Slay the Spire launched in Early Access in 2017 and created the deck-builder roguelike genre as it exists today. Draft cards mid-run to build a synergistic deck, fight procedurally generated encounters using limited energy per turn, die, and start the next run with new knowledge — the loop turned out to be one of the most replayable structures in modern gaming. Developers noticed, and the space has grown dramatically since 2018.
If you have finished the original — or you are waiting for Slay the Spire 2 Early Access to mature — this list covers 12 games organised by how closely each matches the original formula. For players currently on the sequel, our Slay the Spire 2 beginner guide covers confirmed changes and starting strategies. For optimising your runs, see the StS2 best cards tier list.
Top Tier: Closest to Slay the Spire’s DNA
These four games share the deepest structural DNA with Slay the Spire. Each has energy-based card play, synergy-first deck construction, and a run structure built around meaningful choices at every encounter.
1. Monster Train — The Single Best First Stop
Monster Train is the single most recommended game after Slay the Spire, and the reason is straightforward: it keeps everything StS does well and adds a meaningful spatial layer on top. You defend your hellish train’s pyre across three floors as waves of enemies advance upward. Cards place monster units on floors and grant them abilities — both unit positioning and card synergy matter simultaneously, creating a two-dimensional strategy puzzle rather than a one-dimensional card game.
Five clans each have distinct mechanics. Dual-clan run combinations open hundreds of viable strategies. The ceiling from beginner to competitive play is as high as StS’s, and the vertical stacking of effects — loading one unit with Ember until it deletes entire floors in a single hit — produces exactly the same satisfying snap as StS’s best builds. Monster Train regularly drops to around $5 on sale. Available on PC and Nintendo Switch.
Best for: Any StS veteran. The single most recommended starting point after finishing the original.
2. Inscryption — Must-Play for StS Lore Fans
Inscryption wraps tight deck-building mechanics inside a meta-horror narrative. You play cards against a figure named Leshy in a darkened cabin, sacrificing creatures to pay for stronger ones, using bones from dead cards for bone-cost abilities, and occasionally standing up from the card table to interact with the cabin itself. The first act mirrors Slay the Spire’s run structure closely. What lies beneath that act is why Inscryption is the most memorable game on this list.
If Slay the Spire’s lore puzzle — the Watcher’s origin, the Defect’s consciousness, what the Spire actually is — interested you as much as the cards did, Inscryption delivers that feeling at full intensity. The roguelike portion alone justifies a playthrough. The surrounding game makes it essential. PC and PS4/PS5.
Best for: Players who want narrative as central as mechanics; anyone drawn to StS’s lore.
3. Cobalt Core — The Deep Pick for Veterans
Cobalt Core is a ship-to-ship deck-builder built around crew-based card generation. Each crew member contributes a set of cards to your shared run deck, and combat plays out on a side-scrolling lane — you dodge incoming fire by shifting position left and right, and some cards require specific positioning to activate. Runs average 30–45 minutes. The mastery ceiling is high.
The elegance-to-complexity ratio is the best on this list. Nothing in Cobalt Core exists without purpose. The crew combination system — which characters you bring determines which cards are available — produces surprising run variety without randomness ever feeling arbitrary. For StS veterans who want something that uses the same strategic instincts in a genuinely fresh context, Cobalt Core is the answer. PC and Nintendo Switch.
Best for: StS veterans ready for fresh mechanics at the same skill level.
4. Wildfrost — Cozy Aesthetic, Brutal Difficulty
Wildfrost is a grid-based deck-builder with countdown mechanics. Every card and unit on the board has a clock; when it hits zero, it acts automatically. Managing those timers — freezing enemy countdowns to delay incoming damage, accelerating your own to chain faster attacks — adds a spatial puzzle layer that most deck-builders lack entirely. A weather system changes environmental conditions each zone, keeping optimised strategies from going stale across runs.
The art style is deliberately cosy and pastel-tinted. The difficulty is not. Wildfrost is one of the harder games on this list wrapped in one of the softest visual presentations, and the freeze mechanic creates decision points that have no equivalent in StS. PC and Nintendo Switch.
Best for: Players who want mechanical novelty; those not put off by punishing difficulty.
Great Alternatives: Different Angle, Same Satisfaction
These three games capture the “broken combo builds to a satisfying conclusion” feeling without copying StS’s exact structure.
5. Balatro — The Purest Synergy Hit
Balatro is a poker hand roguelike. You play actual poker hands — pairs, straights, flushes, full houses — against a point target rather than enemies. Joker cards modify your score with multipliers, triggers, and chain effects. Stack the right combination and a single hand scores millions of points. Stack the wrong ones and you are eliminated before the third ante.
There is no combat and no dungeon. What Balatro replicates perfectly is the moment a Slay the Spire build fully clicks — every piece doing double or triple duty, the engine running itself, numbers spiralling past any reasonable expectation. The Joker system rewards exactly the same optimisation instinct as StS’s relic synergies. For everything on how the system works, see our Balatro guide. Available on all platforms including iOS and Android.
Best for: Players who love the math of StS more than the dungeon crawling.
