Chinas Top Players Break Down Slay the Spire 2 Review Bombs

Key Facts

Why Did Chinese Players Review Bomb Slay the Spire 2?

The removal of save scumming in Slay the Spire 2 was the primary catalyst for a coordinated review bombing campaign by Chinese players on Steam. Chinese players consider this mechanic, which allows restarting a battle from scratch, a vital tool for high-level competitive play and win-streak runs. Doormaker, a prominent Chinese player, wrote a review that accumulated over 17,000 awards on Steam.

"It's not about difficulty," Doormaker wrote. "Slay the Spire is an excellent game, and I understand that the developer has his own ideas about game design and has the right to make changes, but this decision doesn't make the game harder, it simply makes it less fun."

Doormaker, as reported by Kotaku

"Slay the Spire 2 received a 46% positive rating from Chinese players on Steam, contrasting sharply with the 89% overall rating, triggered by the removal of save-scumming and localization concerns."

What Specific Gameplay Changes Caused the Controversy?

The most controversial gameplay change in Slay the Spire 2 was the removal of the save-scumming mechanic. In addition, Mega Crit altered several key cards from the first game, including Transmutation, Doom and Gloom, and Seek, and nerfed other mechanics such as Thorns and the Clockwork device, all of which shifted the established competitive meta.

These changes forced a new meta that Chinese players felt ignored the strategies built around the highly competitive streak scene from the first game. The removal of save scumming was particularly viewed as a removal of depth rather than difficulty. Doormaker stated the changes "completely deviated from what made the original game great."

"The alteration of iconic cards such as Transmutation, Doom and Gloom, and Seek, combined with the nerfing of Thorns, fundamentally shifted the game's core strategy away from the established competitive meta."

How Did the Chinese Translation Issue Amplify the Review Bombing?

The localization issue in Slay the Spire 2 magnified the backlash against the gameplay changes significantly. Kotaku reported that Mega Crit stated on Steam that it was "currently not planning" a Chinese localization for the full 1.0 launch of the game, which galvanized the Chinese player base and provided a unified justification for negative reviews and piracy.

This announcement, combined with the design changes, led many Chinese players to feel the developer was ignoring their significant market. The lack of official localization support was widely cited in Chinese-language reviews as a primary reason for the negative rating, effectively bundling a business decision with design criticism.

"Mega Crit's statement that it was 'currently not planning' a Chinese localization for the 1.0 launch of Slay the Spire 2 directly escalated the review bombing campaign and encouraged piracy among Chinese players."

What Is the Core Conflict Between Mega Crit and Chinese Players?

The core conflict between Mega Crit and Chinese players rests on a philosophical divide over game design: players demanded the preservation of save-scumming as an essential competitive tool, while the developer viewed it as a flaw to be corrected in the sequel. This resulted in a massive 43 percentage point gap in review scores between Chinese and global reviews.

Chinese players felt the developers ignored their specific competitive meta, which heavily relied on save-loading techniques for high win streaks. Doormaker's review exemplified this by arguing the game had become less strategic. In response, Mega Crit conducted interviews with Chinese media and hired overseas server staff to improve latency for the region, acknowledging technical concerns while disagreeing on the design philosophy.

"The conflict highlighted a deep cultural and philosophical rift between the developer's vision for a sequel and the highly specific competitive meta of the Chinese player base, resulting in a 43 percentage point gap in review scores."

Common Questions

Why is save scumming so important to Chinese Slay the Spire players?

Chinese players view save scumming as an essential strategic tool for achieving high win-streaks in competitive play. Its removal was widely seen not as a difficulty fix, but as the elimination of a deeply valued layer of strategic depth necessary for top-tier performance.

Did the Chinese translation issue cause the Slay the Spire 2 review bombs?

The lack of a committed Chinese translation was a major amplifying factor for the review bombs. It allowed players who disagreed with the gameplay changes to frame their critique around the developer's explicit lack of support for the Chinese market.

What was the Slay the Spire 2 Steam review score during the controversy?

During the height of the controversy, Slay the Spire 2 held a 46% positive rating from Chinese-language Steam reviews, while its overall global Steam rating stood at 89% positive, reflecting the localized nature of the backlash.

Sources and Methodology

This article is synthesized from the Kotaku report titled "China's Top Players Break Down Slay the Spire 2 Review Bombs." Quotes from Chinese players are translated and attributed as reported by Kotaku. Steam review statistics were reported by Kotaku based on publicly available Steam data at the time of the article's publication on May 2, 2023. This article was last updated on October 26, 2023.