Monster Train 2 Review

The much-awaited follow-up to the 2020 original, Monster Train 2, was created by Shiny Shoe, a studio that made a big splash with the first Monster Train, a game that swiftly established itself as a mainstay in the roguelike deckbuilder genre.  

Fans were charmed over by the original's creative fusion of tower defense mechanics and card-based strategy, which made it stand out even among titans like Slay the Spire. Fans were cautious but hopeful that Monster Train 2 could restore the studio's former beauty after Inkbound, the studio's second release, had a less enthusiastic review.

Shiny Shoe typically delivers. Monster Train 2 significantly broadens its reach while building on the solid basis of the original. It's a content-rich experience that doesn't rest on the success of previous games, with new clans, card types, game modes, and a host of mechanical advances.  

Instead, even though it occasionally falters due to its own intricacy, it reasserts Shiny Shoe's goal to push the limits of what a roguelike deckbuilder can be. Monster Train 2 adds a light narrative structure to the experience by incorporating graphic novel-style pauses in between runs to provide more story.  

Players can now enjoy dialogue excerpts and lore-building interactions with characters like "The Conductor" and "The Gatekeeper" while the train follows a branching course toward a mysterious destination, presumably paradise. Although this is a respectable attempt at storytelling, the execution is far from perfect.  

The story is slapped on and lacks emotional resonance; it serves more as a means of tying the gameplay together than as a significant component of the experience. The stakes are never felt to be especially high, and dialogue scenes are frequently too short or unclear to be significant.  

In a genre where gameplay is king, this might be forgiven, but players who are hoping for a more character-driven and immersive experience will have to bypass plot beats to return to the action. 

The game's core loop is still the same: you construct a deck from a pool of cards that represent units, spells, and support effects, then use them to defend your Pyre, the center of your engine, from waves of invading enemies. Monster Train 2's gameplay is where it really shines, a sophisticated fusion of deckbuilding strategy and tower defense sensibilities. 

One of the biggest changes in the sequel is the inclusion of a deployment phase at the beginning of every combat. This stage adds another level of strategy by enabling you to arrange your forces before rivals arrive. You have to choose between front-loading your defenses or space for a more layered approach because each floor has a limited unit capacity. 

The battle automatically develops in stages, with your forces attacking after the enemy. With each turn, surviving enemies advance one floor closer to the Pyre. Floors 3, 6, and 8 are home to bosses, which call for drawn-out battles that put your build's stamina and coordination to the test.  

Protecting your Pyre through each of the eight stages is essential to success; once you do, new difficulty tiers become available, making the game even more replayable. Strategy is made more complex by the introduction of new card types, such as equipment cards that passively alter unit behavior and room cards that grant continuous, floor-wide benefits.  

Along with an almost limitless variety of status effects, ranging from traditional benefits like Armor and Regen to unusual conditions like Devour and Infused, you'll also have to deal with triggerable unit abilities on cooldowns. 

At the beginning of a run, selecting your primary clan and allied clan is a crucial choice. Each of the ten clans that are accessible has two hero units with three different upgrade paths, as well as their unique card pool, motifs, and mechanics.  

For instance, the Banished prefer brute force and overpowering force, whereas the Melting Remnant clan is excellent at resurrecting dead soldiers by cycling them in and out of the tomb to maximize death effects. 

Clans have a huge potential for synergy. You can make strange, overpowering loops that seem wonderfully broken by fusing spell-trigger bonuses from a spell-heavy clan with effects like the Remnant's unending repetition. Monster Train 2 thrives on this sandbox strategic style, which encourages exploration and rewards innovation, frequently in spectacular ways. 

But this complexity can easily turn into chaos. There are a ton of keywords throughout the game, and many of them are nestled inside one another. One card might have a "multistrike," a "savior" ability that puts it in the front and bestows "valor," which raises stats according to position.  

It can be difficult to understand how things interact in real time, and the game's user interface often fails to provide the clarity needed for making snap decisions. It might be disheartening to make a mistake because you were unable to access a tooltip or misinterpreted a modifier, especially if it puts a stop to a promising run. 

As a result, the game is both thrilling and draining; every choice has consequences, but the amount of information may be overwhelming, like juggling chainsaws while reading a thesaurus. Monster Train 2 is a complex jungle gym of gameplay that is fascinating for seasoned players but may be too much for beginners to handle, in contrast to the subtle beauty of Slay the Spire. 

Monster Train 2, in contrast with typical RPGs, does not rely on leveling or XP. Rather, its advancement is linked to resource management and in-run enhancements. You can select from a variety of branching pathways that give prizes, such as unit improvements, spell enhancements, artifact acquisitions, Pyre healing, or card deletions following each combat. These choices are crucial because a poorly optimized deck can end a run, and difficulty climbs quickly. 

Upgrades can be groundbreaking (providing multi-target attacks or auto-revivals) or trivial (increasing damage or health). With strong passives, such as letting spells trigger twice or making units cost zero mana, items help you further customize your run.  

Players who commit to a well-thought-out plan over time are rewarded by the system, which promotes flexibility and forward thinking. However, one ill-considered decision might erase hours of work because there is no rewind capability, a feature included in certain genre contemporaries, such as StarVaders.  

Given how obscure some interactions are on the first playthrough, this risk can feel terrible even while it raises the stakes and promotes skill. Monster Train 2 clearly outperforms the first version in terms of appearance. Bold, vibrant, and frequently pleasantly strange is the art direction.  

From candle-covered revenants to steampunk monstrosities, each clan has its own unique visual identity, and the designs make the most of the ridiculous. Certain units easily claim a position among the most memorable monster designs in independent gaming; the more hideous and disgusting the creature, the better it appears.  

Attacks land with good feedback, animations are fluid, and the UI, though occasionally cluttered, generally enhances the action. The game is a great option for strategy gaming while on the road because it runs flawlessly on the Steam Deck, and the stylized graphics adapt well to smaller screens. 

But nothing is flawless. Certain UI components may appear crowded or confusing, especially when displaying layered data, such as multiple boosts, floor effects, or deck statuses. Additionally, some art elements lack inspiration, particularly when the game attempts to convey something "cool" instead of strange or amusing. 

Though it rarely improves the experience, the soundtrack serves its purpose. Most of the audio design is passable rather than outstanding, with a few notable tracks that pulsate with energy during crucial instances. Although the sound effects are powerful, the music isn't cohesive enough thematically to have you humming the songs long after they've logged off. While it's not horrible, it doesn't have the same impact as the game's more unique visual style. 

Monster Train 2 is a chaotic, complex, and completely captivating follow-up. It takes the best aspects of the original, such as multi-floor fighting, tower defense, and deckbuilding, and makes them even more complex. As a result, the game is packed with strategic depth, diversity, and content, but it also requires patience, time, and a willingness to deal with its overwhelming complexity. 

For devoted followers, this is a victorious development that honors commitment and skill. Every run offers fresh opportunities to do new things and breach the rules in fun ways. However, the user interface may be too opaque, the learning curve too steep, and the keyword soup too difficult for beginners to understand. 

Monster Train 2 is a whirlwind—a McDonald's ball pit of mechanics, unpredictable results, and mind-bending synergies—in contrast to the laser-focused clarity of Slay the Spire. It's acceptable that it doesn't aim to please everyone. It offers some of the most rewarding and replayable gameplay in the genre for those who like to go down mechanical rabbit holes.