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Monster Train 2
Released On: May 21, 2025
87
7.9
Where to Buy
Where to Buy
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 31 Critic Reviews
87
97% Positive
30 Reviews
30 Reviews
3% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 31 Critic Reviews
87
97% Positive
30 Reviews
30 Reviews
3% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Monster Train 2 doesn’t just earn its place in the crowded roguelike deckbuilder genre—it sets a new bar. From the intense, multi-layered combat to the unforgettable art and music, every part of the game feels purposeful and polished. It’s rare to find a sequel that not only stands alone but also pushes the genre forward in such a confident, satisfying way.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 44 User Ratings
7.9
73% Positive
32 Ratings
32 Ratings
18% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
9% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 44 User Ratings
7.9
73% Positive
32 Ratings
32 Ratings
18% Mixed
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
9% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
SOLID card game, give slay the spire a run for its money. So many different builds and be sure to keep playing after you beat it with all 4 clans. Game has a lot of content, the music is so sick and just gets stuck in your head. Like all the good aspects of a slot machine with actual skill based and deck building mechanics. I love that it was on game pass day one.Also if you haven't played the first don't even bother this one covers it and then some. If you like stacking crazy buff and damage in yoour card games then this is for you. The only thing I can critique is that I wish controls were more optimized with a controller, granted there is a lot going on but some times trying to every enemies buffs/rebuffs can be really challenging at first when you dont know what all the symbols mean, but you eventually commit them to memory. Also I would like to see a rule book somewhere , later while playing I forgot if room cards can be applied twice, equipment double stack etc, if there is one I couldn't find it at least. But honestly there is a great game play loop and I love this game
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[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]
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Monster Train 2 is a roguelike deckbuilder par excellence. Its design makes it clear that developer Shiny Shoe has a deep understanding and love of what is so enthralling about this particular subgenre and doubles down. It’s carriage after carriage of big numbers, satisfying combos, dizzying synergies and new tactical possibilities that have kept me tied to the tracks for dozens of hours already, and will likely haul away dozens more in my future.
Monster Train 2 is a well-crafted roguelike deck-building game that, even at launch, already provides a solid foundation for delivering the kind of gameplay fantasy most players are looking for. While the genre might not appeal to everyone and could be challenging for some, the game boasts an impressive level of polish and quality.
Monster Train 2 can end your social life in an instant because it is so fun, challenging and addictive. The many new features may not be particularly innovative, but they still manage to make this sequel a must-have roguelike deckbuilder for any fan of the genre.
So while Monster Train 2 can initially seem more like an expansion than a sequel, it favours potency over a reimagining of the basics, using trusted design as a basis for even more excessive combat creations. It's all about bigger, weirder kinds of damage. If, that is, you're prepared to think like a mad scientist. [Issue#412, p.118]
In the end, Monster Train 2 is a ride that promises hellfire and havoc but mostly delivers a slot machine in disguise. Beneath the bold aesthetics, catchy animations, and endless streams of demonic jargon lies a game that seems more interested in flipping coins than rewarding planning or skill. Sure, there are moments when the cards line up, your units hold their ground, and the monster library gets a new dusty entry. Strategy might give you the illusion of control, but don’t be fooled, this train doesn’t run on tactics, it runs on dice rolls. Maybe that’s enough. Maybe the spectacle, the lore, and the familiar mechanics still hold some spark. But for newcomers like me, Monster Train 2 isn’t a calculated journey through the underworld.
Game of the Year 2025 and we aren't even halfway **** you were a fan of Monster Train 1, you'll undoubtedly be a fan of Monster Train 2If you weren't a fan of Monster Train 1, you'll probably still be a fan of Monster Train 2It preserves all the awesome aspects of the original title while expanding on quite a few new elements. As someone coming from thousands of hours of Monster Train 1 play, I can tell you what to expect as a returning player:-You'll still be able to "break the game" plenty, plenty of hilariously broken and most importantly FUN things you are allowed to do-Say goodbye to the "only play one floor and focus on the top floor" style of play. I routinely play 2 to 3 floors full of units and often the bottom floor is my main focus. Deployment phase is such a game changer.-The difficulty has definitely increased at max difficulty, I was able to have over a 100 game winstreak on the original game but am finding it much harder to streak in Monster Train 2, particularly if you commit to a no restart/undo rule for yourself. There are fare more threats to answer, and far more ways to misplay.-Equipment, Unit Abilities, and Room cards all add a new dynamic to runs that gives you far more options to think about when pathing through a run-Most of the unit upgrades are far more balanced. In Monster Train 1, Multistrike was almost always the best merchant of steel upgrade. In Monster Train 2, I'd say multistrike is maybe the 4th best upgrade out of 7 possible upgrades now. I also greatly enjoy the new shop setup with 2 "small" and 2 "big" upgrades for the magic and steel merchants, it adds a much better chance for the player to calculate possible outcomes for shops when determining pathing.-I very much enjoy the "Heart" or "True final boss" fight in this game, I won't spoil much but let's just say the fight presents a very unique way to tackle a final boss.-The music is absolutely top notch. It's like if Monster Train and Doom had a child. And that child grew up to be better than its parents.-Several quality of life and "sense making" updates, including an undo button, and things such as damage shielded allies now proc'ing revenge when they are attacked, etc.
