If you were to only play one game on this list, it should be Slay the Spire. It's far and away the closest game that exists to single player magic. Each ‘run’ in slay the spire begins with a near-vanilla deck of attacks and blocks, but before too long you can begin assembling nasty combos and synergies that completely break the game wide open.

As a result, it feels like a game of two parts. You have this solid tactical foundation of attacks, blocks, buffs, debuffs and reading enemy intentions. I would liken this to Magic’s design being about creatures, removal, card draw and lands. The game ostensibly revolves around minimising damage taken and deftly weaving around the enemy’s intentions.

But the thing that makes Slay the Spire a joy to play is the way you draft your deck. Every battle won will give you the choice of three cards, with many more opportunities to enhance your deck through shops, campfires and random encounters. A lot of the time you need to be practical and take a middle of the road ‘workhorse’ card. Sometimes you get to prioritise some cool synergies. Rarely, but oh-so rewardingly, you get something that resembles a vintage power level deck.

The roguelike nature of Slay the Spire, as in Binding of Isaac, allows for you to have runs with ridiculous decks because once you finish it all gets reset. It feels like drafting a high powered cube - the storm deck rarely gets there, but when it does you feel like a god (The game literally has multiple different iterations on storm depending on your character, by the way). You’re constantly faced with tough deck building decisions, speculating on what's coming next. And just like in draft, you’ll be most rewarded if you move with the flow of whatever cards are coming your way, instead of trying to force something that’s not available.

It's a challenging game - and it only gets harder when you unlock the more ‘advanced’ classes of Defect and Watcher. It's intensely satisfying to move from figuring out the basics, to beating bosses, and finally slaying the spire - only to realise the hidden potential lurking in every weird card and item the game dangles in front of you. So you throw yourself into the Spire time and time again, getting a bit further in understanding every time.

You can buy Slay The Spire on Steam here!





Into the Breach