Thoughts on Slay The Spire after a few hours with each class.
This is.... okay. It's not bad, it's solid. I love collectable card games, i adore single-player card-battle RPG games, I am super on board for roguelike anything and yet so far this game just hasn't really grabbed me.
First off, automatic deductions for having the enemy play by its own opaque rules and systems. I'm not saying it can't work but I just find it intellectually less satisfying than when the AI is using a deck of cards and playing by the same rules.
Second, this presentation both visually and sonically leaves a lot to be desired. It's competent but bland, especially in-battle. Some of the illustrations are nice but they don't really have much... personality? It's fine, it's serviceable, it's just not a way in for me, it's not a hook. Neither is the lore, neither is the music.
The biggest issue for me, though, is that this game feels a hell of a lot like another game I already played a shitload of hours of, Night Of The Full Moon.
The combat systems between the two games are very similar but NOTFM plays better and faster with enemies using their own special unique decks consisting of cards it is possible for you to acquire for yourself some time, some run, some day.
Spire is harder, it's a true roguelike. You don't get to try the battle again if you fail like in NOTFM. On the other hand, you can still totally get stuck in NOTFM and have to abandon a run. So that's definitely a plus or minus depending on what you are looking for.
Night of the Full Moon is $1 on Android and iOS woth no ads or MTX (unless you count the meaty, singular $1 expansion). Sometimes it's free. Slay the Spire is $25 on Switch. If you're interested in Slay The Spire, especially in some of its card mechanics, check out Night of the Full Moon as a concept demo if nothing else.