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Its pretty good, the tier system of the board makes for some interesting set up and decisions. My only actual complaint is with so much happening it sometimes becomes unclear or hard to keep track of every effect and unit on the board.Even though I had a good time and have minimal complaints, this is well off the level of the best in this genre.
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100% wouldn't be worth buying the game. Only play it on gamepass. For a standard run on howlongtobeat without doing any extras it seems it takes 3-5 hours to beat. The game has a very severe lack in variety, and endless mode is downright abysmally designed. And the balancing of the whole game is extremely horrible. The game really feels like a mobile game that got polished a bit more for the roguelike elements and put on other platforms to get more money. The art is abysmally bad, and the story wasn't any better so I skipped all the story parts. It almost made me drop the game entirely, but I decided to play it one more time after the first tutorial fight(?) and I'm glad I did. The game was pretty enjoyable.However, the game is very limited in my opinion. It might be because of the massive lock on all the cards/options as you need to unlock them, but it is limited regardless. There is barely any variety to the game. And the balancing is downright abysmal once you understand what's strong. They really need to tweak the balancing a lot more and prob even change up some of the rules. If I understood what Descend/Ascend did for example, my 4hr completion time would've easily been done within 2 hours. And a bit even faster if you try swapping your primary clan. The default is very weak compared to the 2nd that gives you infinite gold (which ends up giving u perm upgrades) + bigger snowballing perm upgrades. Idk what the designers were **** game is also very short. The run only goes through like 7 zones, which means like 7 times to upgrade in a rougelike / deckbuilder. It didn't really feel that great as you reach the end to fast. And endless mode in this game is extremely bad as you do not get to utilize your gold anymore. And just get 1 buff together with a curse mechanic added with rapidly scaling enemies. It just felt very bad. There isn't a point of playing from there except to force yourself for the card unlocks.There are extra side stuff you can do, but its just witty add ons to make the game a bit harder rather than an actual overall improvement to the game. The game overall just needed a longer campaign to reach the final boss. But with the sever lack of variety to everything in the game, it wouldve been very hard to achieve. 100% is not worth buying this game at $25, I think its good for the pc gamepass though which is where I played. But I really dont think this is a game where you should pay more than $5 as it lacks content, bad art, and it feels like a cheap mobile game. You can find things like this on your phone though most dont have the deck building elements but just pure roguelike elements.
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Played this game for thirty minutes total and only reason I’m giving it a 6 is cause I loved the first one. Also my first video game review but had to create an account to say it. The balancing is idiotic. Takes two seconds to figure out that once you get that dragon wit the eggs you beat the game easily. I don’t want to purposely avoid picking that card in order to make the gameplay more competitive and enjoyable . Like who is that card for?? A sequel should be more challenging than the first. Other reviews have noted other balancing issues but this is the one I immediately ran into
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Pro: Many mechanic balance issues from the first game were fixed!
Con: ... by breaking the balance even more! Many runs will just not have any path to victory. For example, you may never see a sweep/direct damage spell in your run, and without one, a single row of enemies can wipe your entire deck in several fights. Several hard stops like this will end runs without any chance by the player to avoid them, some seeds just don't have winning paths.
The AI-generated art looks MUCH worse than the first game's art style. There is a rumor the art wasn't entirely made with AI, which actually makes it worse - it's so bad and generic, it LOOKS all AI-generared.
The writing is equally bad, also apparently written by AI. It's devoid of emotion, depth, or humor. It's like a dry-and-undercooked steak - completely unappetizing.
There are many cool new mechanics and updates to problems from the first game, but this feels very much like 2 steps forward, 2 steps back, and that's not considering the offputting AI art and writing.
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Summary Powerful beings known as Titans have seized control of Heaven. A makeshift alliance is formed between former angels and demons, who must learn to work together against their common foe. Now, you must command these clans aboard newly forged trains, and embark on your journey through Hell, Heaven, and the Abyss, to defeat the Titans bef...
Platforms:
- PC
- Xbox Series X
- PlayStation 5
- Nintendo Switch
Initial Release Date: May 21, 2025
Developer:
Publisher: Big Fan Games
Genres: