04-25-2019, 05:15 AM
Like… Slay the Spire? You’ll Love These!
<div style="margin: 5px 5% 10px 5%;"><img src="http://www.sickgaming.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/like-slay-the-spire-youll-love-these.jpg" width="820" height="615" title="" alt="" /></div><div><p> <span class="author">By Dick Page</span> <span class="date">24 Apr 2019</span> </p>
<div id="content-container">
<p><strong>S</strong><em>lay the Spire</em> is a masterpiece of game design whose only sin is that it is not currently available on a platform I can play on the bus. Instead, I have to wait until my lunch break to load it up on the company desktop and drag cards around with a mouse, of all things! How barbaric!</p>
<p><em>If you’re looking for more regular card games, <a href="https://www.pockettactics.com/guides/best-card-games-android-ios/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">we’ve got a great alternative list for you to check out!</a></em></p>
<p>However, all hope is not lost. For if you are like me, desperately craving one more run up the spire, one more shot at building the perfect poison-multiplying deck, or one more chance to try to understand how to use the Defect’s crazy orbs, you need something to take the edge off when you can’t simply spend all day in front of a PC. Thus, here are the best games to play until <em>Slay the Spire</em> comes out on mobile. It’s methadone, but for cards and weird-looking monsters.</p>
<h3>Dream Quest (<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dream-quest/id870227884?mt=8&at=11l7vY" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">iOS</a>) (<a href="https://www.pockettactics.com/reviews/review-dream-quest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Review</a>)</h3>
<p>First, let’s go back in time. Even before <em>Slay the Spire</em> was the innovative <em>Dream Quest</em>, a game known equally well for it’s incredibly ugly graphics as its incredibly deep gameplay. Compared to <em>Slay the Spire</em>, <em>Dream Quest</em> is more focused on deck building. You get fewer cards in your hand, and can often simply play all of them rather than having to make tactical choices. Unlike <em>Slay the Spire</em>, enemies play with their own deck of cards and don’t broadcast their intentions each round.</p>
<p><img class="center" title src="http://www.sickgaming.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/like-slay-the-spire-youll-love-these.jpg" alt="Dream Quest2" width="820" height="615"></p>
<p><em>Dream Quest</em> is less about playing each battle cleverly and more about making sure your chosen abilities work together against the given opponents. As you advance in the game, you’ll learn what each enemy is capable of and which cards you can add to your deck to counter them. If you master it, you’ll feel like you broke the game when you finally down the Lord of Dream.</p>
<h3>Meteorfall: Journey (<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/meteorfall-journey/id1269922212?mt=8&at=11l7vY" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">iOS</a> & <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.slothwerks.meteorfall" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Android</a>) (<a href="https://www.pockettactics.com/reviews/review-meteorfall-journey/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Review</a>)</h3>
<p>Its creator described <em>Meteorfall</em> as <em>“Dream Quest meets Reigns,”</em> and that’s about as accurate as anything I can say. <em>Meteorfall</em> makes a smart decision in adapting card-battle gameplay to mobile: rather than having a hand of cards, you draw one at a time and decide to play it or pass, with each choice having a different effect on your resources.</p>
<p><img class="leftAlone" title src="http://www.sickgaming.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/like-slay-the-spire-youll-love-these-1.jpg" alt="meteorfall update head" width="820" height="488"></p>
<p>It’s like if Grindr was a way to decide which way you want to spank some <em>Adventure Time</em> characters. It’s perfect to play one-handed, and complex and addictive. If you can’t handle <em>Dream Quest</em>‘s janky interface and retina-throttling art, this is your best bet for a roguish deckbuilder on mobile. Small wonder it won our <a href="https://www.pockettactics.com/best-of/readers-choice-game-of-the-year-2018/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2018 GOTY Award</a>.</p>
<h3>Night of the Full Moon (<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/night-of-the-full-moon/id1278845241?mt=8&at=11l7vY" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">iOS</a> & <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ztgame.yyzy" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Android</a>) (<a href="https://www.pockettactics.com/reviews/review-night-of-the-full-moon/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Review</a>)</h3>
<p><em>Night of the Full Moon</em> takes another path to streamlining <em>Dream Quest</em>. Like <em>Dream Quest</em>, you have a small hand of cards and gradually build up your deck from basic attacks to much more complex card engines. Rather than having a map, you choose from three different encounters, including enemies as well as stores and other places to pick up new cards.</p>
<p><img class="leftAlone" title src="http://www.sickgaming.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/like-slay-the-spire-youll-love-these-2.jpg" alt="Night of the Full Moon header" width="820" height="461"></p>
