with unlimited possibilities. Can’t wait for the second one

@orbmac 14 күн бұрын

Netrunner shoutout

@YellowOrchard 8 күн бұрын

I have played over 1000 hours on PC. Then later I also bought it on Android. I will be hitting 1000 hours played sometime in the coming weeks on Android as well. It's that good!

@leonardogomez07 9 күн бұрын

I have this game on Steam, Android, and Switch. And I bought the board game through Kickstarter. Love this game.

@dantr4n 21 күн бұрын

I mostly pirate games, Slay The Spire is one of the few game that I bought. and then bought it again on my phone

@Turvok 16 күн бұрын

I have STS on steam. Switch and mobile. Never got into it on mobile. But switch and pc I have well over a 1000 hrs a piece. It's a go to relax game for me to do a quick run.

@bryankopkin6869 21 күн бұрын

Slay the Spire is hands down one of the best games out there. I hope the sequel is able to dethrone it!

@jonathanadams8255 16 күн бұрын

I literally have weeks of gameplay into StS since release. Like before defect was released. A20 all 3 orginal characters before watcher came out, now going back and trying to A20 watcher.

@lerokine 3 күн бұрын

I have never heard of this game until today

@DrGandW 11 күн бұрын

I stopped when I inexplicably lost all my run history over a drive failure. No idea how Steam couldn’t recover it

@ChristopherGiroir 7 күн бұрын

1388 hours so far (on Steam, not counting iOS or Switch). Love this game.

@Astar72439 8 күн бұрын

When it comes to roguelikes with infinite playability, I’ve only ever encountered 2 that have always pulled me back in. Slay the spire is one of them, and the other is the binding of Isaac

@georgeg9147 7 күн бұрын

Dawncaster is the other game I racked up countless hours with. I've had STS for about 2 years now on mobile and I still feel like I'm only starting out.

@zojirushi1 9 күн бұрын

This channel reminds me of ThatGuyGlen also does indie game history deep dives. 👀

@Weeb_Goblin 15 күн бұрын

I have a savefile with 90 hours that has been tainted with a lot of mods, and I made a new savefile with less mods and have like 35 hours on that one. I.can safely say that this is probably my favorite game ever, and definitely my favorite roguelike/deckbuilder game. I can't wait for StS2

@theta1672 6 күн бұрын

I got 491 hours in Slay the Spire according to Steam, but some of those are just the game being open while I do other stuff. Would guess it's closer to 450-470 hours :)

@Fourtwoflow 15 күн бұрын

Slay the Spire

@BinarySecond 19 сағат бұрын

Dark Ironclade looks sick

@pizzaturtle6226 15 күн бұрын

350 hours. I adore this game and the fact nobody else has come close to making a game like it really shows how well the devs did in balancing everything while keeping every run you play unique. A lot of runs you just get got, some runs are hard fought, and every now and then, you get those golden runs where certain builds fall in place and you feel unstoppable. Slay the Spire is a masterpiece.

@mpp8042 18 күн бұрын

I've put thousands of hours in. On A20, reaching a point of mastery (ie you don't only win when you get a 'lucky' run) is ridiculously challenging and rewarding. The game's skill ceiling is absurdly high.

@corzarguy 15 күн бұрын

dream quest is about to blow up after this vid :3

@SengokuTheGouda 19 күн бұрын

Love the game but I don’t think it makes losing fun. Maybe early on, but A20 is so brutal that it actually puts me off from wanting to play the game when I string together losses. Comparatively, Monster Train, feels better to lose for me. Because the cause of my defeat is so apparent and so often “I got greedy”

@alexgosan5707 15 күн бұрын

I have played 0 but will probably play it now

@loliceblocks Күн бұрын

Balatro is a close second in my heart. Dicey Dungeons was also decent.

@EdwinHa 17 күн бұрын

Flawless masterpiece

@johnsolace2588 15 күн бұрын

I agree man this game is addicting af. First I downloaded it on my PS4 and played a lot. One time I was at work during breaktime I was itching to play so I downloaded it on my laptop. When I was lining up at the bank I wanted to play so I downloaded it on my phone. All my devices have slay the spire. Can we have it on smartwatches next?

@ploffintagpro1410 19 күн бұрын

I don't think that the original TBOI was obscure about what items did by mistake, to me it was clearly a part of the experience Ed was going for and I personally think it was a very interesting and fun choice. And while StS has no shortage of impressive design choices, I don't see that one as particularly impressive; things being descriptive is just a basic part of any card game.

@cameronschyuder9034 19 күн бұрын

Yes, I believe Ed’s intent was confirmed somewhere by himself; the fact that the item description mechanic did not make it into the vanilla game even after the mod gained popularity is also compelling evidence imo. While games being descriptive does sound pretty basic, slay the spire I think does a good job of wording things consistently that account for most of the interesting interactions you may encounter, Mark of the Bloom with lizard tail and fairy bottle being one of the more iconic ones. Not sure if the games you’re referring came out before or after Spire because Spire is one of the first in its niche genre and inspired many deck roguelites after (as the video mentions), but I’ve played Magic the Gathering on tabletop simulator with others before and would frequently be confused by another keyword that I was either never introduced to before or have been introduced, forgot, and now have to be told by someone else in the party or search it up myself online. It was not an enjoyable experience. Yes, MtG has a lot of words on the cards, but not every concept would be explained because limited space. Slay the Spire originating as an online game allows them that space to put explanations outside of the cards when you hover over them in your deck Gist: being descriptive does not equal being clear, and Spire is both clear and descriptive while also being concise. That is what I think is worth noting. You can really see the difference in the wording of the vanilla game if you’ve also played the game with modded content/characters

@ploffintagpro1410 19 күн бұрын

@@cameronschyuder9034 Yes the quality of the descriptions themselves is very impressive, what I think is just standard is the fact that there are descriptions. It'd be very difficult to make a good card game where effects and interactions are as vague as TBOI items. I just want to say that it doesn't make sense to compare the two on these terms (and that it was intentional in TBOI)

@Omawolfram 14 күн бұрын

I am only playing this game for like a month. And I have to say, that I've never experienced a game as accessible as Slay the Spire. From minute 0 I understood how the game works. Very clear design!

@shylonbarnes 11 күн бұрын

You're absolutely correct, I've bought it on Switch, PC, AND Android :(

@aidenroberts4931 21 сағат бұрын

i just got this game last night. the only other card game i have ever played is marvel snap. Ive always played shooters before this and i feel like i just turned a new page on my gaming life lol

@q335r49 21 күн бұрын

I easily have over 2000+ hours as ive been playing it pretty much every single day since beta, before defect. What makes the game so great is that its a hard but fair master, it allows the player to slowly discover for himself the unexpected consequences of a set of discrete and interesting decisions. Errors are usually not obvious within a run, but eventually, you come to realize a prievious naivete perhaps many runs later. To this day , im still occasionally surprised by unexpected synergies that i would have passed over earlier. I usually play A20 runs for a single character, i started with ironclad, moved onto defect, but have spent the last few years playing exclusively watcher. I think silent runs are just too slow or too overpowered. I think watcher is by far the best or most interesting character, really pushing your resources to the limit and at the same time testing your awareness and anticipation of the upcoming cards in the deck due to risk reward of mode switches. A gambler theme would fit her well too, but i love the gameplay-accurate theme of blind foresight. Ive played tons of roguelikes and STS is, comparatively, not that punishing at all. A bad decision feels bad and feels like a wasted hour, but the pain of feedback feels fair, and you feel like you've become wiser.