Slay the Spire 2 isn't just one of the most popular new games of 2026, it's the most popular deckbuilder ever. 574,638 people were playing the game simultaneously at launch, which vaporizes the genre's record on Steam. It's the first mainstream-ish deckbuilder, and still the most-played card game on Steam by far (Magic: The Gathering Arena has about 1/7th as many people playing it on average).
With several months of time with its substantial early access release, we've brought together a panel of editors to share their sharpest thoughts on Slay the Spire 2's design, cards, best bits, and annoyances.
- Evan Lahti - Strategic Director, PC Gamer: 426 hours, 441 runs as Silent, Monster Train 2 evangelist, 30-minute wins with every character, plays fast and loose
- Harvey Randall - Staff Writer, PC Gamer: 212 hours, won at least once at A10 on every character
- Austin Wood - Senior Writer, GamesRadar+: 256 hours, won an A10 streak of every character, one by one
Act 1 is too punishing and too boring
The easiest way to clear Act 1 reliably is just to rest at every opportunity. This is the main reason that the Min...
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