Seven years after the release of the original, Mega Crit studio announced a sequel to one of the most acclaimed indie games of all time – Slay the Spire. This announcement came unexpectedly and sparked immense excitement and overwhelming reactions from fans of the game.
It’s been some time since Slay the Spire 2 was announced back in April, and Mega Crit released the first Gameplay Trailer a few days ago.
There’s been a lot of speculation about STS 2. In this article, we’ll focus on the confirmed information from the studio and take a closer look at the exciting new additions. Here’s what we know about the much-anticipated sequel.
Slay the Spire 2 – Release Date
The burning question on everyone’s mind is – when will the game be released? According to the Reveal Trailer released by the studio on April 10, 2024, Slay the Spire 2 is set to enter Early Access sometime in 2025. The new Gameplay Trailer reiterates that information.
What we do know, however, is that the studio has been working on the game since May 2021. Representatives of the studio also mentioned that the game will probably be in Early Access for a year/year and a half, similar to the original.
Slay the Spire 2 – Early Access
Speaking of Early Access, you may be wondering – what’s that all about? Just like STS, the sequel will first be released in Early Access. A lot of studios release their games like this which helps generate funding and opens them up to community feedback.
The devs take that feedback into account and polish the game further before its official release. Mega Crit themselves stated that they plan to work together with the fans to finalize the game. Personally, I think this is a great way to foster a sense of community, and a big reason why Mega Crit is so respected.
When Slay the Spire was first released in EA, it only had a fraction of its total mechanics (for example, there were only two playable characters). This time around, we don’t know just how much of the game will be available early on. We do, however, know that it will eventually be available to play on most platforms, including Linux, macOS, and PC – but it will be published on Steam first.
Game Engine
It’s also important to note that Slay the Spire 2 is built on the Godot game engine, whereas the original was developed in Unity. Mega Crit decided to make this change after the controversy surrounding the Unity engine licensing. In short, the company announced that they will change their pricing model – from charging a flat fee per install to a royalty system based on game revenue.
This move sparked an outrage among game developers and many decided to switch platforms after this announcement, including Mega Crit.
We do not know how and if this change will affect the actual game, art, mechanics, etc.
Slay the Spire 2 – Lore
An interesting aspect of this game is its emphasis on gameplay mechanics, with little focus on lore. Most of what we know about the characters and the world is taken from limited information through in-game events. If you don’t pay attention, you can easily miss the details and believe there’s no bigger story within the Spire.
However, enthusiasts have pieced the puzzle together and formed a coherent (though still vague) picture. In short, the whale monster called Neow is a type of God that wants to defeat the Spire and resurrects the characters to help her (over and over and over again).
According to the trailer, the sequel takes place 1000 years after the original. One of the developers said that there will be more lore in STS 2, so we are eagerly waiting to learn more about this mysterious world.
Slay the Spire 2 Characters
For now, we know that the Ironclad and the Silent will be returning as playable characters in the game. Two new characters were added: the Necrobinder and an unknown fourth character. The Necrobinder seems to possess a summon effect – something we haven’t seen from any of the original characters.
Unfortunately, that means that the Watcher and the Defect will NOT be returning as playable characters (as far as we know). However, some fans pointed out that, in the trailers, you can purchase a Claw (a Defect card) at the Merchant. This little detail opened up a lot of fan theories; some believe that Defect could be unlocked as a playable character, while others think that it could become an enemy or even the boss.
Officially, we still don’t know if either of these characters will be featured in the game, or to what extent.
We did see, however, that the Ironclad and the Silent have both old and new cards to play with.
Slay the Spire 2 Gameplay & Mechanics
In terms of gameplay, the deck-building and dungeon-crawling elements appear to carry over into the sequel. However, in an FAQ on the official Slay the Spire 2 Steam Page, one of the developers confirmed that there will be new mechanics added to the game, but they did not reveal any specifics.
Slay the Spire 2 – Price & Microtransactions
There are no news regarding how much Slay the Spire 2 is going to cost. However, taking into account that the first game costs around ~$25 on all platforms, we can assume that the sequel will be somewhere around that mark. The devs have confirmed that, just like the original Slay the Spire, the sequel will NOT contain any microtransactions.
Final Thoughts
Overall, it’s safe to say that the community is ecstatic about the release of Slay the Spire 2. Even though there is very little information available at the moment, curiosity continues to build as players wonder how the sequel will expand on the critically-acclaimed original.
Some are cautious, others are hopeful; I, for one, can’t wait to get my hands on this unexpected release.
Stay tuned as we wait for further details from the developers.
Image Credits: Mega Crit
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