Shiny Shoe, do you realize that I literally had to hide Monster Train from myself because I was playing it when I should have been working?
This is a direct attack on my productivity. I mean, look at this!
Anyway, this tactical roguelite deckbuilder is back in all its addictive glory, and it seems like Monster Train 2 is shaping up to be even better than the original. From what I’ve seen in my relatively short [redacted] hours playing this demo, Shiny Shoe has kept what already worked, improved upon some weak points, and introduced a few new ideas just to keep things interesting. So, basically, it’s a sequel, and it’s a Hell of a good one.
If you want my recommendation, you’ve basically already got it: put this game on your wishlist immediately. Go take a look at my review of the first one to get an idea as to why this is a great series if you want more detail. Of course, if you want to read a thousand words of me gushing about why you should put this on your wishlist immediately, then please continue.
What’s New?
The first thing you’ll notice is that the overall power level is higher in Monster Train 2, for both you and your enemies. For starters, instead of the classic almost-useless Train Stewards, your deck now contains two Shield Stewards with high health and two Spear Stewards with high attack. Relatively speaking, of course—they’re still just basic units, so they won’t carry you through the whole game.
Now, let's get into the specifics.
New Clans
One of the champions in this demo is a boss from the original game. The other is a literal dragon from Hell. I'm not sure which of those things is cooler.
The demo lets you play as two of the five new clans: the Banished, a clan of angels with a focus on attack power and mobility, and the Pyreborne, a support clan that excels at debuffing enemies and making money. The other three are called the Luna Coven, the Underlegion, and the Lazarus League, and… that’s all we know (although I’d bet the Pyreborne’s money that Lazarus League is all about revival effects).
Plus, each clan comes with a new signature status effect. The Banished have Valor, a stackable buff that boosts attack, and also gives armor if the unit’s at the front of the room. The Pyreborne get Pyregel, a stackable debuff that makes enemies take more damage. The other clans haven’t revealed their secrets yet, but I’m excited to find out how they work too.
New Cards
There are two new card types just to keep things interesting.
Rooms are the only type of card you play directly on the train. Each of the three levels can have one room card on it at a time, and they create ongoing effects that range from boosting your attack power, to damaging enemies, to giving your units new movement tricks. Basically… you know the field spells in Yu-Gi-Oh? That’s what these are.
Equipment cards are sort of the same idea, but you play them directly onto your units. Each unit can hold one weapon at a time, and they have a wide variety of effects. Most of them have to do with buffing attack power (go figure), but even in the demo there are Equipment cards that give Quick, Multistrike, extra stacks of Valor, plus one really weird one that goes on enemy units and deals damage every time they move.
There’s also a new merchant selling these cards, as well as a very interesting service to merge two Equipment cards, creating something with the effects (and costs) of both. Again, Monster Train 2 looks like they are taking that amazing formula from the first game and making it more complex, interesting, and customizable this time around.
Sadly, you can’t combine two of the same Equipment. Believe me, I tried.
Other New Stuff
Instead of just being a backdrop, your train is now a customizable character unto itself. The demo only shows off one option: a different type of Pyre Heart (basically the train’s engine) that gives you extra draw power. However, there are other Pyre Hearts on the way, along with a whole Train Customization section that the demo has locked off. It looks like the Customization stuff is just cosmetics, but that’s okay—hopefully I’ll be able to make my train appropriately, hideously garish.
Finally, moving away from gameplay elements for a minute, Monster Train 2 continues the story of the previous game—which implies that the player ended up breaking the Last Divinity’s time loop somehow, so hooray for us!
Seraph is still the big bad (well, sorta). The story we’re told is that he went to the primordial Titans seeking more power—and, unfortunately, he got his wish. His once-noble form has turned monstrous and twisted, and he’s now just a mindless weapons for the Titans to use against Heaven. So, uh, go beat him up.
So in this screenshot my... rock band... of angel-birds... is about to kill Seraph... and everyone has googly eyes, and...
You know what, don't worry about it.
So the action is up in Heaven this time. Some old favorites are still hanging around though, so in a Hazbin Hotel-ish twist, we get to see Heavenly versions of established characters like Dante and the Bone Dog.
Shiny Shoe has also promised that we’ll get to fight against three Titans. They haven’t said much more than that, but my guess is that they’ll be similar to the Last Divinity: post-game bosses, probably big enough to take up all three floors of the train, with massive HP and different attacks or effects on each level.
And the music! Just do yourself a favor and listen to this for a minute. That epic boss battle theme you’re hearing? That’s the music for the first level.
Plus all of this stuff they’ve promised for the full release. What are Dimensional Challenges? I don't know, but I can't wait to find out!
What’s Old?
Just as important as what Shiny Shoe has added in is what they haven’t taken out. All the classics are here: mixing and matching clans to start your run, three floors for combat and a Pyre Heart that must be protected at all costs, deckbuilder roguelike mechanics, increasing difficulty levels, and so on. And let's not forget the most important thing of all: googly eyes.
Oh, and remember Banner Priority? The mechanic that was absolutely crucial in the original game, but wasn’t explained at all, anywhere, ever? There’s now an even stronger version of it that doesn’t need to be explained—you just get an extra round before combat starts to set up as many of your banner units as you can afford to. This is a huge improvement, and it fixes the one major issue I’ve always had with Monster Train.
Final Thoughts
…Look, I’ve already told you what I think. This game is great, go buy it. Or, well, wishlist it anyway, since it’s not available yet as of writing this article. We don’t know the price yet, but going off of the original, it will probably be somewhere in the neighborhood of $30. That’s a small price to pay for what will, most likely, devour another 1,000 hours of my life at minimum.
I’m giving Monster Train 2 a 10/10, and we don’t even do scores here. I can't wait for this game, and you should absolutely play the demo to see if you'll be in the same train as me.
