We are in the midst of a glut of roguelikes that also involve deck-building mechanics. There’s so much to sort through, likely not enough time or money to play them all, and I know I often see titles that are too clearly doing a little too good of a job “paying homage” to the most popular properties. Not that this wealth of options is a bad thing. The original Monster Train, which is sublime, wouldn’t be here if games like Hand of Fate and Slay the Spire didn’t pave the way and inspire developer Shiny Shoe. Fortunately for us, Monster Train 2 feels as satisfying as its predecessor, with this new game building on everything good from the original and including more strategic options.
While in the original Monster Train we ran a train right into hell, Monster Train 2 is taking us to Heaven. The Titans are a universal threat, Seraph is a traitor, and we begin with the once-divine Banished angels and demonic Pyreborne dragons making the first push to the top. While we initially learn about the situation from Banished leader Fel, going through runs and pushing yourself unlocks additional clans, like the Lazarus League scientists, Luna Coven witches, Under Legion fungi, and more insights into the current situation. If all goes well and we make smart choices while playing, the new covenant between angels and demons might result in everyone being saved.
The Monster Train formula remains largely unchanged in Monster Train 2, with any new additions layered on top of existing concepts to enhance the core gameplay experience. You start by picking two Clans, which will influence the decks you build, and probably a Pyreheart modifier. Your train features multiple rooms layered one on top of the other. You’ll be building a deck of cards to deal with the hordes trying to stop your train from reaching its destination. You place units in each room to face off during the battle phase, hopefully protecting the fire at the top that ensures your run into the Abyss can continue. A fight starts with an idea of who you’ll face. You’ll then be able to use some of your points to initially assign and even arm the units you’ll place on floor’s room on the train. Every round, enemies that survive combat move up another floor to the fires at the top. You’ll get a chance to pull from your hand to perform spells, arm units, and dispatch new warriors to floors ahead of the next assault. This repeats until the final wave and perhaps an encounter with a more devious boss. Once that opponent is on the field, it will lead to previous rooms it destroys being blocked off as it makes its ascent and special mechanics kicking in to make fending off that greater foe a greater challenge.
During your turn, it’s possible to place units. (Said units can also gain new traits and be buffed based on events or store purchases between battles.) Once in position, Equipment Cards with armor or weapon traits and buffs could be applied, and Room Cards could influence what happens in a specific room on the train. (For example, a type of sword could allow for multiple hits or you could get more money from defeated units in a room on a floor.) While you might see the same units repeatedly, due to the Clans you pick and cards you’ve unlocked, the Pyre Hearts and their conditions picked at the outset of a run, the Equipment Cards you stock, the Room Cards you find, and the effects from purchases and events mean each playthrough feels different.
The customization applies when picking your path. As you go from one fight to another on your travels, you’ll be able to choose which track to follow. While they will tend to share one nod at the beginning of the journey and end up at the same encounter, the other stops along the way differ. Do you pick a road with a random event, one that could include a crossover guest encounter and a shop, or would one with an opportunity to upgrade a character or make more decisions about the contents of your deck be better for your current strategy? Random events can be unbalanced an unfun and punishing way sometimes, making the perk absolutely not worth the pains tied to it. It’s probably one of the few things that actually bothered me about Monster Train 2, and I hope there is rebalancing in Shiny Shoe’s future.
And you’ll see a lot of those options and runs as you play, as the execution means you won’t derail after only one or two bouts. Since your sacred flame at the top of the train will “fight back” against any opponent that reaches it and is pretty sturdy even at the start, an enemy or boss slipping past your defenses and getting up there isn’t a guaranteed “game over.” You might still make it through another one or two fights before being wiped out. It feels like Shiny Shoe wants you to play long enough to learn from your mistakes or pick up on strategies you might like, so your next attempt has a better chance of going better.
Which is important, as I think anyone who picks up Monster Train 2 will end up playing it for a very long time. There is so much packed into this game. At one point, I ended up earning a wealth of content that I would have expected to be paid DLC (and gladly paid extra to access). The number of additional features, both gameplay-influencing and purely cosmetic, are staggering, and I am so excited about spending a few months trying out different Clan pairings, working on different deck mechanics, and going through the different modes. Yes, there are multiple modes, so if you don’t feel like trying to push yourself to advance the story, you could pick Endless to see how far you can get with no limits or try the Daily Challenge.
I love Monster Train 2 now, and I suspect I’ll love it even more after putting 50 to 100 hours into it. Shiny Shoe did a fantastic job of keeping everything important in Monster Train, not disrespecting the original experience in any way, and implementing new Clans, card types, encounters, and mechanics that keep it challenging in a manageable way. Even the addition of a story is fascinating, considering the original only featured hints at the series’ lore. I love what the team did here, and Monster Train 2 ended up becoming as essential an entry in an roguelike library as the original.
Monster Train 2 will come to the Switch, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC on May 21, 2025. A demo is available on Steam.
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Monster Train 2
Monster Train returns with all new clans, new enemy factions, new challenges, new modes and more! Defend your Pyre in the classic three-tiered, vertical gameplay that made the original roguelike deckbuilder a hit. PC version reviewed. Review copy provided by company for testing purposes.
Monster Train 2 feels as satisfying as its predecessor, with this new game building on everything good from the original and adding more strategic options