We finally know what the Slay the Spire studio has been working on: it's Slay the Spire 2, baby, and oh boy, it looks good.
Slay the Spire 2 was revealed during today's joint Triple-I indie showcase. It'll hit PC Early Access in 2025, seemingly packing three classes at launch. The iconic Ironclad and Silent return, joined by the new class Necrobinder, described as "a wandering lich who seeks to bind the forgotten corpse" and "calls upon her trusty left hand, Osty, in combat." Details are a little fuzzy for now, but the Necrobinder seems to start with extremely low base health at just 35 and compensate through summons, presumably of the necromantic variety.
The reveal trailer is an animated cinematic treat, and accompanying early images are Slay the Spire staples all the way down. The art style looks a bit sharper to my eye, but it's got the same heart underneath, from the UI to familiar cards and relics to encounters with characters like the merchant. It feels like home, and it's good to be back.
There's also a shot of a new encounter with a "Symbiote" that will, in this particular instance, either apply "Corrupted" to one of your Attack cards for the cost of six health or randomly remove a card from your deck. I can't wait to see the many new cards, enemies, relics, and other variables that developer Mega Crit has no doubt cooked up.
Slay the Spire is still the king of roguelike card games after five years, which is saying something because the past five years have seen some incredible deck builders that are, to varying degrees, largely working off the playbook that Slay the Spire wrote. The official word of Slay the Spire 2 is a dream come true for a sizable cabal of deck-building sickos. Now we just have to survive the year waiting on the Early Access launch.
The new roguelike from the Dead Cells devs looks like an incredible co-op Hades where the dodge is intentionally overpowered.