Monster Train

 PC
User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 66 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 51 out of 66
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 66
  3. Negative: 4 out of 66

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  1. KeenWatcher
    May 25, 2020
    10
    This game gets compared to Slay the Spire but the mechanics are completely different. The only similarities are that you can choose different deck archetypes to build, you can choose a path (of 2 per round), and the goal is to get to the end. Otherwise this is has a unique and very different feel, the main differences are:
    * You choose a main archetype to champion your deck but you need to    This game gets compared to Slay the Spire but the mechanics are completely different. The only similarities are that you can choose different deck archetypes to build, you can choose a path (of 2 per round), and the goal is to get to the end. Otherwise this is has a unique and very different feel, the main differences are:
    * You choose a main archetype to champion your deck but you need to choose another synergy to go in also (1 of 5 decks).
    * The game is shorter by about 30 mins per run than Slay the Spire. * There is more of a focus improve your deck between fights.
    * Fights are very different and run over 3 levels, any monsters you do not kill ascend towards your pyre which kills you if it reaches 0 health. All up if you liked Slay the Spire then this game would be for you, while not the same it is deliciously different.    … Expand
  2. Wraiven
    May 27, 2020
    10
    If you enjoy roguelikes/lites, GET THIS. I love StS but this game is veeerrrryyyy different in pretty much every way outside of the inclusion of "cards". Both games are masterpieces, and both deserve to be considered two of the best RL games ever made. Been following this game closely for months and it had more than enough content when there were only two clans (classes essentially), butIf you enjoy roguelikes/lites, GET THIS. I love StS but this game is veeerrrryyyy different in pretty much every way outside of the inclusion of "cards". Both games are masterpieces, and both deserve to be considered two of the best RL games ever made. Been following this game closely for months and it had more than enough content when there were only two clans (classes essentially), but with release there are now 3 more and they're all SOOOO unique. I absolutely adore this game!… Expand
  3. keszotrab
    Jun 24, 2020
    9
    Very fun and unique game. Fresh look on a deckbuilder games, with the great idea of combining 2 of the 5 clans/colors.
    So each of the clans got their "style" of play. For example you can chose Stygian guards who specialize with DOT and spells and combine it with Animus clan which specialize with big tanky units and heals. So after choseing the archetype you can than customize your main    Very fun and unique game. Fresh look on a deckbuilder games, with the great idea of combining 2 of the 5 clans/colors.
    So each of the clans got their "style" of play. For example you can chose Stygian guards who specialize with DOT and spells and combine it with Animus clan which specialize with big tanky units and heals. So after choseing the archetype you can than customize your main clan's champion so it will better fit your style.
    So how does the battle works? You have 3 floors on which you can place different units and 4th floor that has your train's core. Enemies will spawn each turn on the first floor until the boss arrives. After each turn each unit will deal damage to each other (enemies attack first) and than if enemy survived it will move floor higer. If your core's HP becomes 0 you lose.
    Between the fights there is a 2 diffrent ways you can choose each have diffrent upgrades and events so you can choose which one you want to get. Upgrades are really cool, each card in the game has 2 upgrade slots, the upgrades can range from simple stat boost, cost reduction, bonus effect or removing negative effect of a card but increasing it's cost.

    Soundtrack: 8/10 The game even says what track it's playing and they all feel very fitting.
    Graphics: 9/10 The visual are really great, some animations needs work tho...
    Gameplay: 9/10 Gameplay loop is really addictive and never get's boring!
    My Personal Overall Enjoyment: 10/10 It reallys feels amazing to play.    … Expand
  4. Johnnydrama
    Jul 19, 2020
    9
    If you love slay the spire you'll love this. The potential for some awesome OP combos is great with different clan synergies. Fantastic artwork and a snappy responsive UI. Multiplayer can be a bit hectic with a really short round timer but is a welcome addition. Definitely worth the price of admission
  5. malcolmm
    Sep 3, 2020
    10
    Initially I didn’t enjoy playing MT as much as I expected. I think that was mostly because the game doesn’t have a tutorial and there are a lot of new, to me, game concepts to learn. But that ends up being a plus, I’m tired of StS clones and MT definitely isn’t a clone.

    Lots of variety and tons of play value. The support from the devs is great, they bring out free enhancements that    Initially I didn’t enjoy playing MT as much as I expected. I think that was mostly because the game doesn’t have a tutorial and there are a lot of new, to me, game concepts to learn. But that ends up being a plus, I’m tired of StS clones and MT definitely isn’t a clone.

