TL;DR: Incredibly fun card-drafting deck builder. Great diversity of viable strategies to fit any playstyle. No useless cards/meaningful buffs and debuffs.

I picked up Slay the Spire on Friday evening, and by Sunday afternoon I've put 15 hours into it. I've now reached the top of the spire with each of the three classes and still feel like I can jump back in for dozens—if not hundreds—more runs. I haven't even touched the Daily Climb or creative modes yet.

At it's core, Slay the Spire is a deck building strategy game. I love drafting and deck-building card games like 7 Wonders and Dominion, but digital deck builders have been middling at best. I put off buying Slay the Spire for ages, and I'm so glad I did.

My first run through I somehow made it nearly to the top, haphazardly making my way from foe to foe, slowing contructing a horribly janky deck with a loose theme of strength stacking. After several near-misses, at last I fell to the final boss. Along this run I had collected a huge variety of relics, each bestowing a unique and (usually) beneficial effect, as well as a wide array of fun-to-use cards. Each one felt useful in certain situations and even just one run in I could see a number of different strategies to build around on future runs.

I started run number two, eager to put together a more cohesive deck and try out some of the freshly unlocked cards and relics from my first climb. However, I had also unlocked a new class and wanted to try her out on my second attempt. To my surprise and immense pleasure, I found that all the cards and majority of relics I discovered were unique to the new class, which brings me to one of my favorite things about this game:

Each class feels unique, and withing each class are many ways to build an effective deck. Every run feels different, and no Spire is ever the same. Even in Early Access, this game is a gem in its genre, and with such a low price point there is no reason not to pick it up.