On October 31, 2026, the South Korean game development team Tinogames launched the Steam store page for the deck-building roguelike game *NEOVERSE 2: Companion Star*.
Will the long-awaited sequel, six years in the making, make full use of generative AI?
The *NEOVERSE* series is a deck-building roguelike set in a multiverse. The first game entered Early Access in 2019 and was officially released in 2020, making it one of the earliest *Slay the Spire* (hereinafter *StS*)–like titles.
Although the first game initially felt like a “StS” clone—merely replacing the characters with beautiful women—shortly after its Early Access launch, it introduced unique elements such as a stage selection system and mechanics like combos and parries.Combined with a fast-paced system that lets you cycle through a massive number of cards, the game established itself as a deck-building roguelike with a distinct flavor from *StS*.
Six years have passed since the previous title, and while developer Tinogames had remained silent for a long time, a sequel has finally arrived. This time, players will form a tag team of two from a group of four beautiful women—one more than in the previous game—and take on powerful enemies in timeline-based battles.
In the previous game, “Naya” was a beautiful woman with black hair in a ponytail, clad in a tight-fitting full-body suit—the kind you’d see in a “Taimanin”-style game—but in this installment, she’s a blonde beauty clad in metal armor. As someone who’s put over 200 hours into the previous game, I can definitely say she’s showing more skin, but honestly, I can’t shake the feeling that something’s off…!
Claire, the Holy Knight who wields the powers of the Sacred and the Bloodsucker, was a beauty who exuded the air of a—well, a veteran—in the previous game, but in this one, she’s become incredibly young. That said, it seems her “spoiled rich kid” look, with her butt fully exposed from behind, remains unchanged.
However, in terms of the art style in this game, illustrations that look like they were generated by AI really stand out.
According to the “AI-Generated Content Disclosure” section on the game’s Steam store page, “During development, AI tools were used for 2D illustrations, icons, key art, music, some sound effects, text-to-speech, and translations of in-game text.”
In any case, the heavy reliance on generative AI appears to be limited to the art aspects; the game itself may still be a deck-building roguelike that shines with its own unique charm, just like its predecessor. If you enjoyed the previous game or are a fan of deck-building roguelikes, be sure to look forward to Early Access starting November 14.
"NEOVERSE 2: Companion Star" is scheduled to launch in Early Access on PC (Steam) on November 14.
