Summer's here and so is a new Neowsletter! We're out enjoying the sun during the day, and killing the night... during the uhh.. night (that was a Nightreign reference). Anyways, it's true- we were not part of Summer Games Fest :( But that's okay. As a small team, it's quite a bit of work to put together a trailer, do press stuff, and coordinate with event organizer folks, so we try to keep that stuff to a minimum.
However, these announcements are quite exciting. Mina the Hollower getting a release date is cool.
Okay, let's talk about a known but returning mechanic, Events in Slay the Spire!
Event Rooms
Sometimes when you enter those question mark looking rooms on the map you'll find yourself in an event! We've made them more dramatic by having the event image take up the whole screen, and some of the events will have cute animations, particles, and glowing effects too.
This time around, we're trying to avoid having any options where you simply do nothing and pass through.
But not all of these events are beneficial. The types of events vary between Acts, what state you're in, and they don't all have positive choices for the player! Don't just seek the unknown. Sometimes it's better to take down enemies in order to strengthen your deck.
There are 50+ events in Slay the Spire 2 so far and they're balanced to provide difficult decisions each time you enter them just like before. We're always experimenting with what may or may not be interesting so sometimes the artwork or writing is in a rough form for a good while.
We hope to share this experimental process with you all once we hit Early Access. Repy needs you.
Q&A with C&A
Faely asks: do you plan to collab with Vampire Survivors? I'd love to hunt vampires with the Ironclad!
Casey: I haven't played Vampire Survivors in a while, but this question reminds me- are there actually any vampires in the game??
Uitle233 and a bunch of other people ask: Are there plans to launch the sequel on the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 platform?
Casey: If the console's popular and there's demand we'll port! I want the game to be playable on a lot of different platforms. This is not a true confirmation, just my general philosophy.
sol asks: if there are gonna be multiple options for starting decks for classes or is it just gonna be strike and defences again
Casey: There are no different starting decks as players would just choose the best one and they could lean too hard towards specific archetypes. Instead we're messing about with more choices at the start of the run (i.e. with Neow)
Jacob Delaney asks: Will Grand Finale return for The Silent? It was my favorite card in Slay the Spire :)
Casey: We'll bring it back for you, Jacob.
Ratman asks: Will we see more stuff about/involving Mazaleth? He's by far the most interesting character in the lore to me.
Casey: yes
Zachray2K asks: Slay the Spire features some monsters inspired by real-world animals, like Jaw Worm and Louses. Personally, I don’t find them very cute—so I wonder if Slay the Spire 2 might introduce some cuter animal-based enemies.
Casey: First of all, I think the louse is cute so you're hurting its fuzzy feelings. Either way, our art director Marlowe is VERY adept at drawing cute things; it's actually a minor problem. If you don't find enough cute things in Slay the Spire 2 I would be shocked. SHOCKED I tell you.
Q&A... with Anailis and Bruce!
Demi the CM here! If you're interested in hearing more about how the art of Slay the Spire came to be, check out More Games Please's interview with StS1's dedicated artists Bruce Brenneise and Anailis Dorta (the latter of whom is also working on StS2, as seen in the event art above)!!
Spire Spotting
It's time to spot some Spire-dwellers!! First, a recap of last month's shadow monster:
Our research has concluded, and we can now share the results of your hypotheses...
The award for most Defect-ive goes to 唠个beaker! This seems to be a recurring theme amongst some of the guesses each month...
The award for least correct has to go to Funguy, who definitely lives up to their name at least :)
While many different researchers captured different elements of the creature, Szybarek seems to have come the closest overall--congrats!
Thank you to the other fine artist-scientists who contributed this month:
Credit from left to right: WildSamich, Coquillette, Teh Quiper, Cannoliy, Syrupybug, Colin, jangjorim, someitoj, JellyfishLightning.
So what does this mysterious being look like anyways?
KELP!! ...I mean HELP!! This seaweedy ball of spite is currently being referred to as a "seapunk" internally--but our taxonomists are prone to changing their minds, after all. Now, with that out of the way...
Another shadowy menace has appeared before our very eyes! If you have any ideas as to what it could be, be sure to submit them via [email protected] or in our Discord's fanart channel!
Pride with Friends!
The third annual Pride with Friends charity streaming event is happening on June 27-29, hosted by Panacea on Twitch! There will be competitive seeded runs, speedrunning, and casual Spire with Friends co-op runs, all of which YOU can sign up to participate in now! There will also be trivia and guest appearances from the dev team (including me, Demi, hi!) All proceeds from donations will go towards the Trevor Project, so be sure to tune in and support a great cause! Check out more info, including the schedule and sign up form, here! Credit for the cute event art goes to @okureito <3
Merch Madness
SsssSssSs... Something sneaky this way comes! Since there's no such thing as too much Snecko during Year of the Snecko, we're dropping ANOTHER Snecko plushie, this time with Makeship! And this one's CHONKY :) Don't let this opportunity to nab your own little cute, confusing friend slither out of your grasp; this pre-order campaign will only be live for a few more weeks before it's gone for good!!
Connections Section
Another Slay the Spire Connections puzzle is here! And I must say I'm quite ~proud~ of this one :)
Community Corner
First off, thank you to bibimboy for our rainbowy cover image this month! Shoutout to these other incredible submissions from (in order from left to right) Connor, rat mama, Alcalmy, as well as Rowan, who is a 10-year old fan of Slay the Spire!! :') Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful art with us!
Next month's theme is: Neow at the beach! If you'd like to submit your art for consideration, reminder that it must be submitted to us via [email protected] or in our Discord's fanart channel, have dimensions of 800x450px, feature no text, and leave room for a title!
Ok, now for some community highlights!
This intricate illustration by Sean inspired by the Defect's initial promo image!
This awe-inspiring full-sleeve StS tattoo from jamalbernhard--we appreciate the dedication!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M_KLShhDwg
This super well-produced series of Slay the Spire challenge videos from a new StS content creator, MultiBradx!
Phew, that's all for this month, but July's Neowsletter is just around the corner!