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........

© Polygon