Monster Train Updates (PC Game, 2020)
Back in July, I reviewed a new roguelike deck building game called Monster Train. This is a stylish game with a wide variety of strategies and a lot of depth to work with. Essentially, you are controlling a train with the last remnants of Hell’s pyre onboard. You have to travel across the desolate landscape, fighting off the powers of the Gilded Wing (Heaven’s fighting forces) to reignite the flames of Hell.
You lay down units and spells on three floors of a train as wave after wave of enemies show up to scale the train and extinguish the pyre. If the flame goes out, you lose. If you defeat all the enemies, you get new cards, new artifacts (power ups), and the chance to upgrade all kinds of features through randomly selected shops and pit stops along the way.
Since then, developers Shiny Shoe have put in a lot of work updating the game. We’ve received regular updates to improve on the game and build in massive amounts of new content.
In September, Monster Train added Friends & Foes to the game. This free update doubled the number of decks you could build in the game. Each of the five Clans received a second Champion—an Exiled Champion—to lead your deck. These Champions all have different gameplay styles that define how your characters can actually battle the Gilded Wing.
Check out my intro to Monster Train video on Other Robert Games
For example, playing Awoken gives you a choice of The Sentient or Wyldenten as your Champion. The Sentient is a defensive champion, offering you a lot of health and Spikes (an ability that damages any enemy that attacks you). Wyldenten is a more aggressive and controlling champion, offering a lot of health and adding Sting spells to your hand (a spell that attacks for 10 damage and lets you draw an extra card on your next turn) or Rooting your enemy (trapping them on the floor they’re on) among other effects. These are two very different strategies for a card game like this contained within the same Clan, and each deck uses two Clans with wildly different powers.
Friends & Foes also added three new boss battles to the game. Each boss fights in different ways, so you have to be ready to adjust your strategy on the fly. Furthermore, each boss battle also has different variations of enemy spawns and attack patterns. Now every Ring of Hell has multiple boss battles you might have to face as you go on your journey.
In the 3rd Ring of Hell, you can face Daedalus or Talos. Daedalus sets up randomly placed explosives on the three levels of the train, causing you to sacrifice your cards to protect the units on each floor. He only attacks when he enters the train himself, though you can attack him if you clear out the enemies and explosives on the floor he’s flying next to. Talos sets up her units to protect her with stronger attacks, armor, or weakening your attacks. She attacks every turn and gains armor for each unit she destroys. You can see how the coin flip of Daedalus or Talos for the third battle would impact how you have to play the game.
The update also added in a bunch of mutations (variations on cards in your deck) and artifacts to the game. Deck building games like this can be massively impacted by only a handful of cards. Monster Train maintained its excellent set of balance and gameplay variety while doubling the amount of cards to base your deck off of.
Then, a few weeks ago, Monster Train released Herzal’s Workshop. This is a very different kind of update. There are games on Steam that thrive off of the creative efforts of the fandom. Monster Train has now added official support for mods created by the players. These include everything from minor cosmetic changes to UI changes to fan created clans and gameplay modes. While I haven’t tested the mods out myself, I’m actually quite impressed by the initiative of the creators working on mods to invest time and effort into these gameplay variants. It also shows a lot of trust from the developers to make it easier to create and share mods to a game that is so carefully designed and balanced. Just know that Monster Train cannot guarantee the effectiveness of the mods; they’ve just built in the structure to allow them to be added and shared in an easier way.
Monster Train is a lot of fun. Any TCG or deck building fan is going to find something to enjoy in this game. I can make connections to all the major styles of TCG decks I’ve ever played just with the right combination of two Champions from different Clans. Considering I always play super squirrelly decks, that’s even more impressive. This isn’t beatdown, control, or nothing; this is exploit that one potentially underpowered game mechanic with stall and a whole lot of luck if you choose to. I do choose to, and Monster Train supports me in that terrible, non-competitive decision.
Monster Train is available on Steam. You can also get it for 10% off at Humble Bundle using my partner link.