<p>You’ve got several classes that offer completely different approaches. It’s almost as challenging as <em>Dream Quest</em> and also quite a lot nicer to look at, with a fun cartoon style. The translation can be a bit of a struggle, however.</p>
<h3>Card Crusade (<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/card-crusade/id1383938095?mt=8&at=11l7vY" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">iOS</a> & <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=games.pollywog.card_crusade&hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Android</a>) (<a href="https://www.pockettactics.com/reviews/card-crusade/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Review</a>)</h3>
<p>Where <em>Slay the Spire</em> has entirely different sets of cards for each character, even as you acquire new ones in your journey up the spire, <em>Card Crusade</em> gives each character a different starting deck and lets you add cards from a generic pool. It makes the characters less distinct, but improves the flexibility of your approaches.</p>
<p><img class="leftAlone" title src="http://www.sickgaming.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/like-slay-the-spire-youll-love-these-3.jpg" alt="card crusade head" width="820" height="365"></p>
<p>This is probably the best choice after you’ve already exhausted <em>Dream Quest</em> and are looking for more of almost-the-same, like buying a bag of Hydrox when the store is out of Oreos.</p>
<h3>Pirates Outlaws (<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pirates-outlaws/id1442776789?mt=8&at=11l7vY" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">iOS</a> & <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.piratesoutlaws.fabledgame&hl=en_US" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Android</a>) (<a href="https://www.pockettactics.com/reviews/pirates-outlaws/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Review</a>)</h3>
<p>If what you’re looking for is really a clone of <em>Slay the Spire</em> and not just something in the same vein, your options are somewhat more limited. <em>Pirates Outlaws</em> is the clearest doppelganger. However, this copy also seems to sport a goatee, signalling it comes from the evil Mirror Universe of obnoxious in-app purchases and paywalls. It might be worth a try if <em>Dream Quest</em> and <em>Meteorfall</em> aren’t doing it for you.</p>
<h3>Silent Abyss: Fate of Heroes (<a href="http://https//itunes.apple.com/us/app/silent-abyss-fate-of-heroes/id1447044513?mt=8&at=11l7vY" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">iOS</a>) (<a href="https://www.pockettactics.com/reviews/silent-abyss-fate-of-heroes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Review</a>)</h3>
<p>This one is basically a reduced version of <em>Slay the Spire</em>, with an almost identical gameplay loop and the twist of playing two heroes at a time. It’s quite a bit easier, however, and the cards aren’t quite as interesting. Worth a try after you’ve exhausted the rest.</p>
<h3>Card Quest</h3>
<p>If you love the card-battling dungeon-crawling of <em>Slay the Spire</em> but could take or leave the deckbuilding, <em>Card Quest</em> is the game you are looking for. It requires extremely careful, tactical use of your character’s deck, but doesn’t let you modify that deck card-by-card on the fly. Instead, sets of cards are tied to equipment you can acquire, and your deck shuffles these pre-set groups together.</p>
<p><img class="leftAlone" title src="http://www.sickgaming.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/like-slay-the-spire-youll-love-these-4.jpg" alt="CardQuestReviewHeader" width="820" height="461"></p>
<p>If developing card synergies and managing your deck is your least favorite part of <em>Slay the Spire</em>, give this one a try. It keeps the roguelike challenge and even makes the battles deadlier to keep the focus on moment-to-moment tactical use of your cards.</p>
<h3>Close, but no cigar</h3>
<p>There are other card-based dungeon-crawlers or card battlers that are great fun, but not really substitutes for<em> Slay the Spire</em>.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.pockettactics.com/reviews/review-solitairica/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Solitairica</em></a> and <a href="https://www.pockettactics.com/reviews/review-card-crawl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Card Crawl</em></a> are really solitaire games where you are playing against a deck, not trying to build one.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.pockettactics.com/reviews/one-deck-dungeon/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>One Deck Dungeon</em></a> deals out the dungeon from, you got it, one deck, and involves a lot more luck than <em>Slay the Spire</em> fans would like.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.pockettactics.com/reviews/knights-of-the-card-table/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Knights of the Card Table</em></a> has a similar approach.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.pockettactics.com/reviews/review-card-city-nights-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Card City Nights</em></a> plays closer to an actual collectible card game rather than a deckbuilding game. </li>
</ul>
<p><em>There’s probably too many card-based dungeon-crawlers on mobile to count so: what did I miss? And what are your favourites?</em></p>
