Slay the Spire is a deck-building roguelike card game developed by indie studio Mega Crit Games. The game is popular for its tight, addictive gameplay and interesting world, and continues to be played by thousands of players more than two years after its initial release. There have been several updates to the game that include new characters and items, but despite this, very little is known about the game’s story at this time.

Still, the game contains many clues that suggest there is more going on than immediately meets the eye for players who are solely focused on the combat and gameplay mechanics. Let’s take a look at these clues and make some educated guesses about the characters in Slay the Spire, their apparent allies and enemies, and the nature of the Spire itself.

The Spire

The Tower itself is an obvious area of ​​interest in this world, as it is never revealed what the Tower is and why the player is attempting to destroy it. The nature of the Tower is still largely a mystery, with one in-game reference describing it as of unknown origin, but there are hints of something known as a “Spire Bright” influencing the in-game world. This suggests that there may be some sort of disease or corruption spreading to those affected by the Tower. Thus, the playable character may attempt to destroy the Tower to stop this Spire Bright from spreading throughout the land.

However, this kind of noble mission doesn’t seem to entirely match the atmosphere of the game or the personalities of the characters in the game. Spireblight certainly appears to be a phenomenon, but perhaps the NPC Neow (who first greets the characters as they enter the tower) might be able to shed more light on why these characters keep climbing the tower and trying to destroy it.

Neow

Neow is a pale, whale-like creature with three yellow eyes, and is no ordinary quest giver. She is described as an ancient being, which could mean one of the first gods or magical beings in the world of Slay the Spire. Neow is said to have been banished to the base of the tower. It is completely unclear whether Neow was banished from further up the tower or from another location, but she seems to have a personal hatred for the tower, presumably because it is her prison.

Neow tries to get revenge on this grudge by sending adventurers to the top of the tower, sometimes to their deaths. She then uses her power of resurrection to bring them back to life and send them out again. An excerpt from the game states that “Those resurrected by Neow remember only fragments of their former selves and are condemned to fight for all eternity,” explaining why players know very little about these playable characters, the Ironclads, the Watchers, the Defectives and the Silent, as well as little about themselves. They die and are reborn multiple times, all seemingly as part of Neow’s attempt to ultimately destroy the Spire.

The Playable Characters

We know a few things about the playable characters in Slay the Spire. Ironclad is a warrior who made a pact with the devil to become powerful. He is said to be the last of his tribe. These two things seem to be related, as we are told from memory fragments revealed by the sense stone that the devil wiped out the rest of Ironclad’s tribe.

The Watcher is a monk-like character, a blind disciple who has come to investigate the spire. From Guardian’s memories, she seems to have no emotions and just follow her mission. Defect is very different from the other Defects. Defect is an ancient fighting machine that somehow has self-awareness. His desire to maintain balance seems to be influenced by Neow for her own purposes.

And finally Silent is a type of villain who uses poison and skill to eliminate opponents. Like the Watchers, she was also sent to the Tower, but not simply to observe, but as part of some kind of ritual or test. Whatever their original purpose, the characters subsequently seem consumed by Neow’s desire for revenge against the Spire.

Enemies

Slay the Spire features a wide variety of enemies, from tiny, sneaky slimes to gigantic, terrifying bosses. Most of these enemies are unidentifiable, but the presence of slavers suggests that the Spire’s function as a prison of some kind is not far-fetched. Other monsters, elites, and bosses are so diverse, including a literal giant head-only enemy, that it’s hard to infer much from its existence, except that perhaps the Spire spanned ages and vast areas during its existence.

However, the final boss reveals more about Slay the Spire’s story. The Corrupted Heart, as the name suggests, appears to be the actual life force of the Spire, because after defeating it, Neow says, “Is it over?” The Tower sleeps, and I sleep too.” This suggests that the Tower was somehow sentient, but also suggests that it wasn’t necessarily something corrupt or evil. The corruption and resulting Spire Bright could be something the Tower happened to. Neow’s battle with the Tower may not be so selfish.