Choo-choo Train!
| Developer: Shiny Shoe | Graphics: |
 | |
| Publisher: Good Shepherd Entertainment | Sound: |
 | |
| Year: 2020 | Difficulty: |
| |
| Genre: Strategy | Lastability: |
| |
| Number of players: 1 | Rating: |
8/10 | |
A game of cards among friends, what could be more convivial! Take Magic cards, for example…
In my experience, it often went belly-up in the end, because someone’s victory frequently hinged on the interpretation of some obscure, poorly explained rule. That someone was incredibly argumentative, quoting official websites to support their arguments. That someone was always right and won almost every time. Moreover, they quickly found themselves alone on Saturday nights.
Rigid, calculating, sociopathic—I can’t help it if I have all the qualities required to excel at Magic…
I’m still surprised by how long it took to see this activity—perhaps niche, but certainly popular—adapted for computers or consoles (or phones). A digital version has the obvious advantage of delegating the referee role to the computer, managing complex mechanics quickly and without error, like those “counters” familiar to Magic enthusiasts, which involve stacking tokens on cards spread out on a corner of the table, between pizza boxes. Not always very practical.
The first notable success would certainly be Hearthstone (2014), a multiplayer, competitive, evolving game—maybe also a cash grab? The “collectible cards” component certainly taking precedence over the idea of a strategy video game. I’ve never played it, but the addictive nature and intense marketing, not to mention the community … of people, of human beings, ugh, put me off, perhaps unfairly.
It would take several more years before the concept was adapted for the benefit of a single player with Slay the Spire (2019), a genuine video game without ulterior mercenary motives. This time, the computer replaces not only the referee but also the friends!
I played Slay the Spire and didn’t keep fond memories of it. I remember the final boss alternating between two phases: a harmless ability during which you could do whatever, then an overpowered attack which you had no chance of surviving without the appropriate defensive card. And this card would appear about half the time during the “benign” phase. Thus, my painstaking “runs” would conclude with a barely disguised version of “heads or tails”.
Enter Monster Train…
Context: Hell has been invaded by excited little angels who have turned it into a frozen wasteland. You are the driver of a four-storey locomotive, carrying the last ember capable of reigniting the great furnace and restoring the climate, in the name of love and virtue—or maybe the opposite, whatever.
The battles take place in the locomotive, which makes a long journey, I guess, but you’ll only see the inside of the locomotive and nothing else. One must admit that to a spectator, the game appears monotonous. By the end of a run, you will have seen all the scenery, heard all the music, and fought most of the available enemies. However, for the player—for me—the variety is evident. Case in point: the timer showing over 200 hours that I would have spent on a solitary card game…
The number of cards isn’t even particularly high (220), and yet, interest is constantly renewed through progressively unlocked cards, factions (four in total), 25 difficulty levels, then a string of additional game modes determined by “mutators” (or “modifiers”: parasitic effects on top of those provided by the difficulty level). These aren’t simply a means of cheaply extending the game’s lifespan, as the mechanics remain, in my opinion, fresh and interesting.
Monster Train’s great merit is offering a gentle difficulty curve. This doesn’t mean it’s easy—it starts very low and ends very high. Plus, the Rogue-like modality has this characteristic, which I greatly appreciate, where the success of your run isn’t absolutely determined by the first rounds. I’ve been tempted to abandon after a disastrous start, before obtaining an artifact or card that radically changed my fortune. Sometimes it’s the opposite—a promising deck will suddenly crash following a single poor decision (continuing to play cards when the boss is adorned with a red “X”, for example … before realising that the red X has moved to your units due to an unanticipated side effect).
While the luck factor exists, inherent to this type of game, it’s notably less prevalent than in Slay the Spire. I attribute the majority of my defeats to my mistakes rather than unfortunate card draws. I did encounter, nonetheless, an unexpected difficulty spike when I opted for a certain combination of two factions that took me longer to adapt to.
In the end, the toughest mode, if you’re a competitor, is the “Daily Challenge”. Everyone plays the exact same game, each in their own lane (no interaction between players). The constraint is different—it’s no longer just about reaching the end, but scoring more points than others to inscribe your name at the top of the leaderboard. This means playing far more aggressively. As I write this (in 2023), there are approximately 500 players on the board each day. The first place usually approaches 50,000 points. Finishing in the top ten truly borders on the extraordinary (of the final rankings, it goes without saying, viewable only the next day).
I realise I’ve barely described how the game progresses. It’s hard to do without getting under the technical hood, listing precise rules, and risking losing half the audience. Fans will click on the gift at the bottom of the page—a video review that I entirely agree with (N’est-ce pas!).
In the same genre, recently released: Vault of the Void (2022), Mahokenshi (2023), and Power Chord (2023). These aren’t recommendations since I haven’t tried any of them.
|