</p></div>
</div>
<div style="margin: 5px 5% 10px 5%;"><img src="http://www.sickgaming.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/like-slay-the-spire-youll-love-these.jpg" width="820" height="615" title="" alt="" /></div><div><p> <span class="author">By Dick Page</span> <span class="date">24 Apr 2019</span> </p>
<div id="content-container">
<p><strong>S</strong><em>lay the Spire</em> is a masterpiece of game design whose only sin is that it is not currently available on a platform I can play on the bus. Instead, I have to wait until my lunch break to load it up on the company desktop and drag cards around with a mouse, of all things! How barbaric!</p>
<p><em>If you’re looking for more regular card games, <a href="https://www.pockettactics.com/guides/best-card-games-android-ios/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">we’ve got a great alternative list for you to check out!</a></em></p>
<p>However, all hope is not lost. For if you are like me, desperately craving one more run up the spire, one more shot at building the perfect poison-multiplying deck, or one more chance to try to understand how to use the Defect’s crazy orbs, you need something to take the edge off when you can’t simply spend all day in front of a PC. Thus, here are the best games to play until <em>Slay the Spire</em> comes out on mobile. It’s methadone, but for cards and weird-looking monsters.</p>
<h3>Dream Quest (<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/dream-quest/id870227884?mt=8&at=11l7vY" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">iOS</a>) (<a href="https://www.pockettactics.com/reviews/review-dream-quest/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Review</a>)</h3>
<p>First, let’s go back in time. Even before <em>Slay the Spire</em> was the innovative <em>Dream Quest</em>, a game known equally well for it’s incredibly ugly graphics as its incredibly deep gameplay. Compared to <em>Slay the Spire</em>, <em>Dream Quest</em> is more focused on deck building. You get fewer cards in your hand, and can often simply play all of them rather than having to make tactical choices. Unlike <em>Slay the Spire</em>, enemies play with their own deck of cards and don’t broadcast their intentions each round.</p>
<p><img class="center" title src="http://www.sickgaming.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/like-slay-the-spire-youll-love-these.jpg" alt="Dream Quest2" width="820" height="615"></p>
<p><em>Dream Quest</em> is less about playing each battle cleverly and more about making sure your chosen abilities work together against the given opponents. As you advance in the game, you’ll learn what each enemy is capable of and which cards you can add to your deck to counter them. If you master it, you’ll feel like you broke the game when you finally down the Lord of Dream.</p>
<h3>Meteorfall: Journey (<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/meteorfall-journey/id1269922212?mt=8&at=11l7vY" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">iOS</a> & <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.slothwerks.meteorfall" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Android</a>) (<a href="https://www.pockettactics.com/reviews/review-meteorfall-journey/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Review</a>)</h3>
<p>Its creator described <em>Meteorfall</em> as <em>“Dream Quest meets Reigns,”</em> and that’s about as accurate as anything I can say. <em>Meteorfall</em> makes a smart decision in adapting card-battle gameplay to mobile: rather than having a hand of cards, you draw one at a time and decide to play it or pass, with each choice having a different effect on your resources.</p>
<p><img class="leftAlone" title src="http://www.sickgaming.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/like-slay-the-spire-youll-love-these-1.jpg" alt="meteorfall update head" width="820" height="488"></p>
<p>It’s like if Grindr was a way to decide which way you want to spank some <em>Adventure Time</em> characters. It’s perfect to play one-handed, and complex and addictive. If you can’t handle <em>Dream Quest</em>‘s janky interface and retina-throttling art, this is your best bet for a roguish deckbuilder on mobile. Small wonder it won our <a href="https://www.pockettactics.com/best-of/readers-choice-game-of-the-year-2018/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2018 GOTY Award</a>.</p>
<h3>Night of the Full Moon (<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/night-of-the-full-moon/id1278845241?mt=8&at=11l7vY" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">iOS</a> & <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ztgame.yyzy" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Android</a>) (<a href="https://www.pockettactics.com/reviews/review-night-of-the-full-moon/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Review</a>)</h3>
<p><em>Night of the Full Moon</em> takes another path to streamlining <em>Dream Quest</em>. Like <em>Dream Quest</em>, you have a small hand of cards and gradually build up your deck from basic attacks to much more complex card engines. Rather than having a map, you choose from three different encounters, including enemies as well as stores and other places to pick up new cards.</p>
<p><img class="leftAlone" title src="http://www.sickgaming.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/like-slay-the-spire-youll-love-these-2.jpg" alt="Night of the Full Moon header" width="820" height="461"></p>
