Most video game sequels are better than the original. Sequels give developers a chance to flesh out ideas, fix the problems that held the first game back, and push their designs into bold new directions. Sequels like Red Dead Redemption, Uncharted 2, and Assassin’s Creed 2 are renowned not just for being great games in their own right, but also for realizing the true potential of their predecessors. Sometimes you don’t realize how special a game really is until its bigger and better sequel comes along.
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Monster Train 2 is not that kind of sequel. In fact, unless you’ve played Monster Train recently, you might not even be able to tell it is a sequel. That was my first impression when I visited developer Shiny Shoe’s studio for a preview last month. Despite putting a few dozen hours into the exceptional deckbuilding roguelike, Monster Train has been out of my rotation for a while, and it wasn’t easy to discern the new elements from the old when I sat down to play Monster Train 2. That’s by design, or at least by necessity – when it comes to making a sequel to one of the best roguelikes of all time, why fix what isn’t broken?
More Monster Train? Yes Please
Of course, there are plenty of new things happening in Monster Train 2. For one thing, the train now travels up along the track rather than down, which should have been a dead giveaway for me, if I’m being honest. More importantly, battles have an entirely new planning phase that will allow you to strategically place units on any or all of your floors before the first group of enemies arrives. It’s more than just a free turn; having a planning phase allows you to dig deeper into the synergies and strategies built into your deck, which in turn gives your deck-building choices more weight. Getting more units onto the train early allows you to build more sophisticated and interactive game plans and experience more variety in between.
This is the biggest change the sequel makes, which goes to show just how tight and well-tuned the original Monster Train was. There are plenty of new things to experience, from challenges to card types to five brand new clans to mix and match each run, but this is an expansion of Monster Train, not a reinvention. Thankfully, that’s exactly what the sequel needs to be.
Digging Into New Decks
While I only had time for a single run, I’m already ready to get sucked back into the world of Monster Train. In large part, that’s thanks to its new clans. In particular, the draconic Pyreborne were a real standout for me. This flame-wielding clan has a playstyle built around Pyregel – a stacking debuff that causes enemies to take additional damage any time they take damage. While the damage increase is minor at first, the multiplicative potential of Pyregel is incredibly fun to build around. Balatro sickos and big number junkies take note, there’s a lot of fun to be had in figuring out how to load the biggest stack of Pyregel possible on your enemies.
Beyond your primary and allied clans, you’ll also get to choose your pyre heart at the start of each run. Different pyre hearts have different health and attack values, and can provide different functionality as well. While not quite as impactful as clans, pyre hearts are a third pillar of customization that will influence the way you approach each run right from the start. There are tons to unlock, and the process of unlocking new pyre hearts is tied directly into Monster Train 2’s story.
Monster Train 2 will have the oft-requested Endless Mode, so once you complete a run you’ll be able to continue endlessly, or until your train inevitably explodes.
There are some cool new card types as well. Room cards will add a condition to one room of your train. For example, the Inferno Room will deal 50 damage to all units at the start of a turn – a great Hail Mary card when things get out of control. There are also equipment cards – weapons, armor, and the like – which you can attach to a single unit to give them new buffs or abilities. Along with the standard unit upgrades you can find between battles, there’s a cool RPG quality to Monster Train 2 that makes individual unit cards feel more impactful, making each run more unique and memorable.
There’s a lot more packed into Monster Train 2. It has more types of random events, more mutators and challenges, a more comprehensive and useful log book, and more customization options for your train. The cards are different, but everything you loved about Monster Train is still here – there’s just more of it.
Monster Train 2 launches May 21, 2025.
- Released
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May 21, 2020
- ESRB
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E10+ For Everyone 10+ Due To Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Alcohol Reference
- Publisher(s)
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Good Shepherd Entertainment