The roguelike set on a speeding train to hell has a big sequel pulling into the station soon: Monster Train was a hit in 2020, taking big inspiration from Slay the Spire, the progenitor of many digital deckbuilders. The series are close enough in DNA that if you're a fan of one, you'll probably enjoy the other. A new trailer featuring lore-oriented narration about angels and demons has announced the May 21st release date for Monster Train 2 (exactly 5 years since the first game's release.)
Monster Train puts you in command of armies of demons, exiled from their home and fighting to bring their Pyre back to relight the fires of Hell. This 2nd time around, it seems that we're making friends with our old enemies, building decks from both angel and demon cards to fight the new threat of the Titans. And we have to be on a train, because... it's cool, and it's how the game works.
Mechanically things will look extremely familiar to anyone who's played the first game, or even played another roguelike deckbuilder: you start with a basic deck of cards, adding, removing and upgrading them over time to tweak your strategy and get stronger, and use these cards to deal with waves of semi-random enemies you'll encounter as you decide your route across the game's maps. New card types and synergies undoubtedly await us in the sequel, with both train-modifying Room cards and unit-modifying Equipment being advertised.
Among the other new features I can glean from the game's Steam page are at least 5 new clans to play with (strategic and thematic groupings of cards each associated with different playstyles), customizations and modifiers for your train and pyre, and the "most requested feature" from players of the first game: an Endless mode where you can ride the rails as far as your skills can take you.
Monster Train 2 will be out on Steam in a few months on May 21st, and there's a free demo available right now on the page.
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