10 Things To Know Before Playing Monster Train 2
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VOICE OVER: Johnny Reynolds
Prepare for an epic journey as demons and angels unite against the Titans in "Monster Train 2!" Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're looking at the most important information you need to know before playing the anticipated upcoming sequel. We'll be going over everything from the game's enhanced mechanics to new features to its story. Whether you're a veteran conductor or new passenger, we've got you covered with all the details about "Monster Train 2."
10 Things To Know Before Playing Monster Train 2
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today were going over all the information you need to know before playing the upcoming roguelike deckbuilding sequel, Monster Train 2!
The Original
If youre unfamiliar with Monster Train, then its best we start at the beginning. The original game was released in 2020 on PC, before eventually making its way to Switch, iOS, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. It was a big hit for Shiny Shoe, an indie developer whos been making games since 2011, including co-developing remasters for classic LucasArts adventure games like Grim Fandango. With an addictive gameplay loop that kept you playing for hours, it earned immediate praise. It even received several awards and nominations from various outlets. With as much love as it got, the developers were able to keep the train rolling by supporting it with multiple updates and expansions. Needless to say, excitement for the sequel is quite high.
The Gameplay
As mentioned, Monster Train 2 is a roguelike deck-builder. Players draw a hand of cards each round, holding different creatures, characters, spells, and the like. The purpose? To defend your train against the enemy forces seeking to destroy it. You can activate your cards on one of several floors. Although, you obviously have no way of knowing what cards youll draw, what order the enemies will appear in, or what rewards youll get to choose from after completing a battle. Enemies attempt to make it to the top of the train to damage your Pyre. Once it runs out of health, its Game Over, and youll have to start another Run.
The Story
Although the main draw of Monster Train 2 is its satisfying gameplay hook and strategy, theres still a story. During the first game, after the forces of Heaven violated a truce and attacked Hell, the underworld froze over. Its citizens were displaced, and players led a train of their forces in order to return home. The sequel sees you traveling towards Heaven this time, though not in a quest for retribution. Mighty Titans have taken over, threatening to destroy everything. A truce is formed between angels and demons once again to defeat this new foe. The developers have promised more worldbuilding and lore this time around, which should delight fans who want to know more.
New Clans
Monster Train launched with five clans to choose from, and a sixth added through DLC. Youd choose one as your primary clan and a second as their allies, but they each had different creatures, spells, and artifacts that had their own unique mechanics to strategize with. Similarly, Monster Train 2 is launching with five all-new clans. You start with two of them: angels known as the Banished trying to reclaim their home, and the Pyreborn, a clan made up of dragons. Unlocking the other three, the Luna Coven, the Underlegion, and the Lazarus League, takes fulfilling certain requirements in combat. Similar to the first, these have their own mechanics, such as the Pyreborns ability to add stacks of Pyregel to enemies, which increases the damage they take from every attack.
New Card Types
With new clans comes new cards. And the team has put in the work. Monster Train 2 will launch with more than two hundred new cards to unlock and upgrade. These include the creature and spell types that seasoned players will be familiar with. But there are also new types that will play into your strategy. There is now Equipment, which can be added onto any given unit for different buffs, or even debuffs to enemy factions. Another new inclusion is the Room card. These types create an effect on one of your trains floors, like dealing damage to all units, including your own. Every card comes with a short descriptor as well, which adds to the worldbuilding for players who want to seek out lore.
Additional Modes
The main mode of Monster Train sees you moving through combat encounters until you reclaim Heaven, choosing different paths in between fights to gain different types of rewards. However, this wont be the only way to play. Two modes from the original game are returning. There are daily challenges, which feature a variety of gameplay modifications and test you against players around the world. There are also Custom Challenges, where players can design and share their own fights. One mode not returning, however, is Hell Rush, a timed competitive multiplayer mode with eight players that was reportedly removed because it wasnt as popular. Two new modes will appear in the sequel. Theres Endless Mode, to see how long you can make it against increasingly difficult challenges. Then theres the Dimensional Portal, which offers challenges handcrafted by the dev team with their own rules and modifications, where you can earn cosmetic rewards.
