When the original Monster Train hit the roguelike deck building scene back in 2020, I only really gave it a shot because it was part of my then still in activity Game Pass account. It proved to be an entertaining game, but due to its mechanics being built upon a genre that was growing increasingly popular and ever more repetitive back then, I eventually stopped playing it and moved into other more alluring alternatives. Now, with Monster Train 2, things might be a bit different…
Speeding ahead full speed from developer Shiny Shoe and released by Big Fan Games, the same behind flawed, but still neat Hellboy: Web of Wyrd from a few years ago, Monster Train 2 brings more of what the original tracked out, only now it’s 5 years later and for as popular as roguelike deck building games still are, I haven’t played one of these for quite a while and can come to appreciate what it’s doing with a fresh, rested mindset.
Now, let’s get one thing straight: I’m a sucker for games with mechanics that are obviously tied to making players hopelessly hooked into them. I was deep into a lot of Blizzard’s games over the years, whether it’s World of WarCraft, Hearthstone, Diablo III, or Overwatch, I know from a user’s side of the business on how predatory they can be. Luckily, Monster Train 2 avoids any of that and at the same time evokes the same “just one more run” feeling upon a failed attempt.
That’s because it’s a condensed self-contained experience. You don’t have to buy and/or earn anything outside of just buying the game. It’s got an addicting run-to-run system, yeah, but you’re not shelling out the cash and becoming a whale for a conglomerate. There is randomness, sometimes the literal cards are stacked against you, and you are guaranteed to fail many, many times, but it is oh so fun to keep coming back and – most importantly – you’re not losing anything by doing so.
The thrust contained within Monster Train 2’s narrative locomotive is the continuing struggle between the forces of light and dark. It’s come to an unexpected turn, however, as Heaven is invaded by fallen more chaos-focused angels led by a former hero of light. This forces both sides of the fight to join up in order to put an end to the incoming war, thus creating the need for further bonds to happen between former enemy clans.
In the game, you take the mantle of the leader of said unlikely alliance and have to make do with what it offers you. At the beginning, you only have a paltry selection of cards, which are split between units, ranging between two of its initial clans, the fallen angels and the draconics and a few spells, With them and as you progress through the game by going in runs and lasting as long as possible before getting back to your base, thus opening up not only more avenues in the form of even more clans to boost variety, but also the story and hopefully knowing just what in Heaven (or Hell) is going on lore-wise.
Frankly, as someone who is playing one of these, I couldn’t give much thought to the story if the core gameplay wasn’t any good, which thankfully isn’t the case here. In fact, it’s far from being bad, and it keeps continuously growing on me the more I play.
At first, I didn’t get how to deal with the multi-layered approach of defending the train with the seemingly frail units I had at my disposal, usually letting my core – the one element in the game that just happens to be the thing you have to keep alive at all costs – do the fighting. No surprise, that ended up being a recipe for failure, as I quickly learned and from that point tried my best to avoid.
In that, it’s clear that Monster Train 2 has a LOT in common with not only your usual roguelike deck builder, but also trading card games in general. Only in this, instead of playing on a virtual table, the focus is on a vertical and constantly in flux playing field. Enemies keep climbing up and eventually reaching your invaluable core if you are not careful, and the layers upon layers of defenses you build are expendable. The moment you come to realize that you can’t handhold your units as they might not make it out alive by the end of a match is a crucial step into appreciating what this game has going for it.
In between fights, as per the formula set by your Slay the Spires of the world, you are able to choose your path forward, hitting a number of possible spots before jumping into the breach again. You can buy new spells, power up your current ones, do the same for weapons and units, heal your core, upgrade your train’s floors, and a whole lot more. Plus, you can activate special challenges that award you with more cash to spend during your stops, multiplying your options between fights.
The possibilities are numerous in terms of those stops’ composition since there’s only two or three of those as they’re split at crossroads you run into during your time play. That can make each run feel like a smooth sailboat ride through a calm river or a calamitous trainwreck at the drop of a hat, and thanks to how quickly it is to restart and the lack of any real punishment upon the many failures you’ll crash into – and remember, you’re expected to lose – it all turns into a cycle that might prove to be tough to break out from.
It also helps that Monster Train 2 is such a joy to look at and listen to. Characters animate like paper marionettes, the colorful designs are sometimes gloriously gross and bizarre, and the soundtrack is a mix of hard rock, classical music, and shockingly catchy techno that you’ll sometimes want to leave on playing in the back as you work. I assure you I did. It’s the type of presentation that could only come from a team that knows what they’re doing, making their game attractive to their audience’s eyes and ears, and it’s a strength that permeates throughout their catalog, really.
Monster Train 2 works extremely well in capturing your attention and making good use of it thanks to its fun and risk-free loop. I was taken aback with how into it I ended up getting. So much so that I see myself putting a bookmark on it and most assuredly coming back down the line as there’s still a lot to be seen, discovered, and defeated as my train gets closer to its ultimate destination.
