The way the Watcher bends the rules in Slay the Spire is delightful Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. The way the Watcher bends the rules in Slay the Spire is delightful Toss it a coin. Feature by Robert Purchese Senior Staff Writer Updated on 14 Feb 2020 18 comments I've been playing the new Watcher character in Slay the Spire and it's a delight. New characters are a real moment in Slay the Spire because it doesn't get them very often. The Defect, the one before this, came out a year ago. There are only four characters in the game. The Watcher ups the complexity and getting to grips with it is like learning a new game. You know the rudiments but it doesn't work in the same way. The Watcher relies on stances and moving in and out of them to trigger effects. Wrath stance doubles your damage, which is amazing, but it doubles the damage you take, too, which is not so amazing. Calm stance, meanwhile, gives you two valuable blobs of energy when you exit it. There's also Divinity, a third stance, but it's a special occasion ability. It grants three energy and triple damage, but you need 10 Mantra to use it and it only lasts one turn. Console The Watcher hasn't been released on console yet but we know it's in the works. I asked MegaCrit about it after I published this piece and co-founder Anthony Giovannetti told me: "Although it should be soon, I do not have any official date. Solely depends on our publisher at this point." The publisher is Humble, as in Humble Bundle - I'm not talking about its virtues. I shall enquire and let you know. A new suite of cards powers all of this. At the heart of them are Miracles, zero-cost cards which grant you a blob of energy and then vanish. Then, there are cards to move in and out of stances, and cards to build Mantra, cards to Scry (sort through your draw pile) and cards to Retain (keep cards between rounds). They're the basics. But the flashier cards are the dazzlers. They do things I didn't think were allowed. There's one which gives you a whole extra turn before your opponent can play again, which is outrageous, and another which grants Divinity but kills you the next turn! Cards way bolder than any I've seen in Slay the Spire before. The game of the Watcher, then, becomes one of planning ahead. Stockpiling Miracles, building Mantra, Retaining cards and then unleashing your Divinity smackdown. Unless you chuff it up and die in the process which, of course, is the thrill. The Watcher underlines something I really love about games like this - games with long lives. They have the opportunity to teach you their rules, bed them in, then decide they're going to reinvent them. That's why I find the Watcher so delightful, because I know the established norm it flies in the face of. Take a whole extra turn - are you kidding me? I know how big a deal that is. Watch on YouTube Here's me in action! Watch how I effortlessly mess everything up. Look, the cards came out all wrong OK? And I didn't pay enough attention to the boss' special ability (his clock thing). That's how it goes sometimes and I hate Slay the Spire for it. I also love Slay the Spire for it. I have conflicting emotions about it. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More Features Digital Foundry Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090: a new level in graphics performance The Digital Foundry video review - and how the new GPU champion delivers for 4K 120fps gaming. 12 Feature Evercore Heroes wants to wind people up the right way "There's less rage at them, because they didn't end your fun." Feature What games get wrong about horses And what they could do about it. 34 Feature Shout out to all the Overwatch supports - where would we be without you? Merci. 55 Latest Articles Preview Football Manager's new Console edition is the best you'll get without a PC Getting Touch-right. Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 59 Modder dives into Demon's Souls files following PS5 jailbreak, discovers fabled Ring of the Chieftain Who knows what's nexus? 4 Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store