Slay the Spire 2 still sits at a seemingly untouchable Very Positive Steam rating with 81% of its total 68,755 reviews (as of writing) being from happy customers, but a recent mess of negative reviews could change that.
Some players are truly offended at new beta patch v0.100.0, which is an opt-in patch through the public-beta branch for the Early Access sequel. Those who have chosen to test the patch, however, will experience a range of balance adjustments and a new Phobia mode to make the scares less scary in Slay the Spire 2. If only developer Mega Crit could have also developed a mode to bring its players' boiling blood back to a relaxed simmer…
One recent, emblematic negative review commands, "ROLLBACK PLZ." Another disappointed player with nearly 400 "helpful" ratings attempts to explain fans' heartbreak through psychological analysis, determining "when players are suppressed for a long time and forced to choose a specific dominant solution, they view that solution as a 'tool to combat an unfair environment.' If that tool is nerfed before the environmental pressure is relieved, players do not feel the game is 'more balanced'; they feel their 'reliable path has been stripped away.'"
In Slay the Spire 2's discussion section, fans debate philosophies by uploading a new screed seemingly every minute. But they can't decide what the truth really is: are they the problem? Or is patch v0.100.0 the problem? One popular thread wonders point-blank, "Are people genuinely mad about balance changes to the Beta branch of an early access game?"
Well, "This game doesn't even have a dedicated feedback sub-forum," one comment notes. "This is our swamp."
