Monster Train 2 is a superlative sequel that takes everything that made the first game great and amps it up with smart new systems and even more replayability - here are our thoughtsTech17:09, 27 May 2025Ready to get back on the track?There’s nothing quite like a good roguelike deckbuilder . Whether you’re into Slay The Spire, Inscryption, or Monster Train, you’re not short of options either.So, how does a studio brute force its way into the conversation? By dropping not only a sequel to one of the aforementioned holy trinity , but also by making it possibly the best example of the card-based genre in years.‌Monster Train 2 is that rare sequel that expertly weaves new ideas into the fine-tuned locomotive engine of its predecessor, all while keeping many of the original parts. The result is one of the most moreish games of 2025, and even the last half-decade.‌This time, we're working upwardMonster Train debuted back in 2020, and its appeal came from its much more expansive art style than its contemporary, Slay The Spire’s simpler art direction, as well as the fact that its ludicrously-addictive card-based combat loop works on multiple levels (literally).Racking up the units to protect the top tier of your train added an element of positioning and a layer of tactility to combat, while also providing foes with an opportunity to outplay you.Article continues belowThankfully, Monster Train 2 doesn’t so much change that system as it buffs it to a shine while adding a whole host of small tweaks around it.There's a seemingly infinite amount of build diversityThis time around, your train isn’t headed for hell, but is instead sent speeding into the heavens as you plot your route and pick your battles, unlocking cards as you go and using them to see how long you can keep your violent voyage going.‌That simple change of direction from the deepest depths to the highest heights means you can now pick your crew from angels, demons, and everything in between, and it’s all done with just as much charm (and a little more character) than it was in the first game.Enemies arrive, and you funnel them through your train while protecting the heart of the engine with card-based attacks that you level up and collect over the course of a run. Do you go all out to protect the top level, or aim to wear down the foes at the base level first? Cards can be played on multiple levels, and that means there’s much more choice at play than in similar titles.It may look like Monster Train 1, but there's more going on‌With cards to play, units to assemble, and many of them having unique interactions, it’ll be a long, long time before you’ve seen everything Monster Train 2 has to offer, which will be mana from heaven for anyone still logging into the first game five years after its launch.That’s before we get into more complex systems, too, like which items to grab and when, or whether your equipment cards are best served to power up your own cleaving commuters, or to be dropped onto your foes to debuff them.With primary and secondary factions to choose from, each with their own starting units and customisation options, Monster Train 2 is the kind of game one could feasibly start playing at 9 AM and keep chipping away at until the small hours of the next day. In fact, that’s exactly what happened more than once in my playtime, especially since it’s a model citizen on the Steam Deck.‌We won't spoil the surprise, but the clan variety is amazingWant to hoard gold to be able to splurge on reinforcements? The dragons are your best shout, but you can also use the Underlegion to essentially outnumber your foes with the power of, um, fungus.The Lazarus League, on the other hand, are like a hand grenade that’s just as liable to go off in your hand as it is to do damage to your opponents, bringing units back to life with randomised bonuses that can make or break a run.‌Mixing a pair of these factions together and attempting to essentially break the game’s carefully measured combat system with a mix of random card additions, buffs, and plain old luck is a rush that saw me racking up the runs night after night.Then there’s Endless Mode, which lets you take your custom deck from a winning run and keep testing it. In essence, you just keep going, battling until your Pyre Heart goes out, but with positive and negative modifiers to keep adding more and more layers to its delicious mix of mechanics.The VerdictArticle continues belowMonster Train 2 is a game that will sap your free time if you let it, and if you have a Steam Deck, we’d give it a 6 out of 5 if we could.It really is that good, that addictive, and that fun that we may struggle to go back to the incredible original–high praise, indeed.Reviewed on PC. Review code provided by the publisher.‌‌‌