Year in Review: Monster Train | The Blizzardification of Deckbuilders

[@agudkush8830]

I like trains

[@ErickTG]

Me too!

[@Deahfel]

Definitely going to pick this up. A quick deckbuilder with a lot of customization sounds like a fantastic option to add along slay the spire. Thanks for the review and keep up the awesome work!

[@FirstFive]

Enjoy!

[@TheGallantDrake]

Having started the game with the “simple metagame” view, I’ve been forced to change my mind after ascending a few Covenant levels. The science lab starts testing you to see if you learned anything. It *needs* you to break it in cool and interesting ways to win. Also it starts bulking your deck with extra fluff so I definitely think the devs were aware that removal is easier than average heh

[@TheoNikolaitchik]

Loved the "I DO NO KNOW HOW TO EMPHASIZE THIS ENOUGH" bit! Great delivery.

[@ErickTG]

Great review, I also love this game. I must say most of this complaints get better after a few covenants. And the game will get a little harder and longer with the upcoming dlc. I can't wait. :)

[@AbbreviatedReviews]

It's good to see that it has received even more content since it was released. I like a roguelite that makes it possible to win relatively quickly and lets you increase the difficulty on many levels to keep you going forward. I noticed you didn't mention the mutliplayer though, which I thought was a fun addition for a game of this type - even though it is still just playing the game as you normally would, but in a race format.

[@FirstFive]

It's definitely a valid way to design a game! I usually like to mess around with everything at the lower difficulties first with these sorts of games, but this time around, I've been climbing the covenant ladder even while I'm still unlocking things.

[@MrNemitri]

This game is so good, it's underrated in my opinion.

[@stedunn563]

It's easily my best game of all time, I love rogue like games but not deck builders apart from slay the spire. But monster train has me hooked for nearly two years. Beating it at the highest level is always challenging apart from 'little fade" grossly overpowered 😅

[@janitorboy16]

Has there been news from the developer on a timeline for this game to come to Switch or Mobile?

[@ZamWeazle]

Out on Switch now! 😆

[@janitorboy16]

@@ZamWeazle Indeed! I've have it downloaded and have played a bunch since it launched on the platform.

[@ZamWeazle]

@@janitorboy16 I knew that Good Shepherd were working on something related to ports a while back due to a reddit leak. But when I saw the discord updates about a reveal...I knew it was coming. So happy it eventually did. The devs have also no denied a Mobile port in the future btw. Although they have said in the past it could be tricker due to screen size etc.

[@KarolaTea]

Mad science lab on a hell train sounds like a pretty good tag line. Wait, three hours for one run? oO Well, if I ever feel like playing a deck builder I guess I'll go with this one then XD

[@FirstFive]

I've seen streamers shave it down a lot by playing fast, but if you don't know what you're doing or take a lot of time to think your decisions through, oh yeah. Three hours easy. Monster Train drives that number down significantly.

[@KarolaTea]

I'm extremely slow at games, so make that 10 hours for me lol.

[@MegapiemanPHD]

Is it still considered a train if it's just the engine with no cars?

[@FirstFive]

Thomas the Hell Engine was already copyrighted.

[@paulrexlan1307]

Can you play as the good side or do you have to be on the Hell side?

[@brandonbackup873]

Eh... The angels aren't exactly the good guys here, and the demons aren't really the bad guys either.

[@BasementMinions]

Awesome! And I can pick it up on GOG, hell yeah DRM free :)

[@Sumanitu]

1:49 Noone is actually dumb enough to say "the blizzardification of RTS" are they? Blizzard and Westwood created the genre. And noone really has been able to drastically shake up the models that those 2 companies created

[@steampunkerella]

i found slay the spire rather dull. would you say monster train would be more appealing to me, or is this genre of game just not my cup of tea?

[@jesusmcastillo8306]

It depends on the reason you find it dull. Monster train is much more dinamic, varied and forgiving, but in the end you're taking more or less the same kind of decisions.

[@ErickTG]

To me Monster Train is way better than Slay the Spire. You don't have to keep doing math, the run is shorter and you mostly can avoid taking damage.

[@FirstFive]

The others about covered it! My answer boils down to "if any deckbuilder will appeal to you, it'll be this one."

[@lostmarble540]

I'd say monster train has a lot more action to it. The shorter runs and myriad of upgrade options mean you end up with a powerful, synergistic deck almost right off the bat, and personally that's what I want from a deckbuilder. You can still build crazy combo decks in slay the spire, it just takes longer to get there.