    Lots of variety and tons of play value. The support from the devs is great, they bring out free enhancements that would be paid dlc in most games. For me this game has been significantly more enjoyable to play than StS. StS was very good but MT is better.    … Expand
  6. gabriot
    Mar 7, 2022
    10
    There is no other game I've ever been able to put over 2k hours into and still find it fun and engaging. It's so much better balanced than other card roguelites, I was a huge Sts fan (over 1k hours) but this just blows sts out of the water IMO. True, technically it's easier, but for 99% of us that doesn't matter. I still can't win every game of MT, and only a select few players in theThere is no other game I've ever been able to put over 2k hours into and still find it fun and engaging. It's so much better balanced than other card roguelites, I was a huge Sts fan (over 1k hours) but this just blows sts out of the water IMO. True, technically it's easier, but for 99% of us that doesn't matter. I still can't win every game of MT, and only a select few players in the world can. And I like that - unlike StS where the best players can only hope to achieve around a 50% winrate, it shows that MT relies far less on RNG and allows proper tactics to usually overcome even the worst RNG that can occur in the game.… Expand
  7. Mirrorminx
    Oct 28, 2020
    10
    This is the most content-rich deckbuilder rogue like game out there, and has a huge breadth of interesting mechanics, choices, and difficulty that make it stand apart from it's competitors. Many reviews compare this to Slay the Spire, which is a great, but straightforward game. This game has a LOT more varied mechanics, strategies, and deck styles, with five factions, units & spell basedThis is the most content-rich deckbuilder rogue like game out there, and has a huge breadth of interesting mechanics, choices, and difficulty that make it stand apart from it's competitors. Many reviews compare this to Slay the Spire, which is a great, but straightforward game. This game has a LOT more varied mechanics, strategies, and deck styles, with five factions, units & spell based strategies. Cards can be individually customized with upgrades, and refining your deck is about much more than just trimming your deck down to a lean machine (which is the optimal strategy in most other deck builders). While some cards are niche, every unit and card has a place in an interesting strategy, and the starting faction (Hellhorned) barely scratches the surface of what lies beneath.

    Don't buy this if you don't like deck builders: while it is mechanically very different from Slay the Spire, the deck and cards still form the backbone of how you play. But truly, this game is genre-defining, it does so many things well, and after having played dozens of deck builders on mobile and pc, this is by far my favorite in this genre    … Expand
  8. nilsy
    Jul 22, 2020
    8
    I compare this to Slay the Spire and think its worse in every single aspect.
    Unless you compare it to one of the best game ever made though its a really really good deck builder rogue lite.

    Its nice to see deck builders can be done differently then StS and be great.
  9. Kaprawiec
    Mar 24, 2022
    10
    If Youre a card games fan like me You cant go wrong with monster train. It offers tons of options, probably most complex deck builder created to this date. Definitely recommended, hundreds of hours of great gameplay. One of the best along with Slay the Spire and Castle of Morihisa.
  10. Natdog
    May 28, 2020
    10
    This game is fun and addictive, with lots of interesting choices. The deck building is strategic and requires you to think ahead for card combos that will maximise your clan’s strengths. The fights require tactical decisions to make the most of your the hand you’re dealt. I love his game!
  11. savvym
    Jul 12, 2021
    10
    Monster train is a turn based card strategy where you fight your opponent inside the train, protecting the Spyre. It's very much like Slay the Spire with extra layers to the combat system. It's also less RNG as you know where you're heading to.

    Each run starts by selecting one of two (three in total) superpower options for the champion and an artifact of our choice. There is also a    Monster train is a turn based card strategy where you fight your opponent inside the train, protecting the Spyre. It's very much like Slay the Spire with extra layers to the combat system. It's also less RNG as you know where you're heading to.

    Each run starts by selecting one of two (three in total) superpower options for the champion and an artifact of our choice. There is also a temple (from DLC) which allows us to gain artifacts and various rare upgrades for an additional difficulty.

    Our goal is to get through 9 rings of frozen hell in a monster train; that is 8 battles if we get to the final boss.

    Each combat starts off with deploying your champion unit against waves of enemies. Most of the time, the enemy boss will be flying between the floors deploying some distractions and joining the forces at the last wave into the combat phase or simply spawn last. Until that time you're supposed to fill up all floors with units and buffs to survive.

    The boss destroys the floor once it clears it from our units and it means we have less space to put units and less turns to beat the level. If the spyre falls, it's game over. Luckily, spyre still shoots back so it can serve as a 4th floor well if you've got dazed cards and increase its strength. We can also upgrade our Spyre with additional damage, armor, health and apply dazed to enemies entering it.

