// KOTAKU — GAMING
9 Games To Play After Slay The Spire 2
I’ve somehow already sunk almost 300 hours into Slay the Spire 2. Even I’m not entirely sure how that’s possible, considering the game has only been out for three months, but Mega Crit’s steady influx of balance patches has certainly helped to keep me engaged. Plus, the game is incredible, so that’s mostly to blame.
However, it might be too incredible. I love deckbuilding games, but Slay the Spire 2 has almost ruined the genre for me, because I can’t think of another game that’s on its level–well, other than the first Slay the Spire. There are a lot of deckbuilding roguelikes that come close, though, and if Slay the Spire 2 is your first foray into the genre, then you may already be on the lookout for something comparable. Luckily for you, I clearly have way too much free time, because I’ve played most of them.
Now, before anyone gets mad at me in the comments, I want to state for the record that I’ve chosen to avoid talking about some of the more obvious picks here, such as Balatro, Vampire Crawlers, and Monster Train 2. They’re great games, but I have a feeling that the majority of people reading this article already know that, so I’m gonna focus on some of the less discussed picks instead. Plus, a couple of incredible games dropped just after Slay the Spire 2, and you’ve probably been too busy playing Slay the Spire 2 to have noticed. Trust me when I say that I sympathise.
This one is the most recent title on this list, as developer Smart Raven Studio released Rune Dice towards the end of last month, on May 19. Personally, I still play Slay the Spire 2 almost every day, so it almost passed me by entirely until Steam’s algorithm decided to not-so-randomly recommend it to me earlier this month.
It’s sort of a deck-builder, except, well… you build a deck of dice instead of a deck of cards. The aim of the game is to combine your dice with your other dice by shooting them at each other, which results in you dishing out damage to enemies and potentially earning some bonus effects. While the core gameplay isn’t too comparable to Slay the Spire 2, the roguelike progression through the map is very similar, requiring you to weigh up the pros and cons of which route to take as you decide which enemies and which rewards you want to take along the way. More importantly, you’ll also get a nice hit of dopamine every time you manage to shoot a six into another six.
I wasn’t lying when I said that Rune Dice was the most recent title on this list, but only barely, as Mi’pu’mi Games’ Black Jacket was released a mere week earlier on May 12. Also, to be completely upfront with you, Black Jacket has a lot more in common with Balatro and Inscryption than it does with Slay the Spire 2, but I’m including it anyway, as I’ve been desperate for an opportunity to talk about this game for a while now.
In the same way that Balatro is a poker deck-building roguelike, Black Jacket is a blackjack deck-building roguelike. However, don’t let that reductive sort of comparison put you off, because the game’s story is what helps it distinguish itself from its competition. It almost feels like a bizarre thing to say about a deckbuilding game, but I highly suggest going into this one completely blind, because Black Jacket features a surprisingly engaging and well-written narrative that more than earns its $15 price of admission.
Klei Entertainment is easily one of the most underappreciated developers out there at the moment, as it’s released so many back-to-back bangers in the last two decades. Mark of the Ninja, Oxygen Not Included, Rotwood, Invisible Inc, and, of course, Don’t Starve–these guys are truly incapable of missing. Yet, despite this, I rarely hear anyone talk about what is potentially my favorite of Klei’s titles: Griftlands.
Now, there may be a good reason for that: Griftlands is not as deep or as mentally taxing as other deckbuilders, and you can finish its campaign in under 30 hours. However, it’s a really, really solid 30 hours, and there’