Slay the Spire 2's stellar Early Access reputation cracked this week when a major update sent players into a tailspin. The roguelike deckbuilder, which launched in March to "Overwhelmingly Positive" reviews, dropped version 0.103.2 and immediately saw its recent review score plummet to "Mixed" on Steam.
The patch overhauled the game's balance in significant ways, alongside UI improvements, art updates, and writing tweaks. But those balance changes proved controversial enough to trigger a wave of negative reviews. By publication time, 4,800 negative reviews had flooded in within a single day.
Mega Crit, the game's developer, appeared to anticipate the blowback. The patch notes opened with a bold disclaimer: "This is still an Early Access game, so just because something made it from beta to main does not mean it's set in stone." The studio urged players to expect substantial changes across many systems.
Translation of popular negative reviews revealed a consistent complaint: players felt the balance adjustments were either poorly considered or pushed out too quickly. One user, requesting a refund, said the update had transformed the game into "a hostile, gutted shell of what was promised."
This marks the second review-bombing incident for Slay the Spire 2 in as many months. An earlier March update also drew criticism for similar balance shifts. The pattern appears to extend beyond typical gamer frustration. Steam's Chinese user base, which faces restrictions on domestic social media platforms, has been particularly vocal. Reviews in Simplified Chinese fell to Mixed while most other language groups maintained "Very Positive" or "Overwhelmingly Positive" scores.
Not all players are backing the negative campaign. Some have posted positive reviews specifically to counter what they view as an overreaction, arguing the game remains fun and that balance adjustments are inevitable in Early Access. One defender noted that the controversial patch was initially confined to the beta branch for testing before reaching the main build.
Despite the review turbulence, Slay the Spire 2's player base remains robust. The sequel peaked at 574,000 concurrent players early last month and currently maintains a 24-hour peak of 286,000 players on Steam. The game earned a 9 out of 10 at launch, with reviewers praising how it builds on the original's deckbuilding foundation while maintaining its captivating core loop.
Author Emily Chen: "Early Access gives developers room to experiment, but it doesn't shield them from player frustration when big swings miss the mark, and right now Mega Crit is feeling the heat."
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