    The cards have various effects and can be upgraded, having 2 upgrade slots by default. The best part is 5x duplicating double, triple or even quadruple upgraded cards but having so many upgrades on one unit is uncommon. Each unit takes up space in the floor so when they're full we can use magic on top of it, and it's wise not to have too many units without enough buffs because they will be easily wiped out in the late game so there should be a nice balance.

    Another great feature is the alliance. We get to receive cards from two races depending on which railroad we choose or when we receive after battle rewards. We can make useful synergies, but sometimes allied cards just do not fit with our main one and only take up valuable space in our deck, but we can still get rid of them.

    Between battles, there are events like merchants for units, spells and artifacts, special caverns, duplicate hellvents, remove vortexes and health wells. We can even gain an extra gold. And the best part is, we can preview our run from start to finish, however we do not know the outcome of special events. So it is always wise to first take gold, buy upgrades, visit cavern, and then take artifacts, duplicate and regain health.

    Apart from those, we will be able to upgrade our champion 2 more times, once in mid and once in late game. We can have as many different artifacts as we get. They make the run easier in a way.

    Early game offers 5+1 champions, starting at level 1. We can also play Daily Challenges which are always Covenant 1. That is where the PvP element comes in. We can create our own runs and share them with friends. Our rankings are saved after we finish the run. We can also play simultaneously with other players at the same time, being only time limited.

    In mid game, we unlock the second champions and higher covenant ranks, probably reaching covenant 10 and getting used to all of the races in the game and learning some useful strategies. Now it is about making the perfect decks with a bit of luck from rewards.

    We will understand the whole concept of the game once we reach Covenant 20. Upon reaching 25, we gain even more difficult challenges that are usually available to mix up in custom games. The game is significantly more challenging than Covenant 1 and we can even easily lose the first battle with all challenges accepted.

    The game has a very high skill ceiling and me as an occasional card player, now only became an addict thanks to this game. I usually gain half or third of the best players ranked in the daily and custom challenges.

    There are 5 races + 1 in the Last Divinity DLC;
    Hellhorned - high damage multi strikers, rage and armor gainers focused on melee combat.
    Awoken - high health gainers, multi strikers and sweepers with abilities to draw more cards.
    Stygian Guard - incanters, frostbiters and spell users, low melee damage and starting HPs.
    Umbra - unit eaters, lifestealers, damage shield gainers, a lot of small units, late high stats.
    Melting Remnant - stealthers focused on resurrecting units and slow stat and gold gainers.
    Wurmkin - eggs and worms, echo infusers, focused on making the floors magically strong.

    Every run is unique, we can replay the same alliances and get different starting decks and meet different bosses.

