LogFAQs > #947395428

30. Monster Train
Genre Card battler

Gameplay: 6
Rest of Game: 6
Engagement: 5
New to Me: 5
Playtime: 4

Total score: 26/40

Song selection: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdJ_iwFL6R8

Pardon the bad play on words in the hint.

Monster Train features you as the conductor of a locomotive carrying the last spark of heat, trying to reignite the fires of a hell that has frozen over. The minions of heaven have snuffed out all other sources of warmth, and you are the last hope for demonkind. The angels, know, too, and they are chasing after your train, determined to board the choo-choo and stop you.

That setting alone makes for an interesting premise, but its only a tiny fragment of what makes Monster Train. Youll start in the first circle of hell with a very bare bones deck, a la Slay the Spire, and then fight Heavens minions across the different cars in your train until hopefully you manage to stop the boss. Although Im calling this a card battler, there are some very strong elements of tower defense here, too. You pick a minion to guard each room, and the enemy moves through them, fights once, and then shifts into the next. If they get to the room with your core, theyll deal it damage as it reflects back and hopefully kills them. But with a strong enough position, nothing will get through.

And therein lies the charm of Monster Train. Some of your minions, with a little preparation, can be completely unstoppable. My first victory involved summoning a plant monster that gained health and attack every time I played a healing card on it. Once my deck was thinned out of minions, I could play 3-5 tiny heal cards on it every turn, pumping it up to a size that no boss could compete with. In another game, I created a minion that had thorns damage so high that anything that dealt it damage pretty much fell over instantly. In a third, I had a super strong attacker with a charm that ensured it always attacked first, so who cares about defense?

MT definitely has a learning curve, and I was a little uncertain about my first couple runs (which all failed) while I tried to understand the mechanics, but once I grasped the idea, the game has been a lot of fun and Ive come back to it intermittently for something to play.

Should you play it?: If you know who "Timmy, Johnny and Spike" are, and identify with any of them, yes.

Next: An Outside Xbox meme

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Video Game Music Contest 14 champion: Idola Phantasy Star Saga - Endeavour