Is Slay the Spire 2 fun? Yes. Slay the Spire 2 scores 9/10 for fun. You draft cards, win fights and climb, and one run is enough to see why people lose whole evenings to it.
Where this score comes from: Steam player reviews, last checked against the 200 most recent English reviews in October 2026. Slay the Spire 2 on Steam
Slay the Spire 2 is the sequel to the deckbuilder that started a genre, and it has been in Steam Early Access since March 2026. You climb a tower fight by fight, growing a weak deck into one that can break the game. Now up to three friends can climb with you.
Slay the Spire 2 scores 9/10 on immediate fun. Nearly nine in ten players under 20 hours recommend it, including players new to card roguelikes. It misses a 10 because Early Access balance still swings, and a couple of bosses can end a run that felt like a winner.
The first fight teaches you the game: play cards, read the enemy’s next move, block or hit. One player bought it on a friend’s word and liked how simple it was to start, with the deep strategy saved for later. Another, new to card roguelikes, plays a few rounds to unwind after a busy day.
The pull is a deck coming together. Every pick nudges the run toward a plan, and when the combo lands, a boss can melt in one turn. One fan joked about promising one last run 40 times in a single day. Treasure rooms and odd story events break up the fighting.
Fans of the first game mostly call this the better version, with two new characters, more events and co-op.
Balance, mostly. Early Access patches keep moving the numbers, and some players say enemies hit too hard before a deck can grow. A six-hour player said bad luck kept ending runs, and a casual player found ordinary fights tuned like elite ones.
Then there is the Aeonglass, an Act 3 boss built to hurt you every time you chain a lot of cards. It is the loudest complaint in the reviews. Most of that pain lands after the first 20 hours, so it costs one point.
Veterans miss the Watcher from the first game and want more new content. None of that touches a new player.
Solo: Great. It plays like the first game, and you can save and quit mid-run, which helps when a full climb can take up to two hours.
With friends: Many players say this is where it is best. Co-op takes two to four players, and groups love rehashing the near misses after a run. There is no online matchmaking, so friends need to own it, and some say two-player runs feel tuned for four.
Yes, even in Early Access. It is easy to start, hard to put down, and a great first deckbuilder. If you want another roguelike where every run teaches you something, Hades II at 10/10 is the closest pick.
For comparison, we rated Star Wars: Galactic Racer 8/10 and Path of Exile 2 7/10 on the same fun-only scale.
See where it lands in the most fun co-op games.
Slay the Spire 2 scores 9/10 on immediate fun. Draft cards, win fights, climb. One run turns into a whole night. Swingy Early Access balance costs a point.
Swingy balance. Run-ending bosses.
One question: did it deliver immediate fun? Graphics, story depth, difficulty and critical acclaim are ignored. Pick-up-and-play accessibility is rewarded; anything that makes you wait for the fun to start is penalized.
How we score: We don't care about graphics, story depth, or critical acclaim. One question — did it deliver immediate fun? We reward pick-up-and-play accessibility and penalize anything that makes you wait for the fun to start.