Slay the Spire II Is Already as Good as Hades 2, and It Just Hit Early Access

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Roguelike games vary greatly, and Hades II is a prime example. Beyond being a roguelike, it’s also an action RPG with fast-paced combat. This combination creates a thrilling experience that players have been enjoying since its release on September 25, 2025.

Not every roguelike game needs to be as ambitious as Hades II. Many are successful as deck-builders, like Balatro. A new one recently entered Steam Early Access: Slay the Spire II. It’s possible this game could become a serious competitor to Hades II.

Slay the Spire II Just Slays

Both Slay the Spire II and its predecessor, Slay the Spire (released in 2019), involve climbing a challenging spire and battling enemies. As you play, you collect new cards to strengthen your deck. This is crucial for success, because the cards you start with won’t be enough to overcome the increasingly difficult challenges later in the game.

Like the first game, Slay the Spire II lets you play as returning characters – the Ironclad, the Silent, and the Defect – as they attempt to climb an even more challenging spire. The game also adds two new playable characters: the Necrobinder and the Regent.

Players choose one character at the start of their journey up the Spire, and each character has special skills to help them. The Necrobinder, for instance, can summon a skeletal hand named Osty, which fights alongside them and deals extra damage to enemies.

Although the core combat in Slay the Spire II remains similar to the first game, the way you progress through the Spire is different. Each playthrough features a randomly generated Spire layout, ensuring no two runs are ever quite the same – and the items and enemies you encounter will also be different each time.

It’s important to remember that Slay the Spire II is built around deckbuilding. Players customize their characters by choosing cards, and can find more throughout the game. These cards dictate how characters attack and defend. It’s a game you really have to experience yourself—the core gameplay of Slay the Spire remains incredibly engaging.

Gamers & Critics Are Already Talking About Slay the Spire II

Mega Crit, the team behind the popular game Slay the Spire, is developing Slay the Spire II. They also created Dancing Duelists, a unique game that combines rhythm and deckbuilding. Clearly, Mega Crit excels at deckbuilding games and consistently incorporates this style into their projects.

The impact of Slay the Spire on the gaming world is clear when you look at other popular titles. When it was released on January 23, 2019, its combination of deckbuilding and roguelike gameplay felt incredibly innovative. Many other games now also feature deckbuilding, demonstrating just how influential Slay the Spire has been.

It seems likely that Slay the Spire II could become even more popular than the original, and potentially dominate online conversations about roguelike games, even surpassing Hades II. Since its release on Steam Early Access on March 5, 2026, the game has already reached a peak of almost 600,000 players, and consistently sees around 250,000 players online each day.

The game has been praised by both critics and players, earning “Very Positive” reviews on Steam. One reviewer even suggested that Slay the Spire II is a worthy successor to the original game.

Mega Crit reports that Slay the Spire II has already sold 3 million copies, which is remarkable for a game still in early access. The full version isn’t expected until sometime between 2027 and 2028, but even now, it appears to be performing better than Hades II.

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2026-04-23 20:48