Video: Slay the Spire is a friendly game of death, but it was hard to get it right

Normally, we devote our “War Stories” videos to established and classic games of old. So what is a 2019 video game doing here?

Anyone who asks this question about Slay the Spire, made by a three-person studio in Seattle, hasn’t played this wonderful title. It’s arguably the most addictive, accessible, and strategy-filled digital card game we’ve seen in years. So we wanted to talk to its dealers about the game’s irresistible properties.

The result is the above interview, which is peppered with developer Mega Crit’s insights (and at least one Easter egg). We’re glad we sought out this younger team, because their answers revolved largely around the Steam Early Access system, which is still a pretty small drop in the bucket of game design history. Designers Anthony Giovannetti and Casey Yano sought a passionate community’s help to solve the game’s early design problems, and the community’s use of Discord and Steam forums were critical not just for fixing Slay’s early issues but also identifying them in the first place.