Slay the Spire 2 is best as a co-op game

Mega Crit’s Slay the Spire is incredibly compelling, hooking players since 2019 with the tantalizing promise of unlocking new cards, relics, and achievements if they play just one more run. Those same qualities are key to Slay the Spire 2, which retains all of the roguelike deckbuilder’s core elements and enhances them with new classes, monsters, and events. But a month after its early access release, what’s keeping me coming back is the sequel’s biggest change: the ability to play with friends.

I never actually used the Slay the Spire co-op mod Spire with Friends, but I loved Slay the Spire: The Board Game. The tabletop adaptation lets up to four players work together using streamlined versions of the video game’s characters to take on all the same challenges, unlocking cards across multiple game sessions in the style of a legacy board game. I spent many hours playing alongside my husband, but found the experience even more rewarding with a full party of four, where all of the game’s heroes showed off their relative strengths by working in synergy.

While my group is eagerly anticipating the release of the board game’s Downfall expansion, Slay the Spire 2’s multiplayer mode is providing the same type of fun — without the setup time or even the need to be in the same country as my friends. I’m often thinking of builds and strategies I’d like to try, but what determines whether I boot up the game isn’t how well my last run went, but whether one of my similarly obsessed buddies is online.

Slay the Spire 2 is tough. While I typically sought out as many elites as I could in the base game, I’m one of many players who have been discouraged by the risk-reward ratio in the sequel. I’m much more up for the challenge when I’ve got a friend at my side. Even though monsters have more hit points in co-op and can affect the whole party with their attacks and debuffs, having a teammate makes things significantly easier. Players working together can also stack debuffs on their enemies, ideally coordinating over voice chat to make the most of Weaken and Vulnerable, while focusing fire on whatever foe they deem the biggest threat.

Having a buddy makes some strategies better. A slow deck will have more time to ramp up if a fast partner can quickly kill or disable an enemy to take some pressure off. A player with a fragile character doesn’t have to be as worried, since they’ll be revived so long as at least one party member survives. A Silent’s Poison and Necrobinder’s Doom are highly synergistic when teaming up against a foe with a lot of Block. Miniature Tent is always a good relic, but it’s absolutely incredible in multiplayer, where it also lets you heal a party member at a campsite.

Your choices along the run also get better when playing with friends. Chests drop one relic per person, and players can dole them out among the group based on what’s more useful for their build. Potions are awarded individually but can be used on a friend, so you can be a hero with a Block Potion or toss a Strength Potion on someone who’s making more attacks. What’s more, co-op colorless cards are consistently better than their single-player counterparts. I was always excited to use or benefit from Believe in You, a 0-cost card that grants another player three energy, or to share some of my Block with friends using Beacon of Hope.

Image: Mega Crit

As early access continues, I hope Mega Crit continues to enrich the multiplayer mode with more options. One mechanic the developers could steal from the board game is allowing the upgraded version of Defend to also apply to other players. It’s a tweak that’s inherently balanced in single-player games but can make one of the worst cards in the game very useful, changing the calculus about what to cut from your deck.

A solo victory in Slay the Spire 2 is deeply satisfying, but I love cackling maniacally while unleashing some degenerate combo I’ve pulled off with my friends. Even if you’re stuck with a mediocre hand, you can enjoy watching your party members get to shine. Ideally everyone synergizes together, but there’s also a fun tension in getting knocked out and hoping your group can eke out a win so you can continue the run. I’m happy that it’s so easy to get hooked on Slay the Spire 2, because it means I can usually find someone who’s up for joining me on another run.