I have to start by saying that Monster Train has one of the coolest sounding names of any game I have played recently. This is a strategy/roguelike/deck-building game that is far more accessible and fun than many other games in this genre. Even if you are not too familiar with games of this style, I would wager that you will have a fun time with this.
How to Download Monster Train
To download the game from Steam, click on the Download button located at the end of this review. If you like deck-building games, check out also our review of MTG Arena or the one of Slay the Spire.
The Game Review
While Monster Train is not as story-driven as I would have liked. The premise of the game is awesome. Heaven and hell are at war and heaven has literally caused hell to freeze over! The heaven dudes are the bad guys in this game as you lead your team of hell folk on a train that has the last pyre which can reignite the fires of hell!
The idea of the game is great and it does have a bit of lore here and there, but the idea is so great it left me wanting more. When you start you pick from several different factions. Each faction has its own style and look, so be sure to have a play around and find what one suits you best.
Monster Train has a really cool feature when it comes to factions. As well as picking the faction you want to play as you also get to pick a second one which is referred to as an allied clan. This allows you to make use of another faction’s cards, spells, and so on. Combining two factions adds a great deal of strategy to the game so playing around and finding what two suit your play style best is a lot of fun.
Once you have your faction sorted you can start the game. Each area/level or whatever you want to call it presents you with two tracks for your train to take. You can look and see what each track offers. Along the way to the end of the track, you can stop at things like shops, upgrade areas and even deal with random encounters as well.
Before you start, you can also see what boss you will fight at the end of the track. The reason for this is that this allows you to see what kind of attacks and special stuff the boss has so you can best prepare. I thought this was a really cool feature and it made the game feel fairer than a game of chance like some other deck-building games do.
As your train moves along you will of course be taking part in many different battles. Your train has four levels, you fight on the bottom three and the pyre is on the top. You select what cards, spells and so on you want to use from your deck and try your best to win each battle. A mini-boss will appear at points as well which is challenging, but also fun.
When you win a battle, you get the chance to pick a card for each of your factions as well as a bit of money you can use at the shop. At the shop, you can do things like get new stuff and most importantly upgrade your cards.
Taking care of your deck is very important, at the start I had a ton of garbage cards that I did not want to use and they kept appearing as I played! I found out you have to manual trash cards as if they are in your discard pile they will always appear.
In all, Monster Train is a really fun game. I love the whole idea behind this game and as a deck-building style of game, it is far more fun and straightforward than most of the other ones I have played. There is a lot of strategy at play here, but I never felt overwhelmed or that the game was too much for me.
