Slay the Spire 2 Steam Review Bomb Explained: Why the First

Slay the Spire 2 is still one of the biggest PC success stories of 2026 — but right now, its Steam page feels less like a victory lap and more like a war zone.

Just over two weeks after its March 5 Early Access launch, the sequel is facing its first real community backlash. The spark? Beta Patch v0.100.0, Mega Crit’s first major post-launch balance update. On paper, it looks like the kind of patch Early Access games are supposed to get: balance tuning, accessibility additions, UI polish, and bug fixes. In practice, though, it hit one of the most sacred parts of the current meta: infinite deck loops.

That is why Slay the Spire 2 review bomb is suddenly trending.

Players who love busted combos, especially on Silent-style deck cycling builds, see the patch as a direct hit to the fun. Mega Crit, meanwhile, is clearly trying to protect long-term balance before the game’s meta hardens into something impossible to fix later. And just like that, one of the most beloved roguelike sequels on Steam is stuck in the classic Early Access argument: should the game feel fair, or should it feel gloriously broken?

Key Points / Quick Summary

Topic	Status
Main controversy	Beta Patch v0.100.0 backlash
Why players are angry	Patch makes infinite combos harder
Key card at center	Prepared nerf complaints
Patch branch	Public Beta (optional, not default)
Accessibility win	Phobia Mode added
Sales milestone	3 million copies in first week
Peak Steam concurrents	574,638 players
Current reality	Big backlash, but the game is still a massive hit

What Triggered the Slay the Spire 2 Review Bomb?

The short version: Mega Crit touched infinites.

In the official Slay the Spire 2 beta patch notes for v0.100.0, the studio says the update’s main goal is to make infinite combos harder to achieve. That one sentence was enough to set off alarms across the community.

If you have spent the last two weeks building absurd deck loops, that probably sounds like a direct attack on the fantasy that makes deckbuilders so addictive. For a lot of players, the joy of a roguelike is not just surviving. It is breaking the system in a clever, satisfying way.

And that is where the heat really comes from.

A big chunk of the outrage is focused on the Prepared nerf, which many players saw as a core tool for fast cycling and combo reliability. Reports across gaming outlets say the backlash hit fast, with thousands of negative Steam reviews arriving in a very short window after the beta patch appeared. Some reports framed it as the game’s first major review bomb, though exact percentages changed depending on when you looked and which language region you checked.

The funniest part? This patch is on the Public Beta branch, which means it is optional. It is not even the default version most players boot into.

That detail did not exactly calm anyone down.

Why This Fight Matters More Than One Patch

This is not really about one card.

It is about what Slay the Spire 2 is supposed to become.

Mega Crit seems to be building toward a version of the game where high-level climbs feel tighter, cleaner, and more consistent. That makes sense. If the developers want a serious long-term balance environment — especially for tougher ascension runs and co-op tuning later — they cannot let “solved” infinite loops dominate every future patch.

But players are pushing back because Slay the Spire has always lived on chaos.

A lot of fans do not want perfect balance. They want the occasional run where the deck turns into a machine, the relics line up, and the whole climb becomes a ridiculous power trip. That is not a bug to them. That is the reason they queue another run at 2 AM.

So this backlash is really a fight between two visions:

Mega Crit’s version: protect the long-term health of the meta
Player version: preserve the fun of absurdly strong deckbuilding moments

That is why this story is getting so much traction.

The Important Part People Are Missing: Slay the Spire 2 Is Still Crushing It

Even with the review drama, the actual commercial story is still massive.

Slay the Spire 2 sold 3 million copies in its first week, which is a ridiculous result for an Early Access deckbuilder. Mega Crit shared that milestone publicly, and multiple outlets confirmed it.

On top of that, SteamDB shows the game reached an all-time peak of 574,638 concurrent players on March 8. That is not just “good for the genre.” That is elite-level Steam performance.

So no, the sky is not falling.

The Steam review noise is real. The community anger is real. But the game is still a monster hit.

The Patch Also Added Something Genuinely Great

Lost in all the arguments is one of the best changes in the update: Phobia Mode.

Mega Crit added a dedicated accessibility setting that tones down or replaces some of the game’s creepier visuals, including certain enemy art and unsettling effects, while keeping the mechanics the same. That is exactly how accessibility should work: wider comfort, same core gameplay.

Honestly, that deserves more attention than it is getting.

Final Thoughts

The first big Slay the Spire 2 patch controversy feels dramatic because it touches the soul of the game.

If you believe roguelikes should let players become delightfully broken, then the anti-infinite direction feels worrying. If you want a cleaner, healthier long-term meta, Mega Crit’s approach makes perfect sense.

That tension is normal in Early Access. In fact, it is the whole point.

Right now, the smartest read is simple: Slay the Spire 2 is not in trouble — it is just having its first real identity fight in public.

And honestly? That was probably inevitable.

Frequently Asked Questions about Slay the Spire 2 Review Bomb

Why is Slay the Spire 2 getting negative Steam reviews?

Players are reacting to Beta Patch v0.100.0, which Mega Crit says is designed to make infinite combos harder to achieve. A lot of the backlash centers on balance changes that hit popular deck-cycling strategies.