Undoing Your Mistakes
In the original game, once you made a decision, you had to live with it. If things went poorly, you either had to stick with it and try to turn things around, or abandon the run. Naturally, one of the more popular mods for the game was one that allowed you to restart combat from the start. The developers seemingly saw how much players enjoyed the safety net, and so have implemented their own for the sequel. In the menu, youll now be able to restart a fight from the top. More than that, theres now an Undo button so that you can restart your individual round. This will likely make things much more manageable if a players action has unintended consequences.
Growing Stronger
Just like the original, there will be a variety of ways to grow stronger as you move through your run in Monster Train 2. Youll earn gold after every combat encounter, as well as a collection of rewards to choose from based on your Clans, like cards and artifacts. Also post-combat, you can choose different paths for your train to go down. These hold merchants that can upgrade either your units or spells for a price, spots to heal your train should it have taken any damage, more new cards to choose from, and randomized encounters that can either benefit your train or give you an edge in the next fight. Better choose your paths wisely, though.
Train Customization
Since your train is the most important part of the game, its important you take care of it as best you can. Weve already talked about Room Cards and randomized upgrades you can encounter on your path. But there are also permanent ways to change your train. Before starting a run, youll be placed in a hub world, which holds areas you can unlock as you progress. One place you can visit from the start is the Train Depot. Here, you can choose between cosmetic layouts for each room on your train, but they each require different criteria to unlock. Youll also be able to unlock new Pyre Hearts, which come with unique stats and effects. Just another way to customize combat to your benefit.
Release Information
Monster Train 2 was announced in February of 2025. The announcement also brought news of a demo on Steam, which delighted fans of the original. The demo has since received a lot of positive word-of-mouth and feedback from the player base, and the wait is finally over. Monster Train 2 is available now for PC, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S. Although there has been no word of post-launch updates or expansions, the original game did receive plenty of them. Something that has been teased, however, are crossovers with other properties. One has since been confirmed; a collaboration with another roguelike, the delectably dark simulation game, Cult of the Lamb.
Are you excited to pick up Monster Train 2? What features are you looking forward to the most? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today were going over all the information you need to know before playing the upcoming roguelike deckbuilding sequel, Monster Train 2!
The Original
If youre unfamiliar with Monster Train, then its best we start at the beginning. The original game was released in 2020 on PC, before eventually making its way to Switch, iOS, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. It was a big hit for Shiny Shoe, an indie developer whos been making games since 2011, including co-developing remasters for classic LucasArts adventure games like Grim Fandango. With an addictive gameplay loop that kept you playing for hours, it earned immediate praise. It even received several awards and nominations from various outlets. With as much love as it got, the developers were able to keep the train rolling by supporting it with multiple updates and expansions. Needless to say, excitement for the sequel is quite high.
The Gameplay
As mentioned, Monster Train 2 is a roguelike deck-builder. Players draw a hand of cards each round, holding different creatures, characters, spells, and the like. The purpose? To defend your train against the enemy forces seeking to destroy it. You can activate your cards on one of several floors. Although, you obviously have no way of knowing what cards youll draw, what order the enemies will appear in, or what rewards youll get to choose from after completing a battle. Enemies attempt to make it to the top of the train to damage your Pyre. Once it runs out of health, its Game Over, and youll have to start another Run.
The Story
Although the main draw of Monster Train 2 is its satisfying gameplay hook and strategy, theres still a story. During the first game, after the forces of Heaven violated a truce and attacked Hell, the underworld froze over. Its citizens were displaced, and players led a train of their forces in order to return home. The sequel sees you traveling towards Heaven this time, though not in a quest for retribution. Mighty Titans have taken over, threatening to destroy everything. A truce is formed between angels and demons once again to defeat this new foe. The developers have promised more worldbuilding and lore this time around, which should delight fans who want to know more.
