Slay the Spire 2 hits 65% negative reviews in China while Western players give it 90% positive

Slay the Spire 2 has pulled 15.9 thousand Steam reviews with a 63% overall positive rating. But drill into the Simplified Chinese reviews—8.3 thousand of them—and the approval rate drops to 35%, earning a "Mostly Negative" tag. Non-Chinese language reviews sit above 90% positive across the board.

Single-player deckbuilders aren't my thing, but the regional split here is worth noting. GameSpot called the Chinese player backlash justified, arguing negative reviews are the only effective communication channel these players have with the developers.

The complaints are specific: updates amplified existing problems instead of fixing them. More frustrating, Chinese players lack direct access to Western community channels, leaving review bombing as their primary feedback tool.

Chinese players want to influence the game's direction while it's still in flux. Whether mass negative reviews count as legitimate feedback when developers can't hear you otherwise—that's debatable.

For me, single-player games that don't support co-op with roommates hold little appeal. But if you're into deckbuilding roguelikes and care whether developers listen to player feedback, this might not be the right time to buy in.