Choose Slay the Spire
Choose Slay the Spire if you want the Steam Leaderboards, Adjustable Text Size, and Custom Volume Controls side of the pairing. On Steam, it carries the stronger Steam consensus at 97.5% positive across 75,305 reviews.
Slay the Spire vs Yao-Guai Hunter
Slay the Spire and Yao-Guai Hunter both land in Strategy, Indie on Steam, which is why they keep getting compared. The comparison below is built from each game's Steam metadata — release year, genres, categories, Steam Deck status, price, and review score — refreshed daily by imho.run's scraper. Headline differences: Both share Strategy, Indie on Steam. Slay the Spire (2019) is 6 years older than Yao-Guai Hunter (2025). Slay the Spire scores higher on Steam reviews (97.5% positive) than Yao-Guai Hunter (91% positive). No login or purchase needed — scroll for the full table, the verdict FAQ, and links to ranked similar games for both titles.
Which should you pick?
Choose Yao-Guai Hunter
Choose Yao-Guai Hunter if you want a RPG experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2025) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Yao-Guai Hunter launched in 2025.
Both Slay the Spire and Yao-Guai Hunter sit in Strategy and Indie on Steam, so either pick lands in the same broad neighborhood. Use the side-by-side table for the feature view, or follow the "Games like" links below to see ranked alternatives for either title.
Side-by-side comparison
 Slay the Spire |  Yao-Guai Hunter | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2019 | 2025 |
| Genres | Strategy, Indie | Strategy, Indie, RPG |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Deck Playable |
| Price | 6.24 USD | 16.99 USD |
| Steam reviews | 97.5% positive (75,305 reviews) | 91% positive (155 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Mega Crit | MyACG Studio |
Side by side
- Both share Strategy, Indie on Steam.
- Slay the Spire (2019) is 6 years older than Yao-Guai Hunter (2025).
- Slay the Spire scores higher on Steam reviews (97.5% positive) than Yao-Guai Hunter (91% positive).
- Slay the Spire is currently ~63% cheaper on Steam than Yao-Guai Hunter (6.24 USD vs. 16.99 USD).
- Steam Deck: Slay the Spire is Deck Verified, Yao-Guai Hunter is Deck Playable.
Slay the Spire vs Yao-Guai Hunter — FAQ
- Which is better, Slay the Spire or Yao-Guai Hunter?
- On Steam reviews Slay the Spire scores higher (97.5% positive) than Yao-Guai Hunter (91% positive). Both have enough reviews to trust the signal, so for players using reviews alone, Slay the Spire is the safer pick. Genre fit still matters — check the side-by-side table for the categories each game lands in.
- Should I play Slay the Spire or Yao-Guai Hunter first?
- If you want chronology, Slay the Spire (2019) came out before Yao-Guai Hunter (2025). If neither is a sequel to the other, order doesn't really matter — start with whichever fits your current mood, since both share enough on Steam to make either a reasonable opener.
- Are Slay the Spire and Yao-Guai Hunter similar?
- They overlap on Strategy, Indie on Steam, so the catalogue groups them together — but "similar" depends on the specific mechanics. Use the genre + category rows above to decide whether the overlap matches what drew you to the one you've already played.