Slay the Spire 2 boss inspirations range from Deadlock to Princess Mononoke

Mega Crit co-founder Casey Yano used a newsletter about the game's last major update to answer community questions, including how to pronounce Nonupeipe (No nu pay peh). Yano said Doormaker isn't a Worm reference — he had been playing a lot of Valve's still-in-testing hero shooter Deadlock, and its portal-ing hero The Doorman likely inspired Slay the Spire 2's Doormaker, or at least its name.

The boss proved so unpopular that the developers removed it and replaced it with Aeonglass. Asked whether the Ceremonial Beast was a Valheim reference, Yano said the original concept was based on the Forest Spirit from Princess Mononoke. The initial drawing was solemn and grotesque; artist Marlowe revised the creature to be more regal and spirity.

Yano added he is a big fan of Valheim and that the design was the first boss concept for Slay the Spire 2 (designed in 2021). The newsletter also addressed mods and patches: the game had mod support from early access, but the team had not been advertising it while it needed work.

spire 2, doormaker, deadlock, doorman, aeonglass, ceremonial beast, princess mononoke, valheim, casey yano, mod support