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. 75,305 Steam reviews back the pick.
Slay the Spire vs Into the Restless Ruins
Slay the Spire and Into the Restless Ruins 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 Into the Restless Ruins (2025). Slay the Spire scores higher on Steam reviews (97.5% positive) than Into the Restless Ruins (87.4% 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 Into the Restless Ruins
Choose Into the Restless Ruins if you want an Action and Adventure experience. On Steam, it's the newer release (2025) and ships with the modern feature baseline. Into the Restless Ruins launched in 2025.
Both Slay the Spire and Into the Restless Ruins 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 |  Into the Restless Ruins | |
|---|---|---|
| Released | 2019 | 2025 |
| Genres | Strategy, Indie | Action, Strategy, Indie, Adventure |
| Platforms | Windows, macOS, Linux | Windows |
| Steam Deck | Deck Verified | Deck Verified |
| Price | 6.24 USD | 7.49 USD |
| Steam reviews | 97.5% positive (75,305 reviews) | 87.4% positive (87 reviews) |
| Multiplayer | Single-player only | Single-player only |
| Developers | Mega Crit | Ant Workshop Ltd |
Side by side
- Both share Strategy, Indie on Steam.
- Slay the Spire (2019) is 6 years older than Into the Restless Ruins (2025).
- Slay the Spire scores higher on Steam reviews (97.5% positive) than Into the Restless Ruins (87.4% positive).
- Slay the Spire is currently ~17% cheaper on Steam than Into the Restless Ruins (6.24 USD vs. 7.49 USD).
- Both are Deck Verified.
Slay the Spire vs Into the Restless Ruins — FAQ
- Should I play Slay the Spire or Into the Restless Ruins first?
- If you want chronology, Slay the Spire (2019) came out before Into the Restless Ruins (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 Into the Restless Ruins 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.
- Do Slay the Spire and Into the Restless Ruins both run on Steam Deck?
- Yes — both are Steam Deck Verified, meaning Valve confirms they run with full controller support, legible text, and default settings out of the box.