Title: Slay The Spire
Developer: Megacrit
Publisher: Megacrit
Website: Megacrit.com
Genre: Card battler
Available On: PC, Xbox One, PS4, iOS
Release Date: June 13, 2020
Version Tested: iOS
Slay the Spire isn’t a new game. It’s been out for the PC and consoles for over a year now. What is new is that the game is now available for mobile. At least it’s now available for iOS.
The card battler that quickly became one of the most popular in its genre did a bit of a stealth drop on the Apple Store. Developers Megacrit did tease they were porting the game over to iOS sometime this month, though they hadn’t been forthcoming on just when yet.
As part of the Guerrilla Collective presentation, they announced it’s available now. With a price tag of $9.99 it’s possible the title has found its perfect home.
Touch Controls Make Slay the Spire Even Better
The controls for this game have never been all that difficult. You grab a card and drag it to your character or the enemy you want to attack. In the past, this was done with either a mouse and a controller and there was nothing wrong with that by any stretch. On the other hand, there’s just something a little more rewarding about being able to actually point, drag and unleash hell. This is the first indicator this is a game that might have been born for mobile.
As a matter of fact, the touch controls make Slay the Spire all the more fun to play because you can do things just a bit faster. There isn’t such massive improvements that it’s going to stand out when compared to other ways to play, but there is something to be said for how fun it is to play Slay the Spire in this format.
Slay the Spire Appears To Be a Full Port
In the gaming world, mobile titles can get a bit of a bad rap because people assume they are somehow “less than” PC or console games. That opinion has indeed been changing a bit, thanks in no small part to the Apple Arcade. Games, like Slay the Spire coming to mobile, are going to help continue to change that opinion. This is a smaller version of the game in only that its using smaller screens like the iPhone or iPad. Other than that, it appears the entire game has been ported over.
That means you can play the original way, battling your way up the chain until you get to the big bad boss. There is also a daily challenge feature. That means that while there isn’t a real multiplayer option but you can see how you are faring against the game compared to others who are playing the game on iOS as well. That particular feature will be interesting to see for a number of different reasons. Not the least of which is I’m going to be interested to see how well this game does on the mobile platform. It is, after all, available on just about everything else.
There is also the feature that’s also available on the console and PC versions of Slay the Spire that allow you to build your own climb up the chain. If you’ve grown tired or frustrated of playing the path the title lays out for you, you’re able to shake it up with your own little tweaks and changes. There’s something to be said for card battler games especially on the mobile platform and this one is yet another really nice title for a platform that is often an afterthought. Bringing all the features to iOS is a really nice touch.
One Big Drawback to Mobile Version
While I did say I think the mobile version of Slay the Spire might be the way to play this game, there is a caveat. This game is absolutely perfect for the iPad. The portability is great to and the fact that you can leave a game without closing the app down and come back to it when you have time to get back to it. Where the game does have perhaps it only strike against it is when you go to play it on the smaller phone screen. It’s certainly not impossible to play the game on the smaller screen but as is the case with most text based games, it can be a bit hard to see everything going on at times.
Verdict: Slay the Spire was already a very good and very popular game when it landed on PC and consoles. Now that it’s on mobile as well, it’s just as good and maybe gets just a little bit better. It’s unfortunate there is some difficulty in seeing the game when its being played on an iPhone screen, even when talking about a bigger screen like an iPhone XR. Still, the ability to leave and comeback and take the game with you on the go, as well as a purchase price about $10 cheaper than its other versions, this is a must-buy, even if you have it on other platforms.
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