6. Roguebook — Accessible Dual-Hero Deck Building
Roguebook features two heroes sharing a single deck. Positioning them in a hex-based combat grid changes which abilities are accessible and which synergies activate. The pacing is more forgiving than Slay the Spire — runs are slightly shorter and the early difficulty curve less punishing — making it the best recommendation for introducing the genre to a friend. Richard Garfield (Magic: The Gathering creator) contributed to card design, and the card language reflects that background. Available on PC, Nintendo Switch, and PS4.
Best for: TCG fans; players wanting more accessible pacing; the best introduction for new players.
7. Peglin — The Cozy Entry Point
Peglin replaces card attacks with a Peggle-style pinball mechanic. Each turn you launch an orb that bounces off pegs, dealing damage based on which pegs it hits, which orbs are equipped, and which relics are active. The relic system is structurally identical to Slay the Spire’s — finding combinations that turn a basic orb into a screen-clearing machine produces exactly the same rush — with less deck management overhead. Short runs, low barrier to entry, full build-crafting payoff. The gentlest starting point on this list. PC only.
Best for: New players entering the roguelike deck-builder genre for the first time.
Actually, Just Play Slay the Spire 1
If you are coming from Slay the Spire 2’s Early Access build, the original is worth revisiting before spending money on alternatives. StS1 regularly drops under $5 on sale — cheaper than most games on this list — and has four fully developed characters. The Defect and the Watcher are both currently absent from StS2’s Early Access. The Watcher in particular offers the most mechanically complex playstyle in the franchise: stance-switching between Calm and Wrath creates a risk-reward engine nothing else in StS replicates. Available on all platforms including iOS and Android.
Console-Friendly Picks
For players on console or handheld:
- Monster Train — Nintendo Switch; full game, excellent in portable mode
- Roguebook — Nintendo Switch and PS4; one of the best console implementations of the genre
- Slay the Spire 1 — iOS, Android, Switch, PS4, Xbox; the mobile port is well-optimised for touch
- Balatro — iOS and Android plus all major consoles; the touch interface is arguably the best way to play
Also Worth Playing
Three games that did not make the top sections but deserve mention for specific player types:
- Vault of the Void (~$25, PC) — The deepest mechanical system on this list. The Void banking mechanic adds a second hand-management resource layer that takes dozens of hours to fully internalise. For StS Ascension 20 veterans who want a steeper challenge.
- Hades II (~$30, PC Early Access) — Action roguelike with boon selection providing the same loadout-crafting satisfaction as StS. Real-time combat replaces turn-based; the build-crafting loop is structural if not mechanical.
- Griftlands (~$20, PC) — Unique dual-deck system: one deck for combat, one for negotiation. Many encounters can be resolved either way. The best pick for players who found StS thin on narrative.
Watch List: Inkbound
Inkbound by Shiny Shoe — the Monster Train developers — is a cooperative multiplayer deck-builder in active development. Up to four players build complementary run decks in real time, making it the first proper co-op entry from a developer who already proved they can match StS’s mechanical depth. Given Shiny Shoe’s track record, Inkbound is the most anticipated genre release to monitor in 2026.
All 12 Games Compared
| Game | Platform | Price | Complexity (1–5) | StS Similarity (1–5) | Est. Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monster Train | PC, Switch | ~$25 | 4/5 | 5/5 | 40–80+ |
| Inscryption | PC, PS4/PS5 | ~$20 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 15–25 |
| Cobalt Core | PC, Switch | ~$20 | 4/5 | 4/5 | 30–60+ |
| Wildfrost | PC, Switch | ~$20 | 4/5 | 3/5 | 25–50 |
| Balatro | All platforms | ~$15 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 30–100+ |
| Roguebook | PC, Switch, PS4 | ~$20 | 3/5 | 4/5 | 20–40 |
| Peglin | PC | ~$15 | 2/5 | 3/5 | 15–30 |
| Slay the Spire 1 | All platforms | ~$5–10 | 4/5 | 5/5 | 100+ |
| Vault of the Void | PC | ~$25 | 5/5 | 4/5 | 50–100+ |
| Hades II | PC (EA) | ~$30 | 3/5 | 2/5 | 50–100+ |
| Griftlands | PC | ~$20 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 25–40 |
| Inkbound | PC (upcoming) | TBD | TBD | TBD | TBD |
FAQ
Is Slay the Spire 2 worth buying in Early Access?
If you have already completed StS1 across multiple characters and Ascension runs, yes — the new card pool and mechanics offer genuine novelty even in Early Access. If you are newer to the genre, StS1 has more fully developed content right now and costs significantly less. Our Slay the Spire 2 beginner guide covers what is currently available and what is still in development, which should help you decide whether to buy now or wait for full release.
What is the easiest game on this list for beginners?
Peglin is the gentlest entry point — the pinball mechanic reduces the cognitive load of card selection and runs are short. Roguebook has slightly more depth but offers more forgiving pacing than most alternatives. Both are better starting points than Vault of the Void or Cobalt Core, which assume genre familiarity. Balatro is also very approachable because the poker hand structure gives you an intuitive framework before the Joker complexity fully kicks in.
Which games on this list are available on console or mobile?
Monster Train and Roguebook are on Nintendo Switch. Roguebook is also on PS4. Balatro covers the most ground — Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox, iOS, and Android. Slay the Spire 1 is similarly broad, including iOS and Android. Cobalt Core and Wildfrost are on PC and Switch. Most others (Vault of the Void, Hades II, Griftlands, Peglin) are PC-only or have limited console availability.