New Clans
Monster Train launched with five clans to choose from, and a sixth added through DLC. Youd choose one as your primary clan and a second as their allies, but they each had different creatures, spells, and artifacts that had their own unique mechanics to strategize with. Similarly, Monster Train 2 is launching with five all-new clans. You start with two of them: angels known as the Banished trying to reclaim their home, and the Pyreborn, a clan made up of dragons. Unlocking the other three, the Luna Coven, the Underlegion, and the Lazarus League, takes fulfilling certain requirements in combat. Similar to the first, these have their own mechanics, such as the Pyreborns ability to add stacks of Pyregel to enemies, which increases the damage they take from every attack.
New Card Types
With new clans comes new cards. And the team has put in the work. Monster Train 2 will launch with more than two hundred new cards to unlock and upgrade. These include the creature and spell types that seasoned players will be familiar with. But there are also new types that will play into your strategy. There is now Equipment, which can be added onto any given unit for different buffs, or even debuffs to enemy factions. Another new inclusion is the Room card. These types create an effect on one of your trains floors, like dealing damage to all units, including your own. Every card comes with a short descriptor as well, which adds to the worldbuilding for players who want to seek out lore.
Additional Modes
The main mode of Monster Train sees you moving through combat encounters until you reclaim Heaven, choosing different paths in between fights to gain different types of rewards. However, this wont be the only way to play. Two modes from the original game are returning. There are daily challenges, which feature a variety of gameplay modifications and test you against players around the world. There are also Custom Challenges, where players can design and share their own fights. One mode not returning, however, is Hell Rush, a timed competitive multiplayer mode with eight players that was reportedly removed because it wasnt as popular. Two new modes will appear in the sequel. Theres Endless Mode, to see how long you can make it against increasingly difficult challenges. Then theres the Dimensional Portal, which offers challenges handcrafted by the dev team with their own rules and modifications, where you can earn cosmetic rewards.
Undoing Your Mistakes
In the original game, once you made a decision, you had to live with it. If things went poorly, you either had to stick with it and try to turn things around, or abandon the run. Naturally, one of the more popular mods for the game was one that allowed you to restart combat from the start. The developers seemingly saw how much players enjoyed the safety net, and so have implemented their own for the sequel. In the menu, youll now be able to restart a fight from the top. More than that, theres now an Undo button so that you can restart your individual round. This will likely make things much more manageable if a players action has unintended consequences.
Growing Stronger
Just like the original, there will be a variety of ways to grow stronger as you move through your run in Monster Train 2. Youll earn gold after every combat encounter, as well as a collection of rewards to choose from based on your Clans, like cards and artifacts. Also post-combat, you can choose different paths for your train to go down. These hold merchants that can upgrade either your units or spells for a price, spots to heal your train should it have taken any damage, more new cards to choose from, and randomized encounters that can either benefit your train or give you an edge in the next fight. Better choose your paths wisely, though.
Train Customization
Since your train is the most important part of the game, its important you take care of it as best you can. Weve already talked about Room Cards and randomized upgrades you can encounter on your path. But there are also permanent ways to change your train. Before starting a run, youll be placed in a hub world, which holds areas you can unlock as you progress. One place you can visit from the start is the Train Depot. Here, you can choose between cosmetic layouts for each room on your train, but they each require different criteria to unlock. Youll also be able to unlock new Pyre Hearts, which come with unique stats and effects. Just another way to customize combat to your benefit.
Release Information
Monster Train 2 was announced in February of 2025. The announcement also brought news of a demo on Steam, which delighted fans of the original. The demo has since received a lot of positive word-of-mouth and feedback from the player base, and the wait is finally over. Monster Train 2 is available now for PC, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X/S. Although there has been no word of post-launch updates or expansions, the original game did receive plenty of them. Something that has been teased, however, are crossovers with other properties. One has since been confirmed; a collaboration with another roguelike, the delectably dark simulation game, Cult of the Lamb.
Are you excited to pick up Monster Train 2? What features are you looking forward to the most? Share your thoughts in the comments!
