Slay the Spire is one of those games where the more I play it, the worse I do. I did better at this game when I didn’t know what I was doing then I do now after hundreds of hours in the game.
Slay the Spire is one of those games where the more I play it, the worse I do. I did better at this game when I didn’t know what I was doing then I do now after hundreds of hours in the game.
Inscryption is an interesting story designed around an interesting card game, and it ends when you finish the story. The devs other games work with this game to build a deeper world (The Hex, Pony Island, etc), and the lore of Inscryption goes pretty deep too, so look on YouTube for a breakdown once you finish and your mind will be blown.
Slay the Spire is a roguelike with a bit deeper mechanics, but incredibly shallow story (if you can call it that). There are multiple classes with different play styles, and you will likely take a different strategy each run depending on what cards you see.
I highly recommend both, but it depends on what excites you more, interesting story or replayability. Inscryption has horror elements in the storytelling, Slay the Spire is basically just a weird fantasy theme.
My preference is Inscryption, but I’m more into story than gameplay, all else being equal. Both are solid.
I’m not really that fussed about story, it’s a nice bonus but the gameplay is what keeps me hooked. Sounds like Inscryption is the one to play first; Slay the Spire sounds more like the Binding of Isaac, something I’ve probably put a thousand hours into already!
Just as an alternate opinion, I found the actual card game itself, in Inscryption to be a bit shallow and bland. The most compelling part (of what I played, admittedly), was everything but the card game itself.
Your mileage may vary.
I will just say, if you’re expecting a deck builder card game like sts, you might be disappointed.
I’m not sure it’s the best rec for someone looking for another sts.
Inscryption is a story driven deckbuilder with a number of puzzles you need to solve that aren’t directly related to the core game. The reason to progress the game is that you enjoy the story and want to see it unfold, not because you enjoy the deckbuilding gameplay. If you want an infinite mode of the deckbuilding gameplay, there’s a mod for that, but IMO it goes against the spirit of the story.
Slay the Spire has no story and the reason to progress is because you enjoy the gameplay. Winning unlocks a new character, and winning with each character unlocks more difficult bosses.
If you want to play a great deckbuilder, play Slay the Spire, Balatro, or Monster Train. If you want to play a great game that happens to be a deckbuilder and will make you reflect, play Inscryption. All those games I mentioned are great, but I much prefer Inscryption and think about it far more often.