You may remember that the original Slay the Spire entered early access back in 2017, before being fully released in 2019. Developers Mega Crit are giving Slay the Spire 2 the same treatment, with an early access launch penciled in for March 5 (the same day Marathon comes out… not that the two are related in any way).

Anyway, “about half” of the team – six members of the small indie studio – recently took to Reddit for a quick AMA session to answer fans’ questions on a wide range of topics. One of those questions is about Steam Deck compatibility. The original game has full Verified status on the Valve handheld, and Steam Deck owners will be glad to hear that the sequel is already playable.

Slay the Spire 2 is playable on Steam Deck, say Mega Crit

In response to a fan’s question, lead programmer Jake Card says they “play on Steam Deck a lot and it works great!” Another programmer, Ed Lu, notes that the team will see if they can get the coveted green Verified badge in time for the release, though there seems to be no worries about its compatibility. It’s still in early access, after all, and the game’s system requirements will be a breeze for most systems – just like the original Slay the Spire.

An interesting sidenote is that Slay the Spire 2 makes the switch from Unity to Godot as the game engine of choice. Co-founder Casey Yano says that moving from Unity to Godot “wasn’t too bad,” given the fact that the engine and its layout are already heavily influenced by the former. Card called the transition “super smooth”.

Godot is an open-source engine that has emerged as a popular choice among indie developers, powering popular titles such as Brotato (another Steam Deck favorite). Based on what Mega Crit has said, the engine seems incredibly well-suited for its roguelike deckbuilder sequel, and we have no doubts regarding its compatibility with the Steam Deck and Linux.

The decision to switch to Godot came at a time when Unity introduced a runtime fee, causing havoc and confusion among developers. The fee was eventually canceled, but the surrounding chaos inspired the team to check out alternative engines in the interim; you can read more about this on experience Yano’s personal blog here.

About the Author

Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.