    There are 3 major bosses and 12 minor bosses; they are accompanied by many heavy and support units. There is also a bonus level with 1 more boss but I only got there once.    … Expand
  12. Vulgrim
    May 26, 2021
    9
    I watched the game for a long time before buying it and saw its potential. Currently, it may not have a lot of possibilities, but as I mentioned - it has the potential for much more.
    In my opinion, it is more fun to play than Slay the Spire, if only because of a more thoughtful system of improving cards (because we decide ourselves how we improve our creatures and spells) and the    I watched the game for a long time before buying it and saw its potential. Currently, it may not have a lot of possibilities, but as I mentioned - it has the potential for much more.
    In my opinion, it is more fun to play than Slay the Spire, if only because of a more thoughtful system of improving cards (because we decide ourselves how we improve our creatures and spells) and the requirement of more frequent combinatorics. For me, an advantage (though probably not everyone likes it that much) is the lack of annoying RNG, which will quickly destroy our approach. We also have interesting multi modes and interestingly designed daily challenges. The soundtrack is also very nice.
    Of course, as in any game of this type, we would like there to be even more cards, artifacts, enemies, etc. This is also the case, but I don't think the game will stop as it is.
    In addition, I hope that in the future the creators will develop their game, which at the time of release seems to offer more than Slay the Spire after adding (years later) the fourth character.
    After time, you can see the game is developing - there are new leaders, bosses and mutators of the game. Keep it up!    … Expand
  13. ChewPai
    May 30, 2020
    8
    塔防roguelite加上组牌游戏的巅峰，真正意义站在巨人肩膀上之作。体量不大，游戏类型融合完成度却相当高。各媒体都在避开谈论拿来主义的胜利，我觉得没必要。这游戏把【杀戮尖塔】的营养成分吸收的很彻底，有心人知道是什么使杀戮尖塔变得伟大，又在此基础上正向改进了游戏玩法。创新方面还有在精简和游戏性间取得了很好的平衡度。所以如果你是三类型游戏任一的粉丝，怪物火车都将是你的必玩之作。 80/100精良品质塔防roguelite加上组牌游戏的巅峰，真正意义站在巨人肩膀上之作。体量不大，游戏类型融合完成度却相当高。各媒体都在避开谈论拿来主义的胜利，我觉得没必要。这游戏把【杀戮尖塔】的营养成分吸收的很彻底，有心人知道是什么使杀戮尖塔变得伟大，又在此基础上正向改进了游戏玩法。创新方面还有在精简和游戏性间取得了很好的平衡度。所以如果你是三类型游戏任一的粉丝，怪物火车都将是你的必玩之作。 80/100精良品质
  14. DarkFinch
    Jun 26, 2020
    10
    Amazing learning curve. Can be quite a challenge at times. I will say if you are a fan of games especially Slay the Spire this one is a MUST and should not be passed on.
  15. GermanySoldier
    Oct 20, 2020
    10
    For me monster train is one step below Slay the spire. Pretty nice mechanics, art and game design.
  16. JxBest
    May 25, 2021
    9
    If you enjoy rougelite/rougelike deckbuilders then you'll like this game as well. Coming from slay the spire this game is easy to get into and understand, until you unlock Covenant levels and the game becomes really challenging. Ive played alot of hours in this game and the replay value with the different deck combos keeps me very entertained. Overall consensus this game Is Very Good.
  17. CompleteIdiot
    Mar 18, 2021
    9
    Probably the best roguelike card game on the market right now. Quite fun and ultra addictive as expected. My main gripe with it is the enemy variety and end-game. Making broken decks is fun, but the creativity that was put into creating all sorts of different classes is lacking when it comes to the bosses and enemies. All of them basically feel like the same bullet-sponges. Just ramp upProbably the best roguelike card game on the market right now. Quite fun and ultra addictive as expected. My main gripe with it is the enemy variety and end-game. Making broken decks is fun, but the creativity that was put into creating all sorts of different classes is lacking when it comes to the bosses and enemies. All of them basically feel like the same bullet-sponges. Just ramp up your attack and HP and you'll be fine.… Expand
  18. Jenga
    Oct 9, 2021
    10
    The negative reviewer doesn't know what he's talking about, imo. I have so much time in Slay the Spire (A20 on all characters) but this game is much better to me! It is not quite as difficult, but assuming you are trying for Divinity wins on Cov25, it has plenty to offer in that regard. Besides, top players frequently achieve a low win rate on StS A20 Heart runs (sometimes 25% win rate,The negative reviewer doesn't know what he's talking about, imo. I have so much time in Slay the Spire (A20 on all characters) but this game is much better to me! It is not quite as difficult, but assuming you are trying for Divinity wins on Cov25, it has plenty to offer in that regard. Besides, top players frequently achieve a low win rate on StS A20 Heart runs (sometimes 25% win rate, and that is the best players in the world). To me, that is not just difficult, but in many ways impossible. In Monster Train,a run is almost always winnable - if you play perfectly. And to me, that's much better, as if I lose it was my fault! Long story short, it's plenty hard and well worth your time, just go straight for Covenant wins to start unlocking the highest difficulty where (imo) the game truly shines.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

19
#19 Best PC Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
86

Generally favorable reviews - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 27
  3. Negative: 0 out of 27
  1. IGN
    Dec 17, 2020
    90
    Do you like Slay The Spire? If so, you should absolutely try Monster Train's more tactical spin on the deck-building roguelike, which literally layers on new ideas and has every bit as much depth and variety.
    Read full review
  2. KeenGamer
    Sep 15, 2020
    90
    If there was any concept that the card battler genre had completely tapped out with Slay The Spire, Monster Train proves that assumption wrong. Combining scaling difficulty, combo troops and cards, and an amazing amount of replayability under the hood, this is a game that can easily devour hours of your time pursuing "just one more run."
    Read full review
  3. DarkZero
    Jul 27, 2020
    80
    I’ve found it hard to recommend deck builders recently because I’ve either thought they were clones of other games, not all that exciting or they have too much going on, however, in Monster Train they have managed to balance replayability and creativity. If you’re a fan of deck builders or are new to the genre, I feel comfortable saying you will love Shiny Shoe’s unique take. It brought back my love for deck builders, has a soundtrack that you will be humming daily, and a creative art style. It’s definitely, in my opinion, well deserving of the overwhelmingly positive review scores it has received on Steam.
    Read full review
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