<p>You’ve got several classes that offer completely different approaches. It’s almost as challenging as <em>Dream Quest</em> and also quite a lot nicer to look at, with a fun cartoon style. The translation can be a bit of a struggle, however.</p>
<h3>Card Crusade (<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/card-crusade/id1383938095?mt=8&at=11l7vY" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">iOS</a> & <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=games.pollywog.card_crusade&hl=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Android</a>) (<a href="https://www.pockettactics.com/reviews/card-crusade/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Review</a>)</h3>
<p>Where <em>Slay the Spire</em> has entirely different sets of cards for each character, even as you acquire new ones in your journey up the spire, <em>Card Crusade</em> gives each character a different starting deck and lets you add cards from a generic pool. It makes the characters less distinct, but improves the flexibility of your approaches.</p>
<p><img class="leftAlone" title src="http://www.sickgaming.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/like-slay-the-spire-youll-love-these-3.jpg" alt="card crusade head" width="820" height="365"></p>
<p>This is probably the best choice after you’ve already exhausted <em>Dream Quest</em> and are looking for more of almost-the-same, like buying a bag of Hydrox when the store is out of Oreos.</p>
<h3>Pirates Outlaws (<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pirates-outlaws/id1442776789?mt=8&at=11l7vY" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">iOS</a> & <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.piratesoutlaws.fabledgame&hl=en_US" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Android</a>) (<a href="https://www.pockettactics.com/reviews/pirates-outlaws/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Review</a>)</h3>
<p>If what you’re looking for is really a clone of <em>Slay the Spire</em> and not just something in the same vein, your options are somewhat more limited. <em>Pirates Outlaws</em> is the clearest doppelganger. However, this copy also seems to sport a goatee, signalling it comes from the evil Mirror Universe of obnoxious in-app purchases and paywalls. It might be worth a try if <em>Dream Quest</em> and <em>Meteorfall</em> aren’t doing it for you.</p>
<h3>Silent Abyss: Fate of Heroes (<a href="http://https//itunes.apple.com/us/app/silent-abyss-fate-of-heroes/id1447044513?mt=8&at=11l7vY" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">iOS</a>) (<a href="https://www.pockettactics.com/reviews/silent-abyss-fate-of-heroes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Review</a>)</h3>
<p>This one is basically a reduced version of <em>Slay the Spire</em>, with an almost identical gameplay loop and the twist of playing two heroes at a time. It’s quite a bit easier, however, and the cards aren’t quite as interesting. Worth a try after you’ve exhausted the rest.</p>
<h3>Card Quest</h3>
<p>If you love the card-battling dungeon-crawling of <em>Slay the Spire</em> but could take or leave the deckbuilding, <em>Card Quest</em> is the game you are looking for. It requires extremely careful, tactical use of your character’s deck, but doesn’t let you modify that deck card-by-card on the fly. Instead, sets of cards are tied to equipment you can acquire, and your deck shuffles these pre-set groups together.</p>
<p><img class="leftAlone" title src="http://www.sickgaming.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/like-slay-the-spire-youll-love-these-4.jpg" alt="CardQuestReviewHeader" width="820" height="461"></p>
<p>If developing card synergies and managing your deck is your least favorite part of <em>Slay the Spire</em>, give this one a try. It keeps the roguelike challenge and even makes the battles deadlier to keep the focus on moment-to-moment tactical use of your cards.</p>
<h3>Close, but no cigar</h3>
<p>There are other card-based dungeon-crawlers or card battlers that are great fun, but not really substitutes for<em> Slay the Spire</em>.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.pockettactics.com/reviews/review-solitairica/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Solitairica</em></a> and <a href="https://www.pockettactics.com/reviews/review-card-crawl/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Card Crawl</em></a> are really solitaire games where you are playing against a deck, not trying to build one.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.pockettactics.com/reviews/one-deck-dungeon/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>One Deck Dungeon</em></a> deals out the dungeon from, you got it, one deck, and involves a lot more luck than <em>Slay the Spire</em> fans would like.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.pockettactics.com/reviews/knights-of-the-card-table/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Knights of the Card Table</em></a> has a similar approach.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.pockettactics.com/reviews/review-card-city-nights-2/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Card City Nights</em></a> plays closer to an actual collectible card game rather than a deckbuilding game. </li>
</ul>
<p><em>There’s probably too many card-based dungeon-crawlers on mobile to count so: what did I miss? And what are your favourites?</em></p>
</p></div>
</div>