Slay The Spire has been renowned as one of the finest roguelike deck-building games ever since it came out, and for good reason, as the game commands both fan adoration and critical acclaim, with an "Overwhelmingly Positive" review rating on Steam. It's not particularly odd, then, that there'd be a budding modding community present as well.
While Slay The Spire doesn't have a shortage of fun and inventive mods that revamp the entire game from the ground up, one mod seems to have been significantly more successful than most others. Slay The Spire: Downfall has been available as a Steam Workshop upgrade for the base game for some time now, but the developers have now taken the project a step further still.
Having made its way onto many lists of top mods for Slay The Spire, Downfall is now also available as a standalone free download on Steam for all owners of Slay The Spire. Described as a "full-featured expansion" for the game, Downfall adds a wide variety of impressive features, including an entire alternate campaign mode with seven entirely new characters with their own cards, potions, relic items, and more. These characters are effectively the base game's boss enemies, who now need to work their way down the Spire to defend it from heroes.
Downfall also introduces a new hero character to the mix: the Hermit. An undead gunslinger archetype, the Hermit comes with his own new mechanic that relies heavily on the placement of cards in the player's hand, making him a more advanced choice designed for veteran players. The introduction of the Hermit also means players will need to come up with new strategies to beat the Corrupt Heart in Slay The Spire, giving even the classic campaign mode a new lick of paint.
While many other contemporary mod releases stick out like sore thumbs, like the recent Extreme Violence Mod for The Sims 4, Downfall feels like a legitimate expansion pack produced by the original developers of the game. Players worried about features or content standing out will be thrilled with what's on offer here, as the experience flawlessly integrates with baseline content, and it doesn't seem like there are any major bugs to be concerned with.
While there are other games Slay The Spire fans should try, they now also have a major new excuse to get back to it. Downfall is available as a free Steam download, and it is almost twice the size of the base game. The developer, Table 9 Games, has already announced that there will be more content coming via future updates, so the mod is likely to have a rather long shelf life, as well.
Slay The Spire is now available on PC, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, iOS, and Android devices, with the Downfall mod available via Steam.
Source: Steam