Making a sequel like Slay the Spire 2 is a difficult thing. Being a roguelike deckbuilder, there are a lot of mechanical considerations, such as what should change and be expanded versus what should stay the same. Casey Yano, co-creator of the first game and co-founder of studio Mega Crit Games, actually valued an approach closer to FromSoftware’s, until playtesters told him otherwise.
“We did mess around with, like, what percentage of the card pool should be different for returning characters. At first, it was less,” he explains in an interview with Edge magazine. This logic stems from the Dark Souls series, where you can replicate particular builds – two-handed axe, long-range, and such – across the sequels, with the key differences stemming from the kind of encounters you’ll face.
“If you say, ‘I’m going to make a katana build,’ you can make essentially the same exact character again in Dark Souls 2 and 3 – you’re just up against new challenges,” Yano says. “I like that, personally.”
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Alas, people trying out early builds of Slay the Spire 2 were less amused. “They were not jiving with that at all, ‘We need new stuff!'” Yano recalls.
I can see Yano’s logic, and share his affinity for series that allow you to maintain a singular approach across installments. Dark Souls is a perfect example – there’s a certain pleasure in taking your character outline across all three games, adapting to whatever crosses your path.
Slay the Spire had seven years’ worth of updates, and it probably seemed more logical to lean on that when it came to the follow-up’s card selection. But, as it turns out, people like starting fresh too, and Slay the Spire 2’s success makes it clear those playtesters were onto something.
Slay the Spire 2 won’t get an endless mode like Balatro because it limits “infinite strategies,” but creator says “maybe a modder will think of a way to make it work.”
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