Hi folks, this is your conductor speaking. We’d like to once again thank you for riding Monster Train Railways. As we near our final destination, we’d like to quickly run down our launch day checklist. We’re going to remind you of all the new content, modes, and even share some new info on pricing and other goodies. So keep those seatbelts fastened, put your tray tables in the upright and locked position, and please ignore the fact that I’ve switched this train metaphor into that of an airplane. Ready? Let’s go.


Monster Train 2 takes the format that you know, love, and have sunk thousands of hours into and transforms it into something brand new. Defend your Pyre Heart with the strength of five all new clans (Banished, Pyreborne, Lazarus League, Luna Coven, & Underlegion), game-changing Room and Equipment cards, Celestial Alcoves, Active Abilities, and countless new ways to upgrade your run as you ride the rails through Heaven.


Once you’ve gotten a hang of Monster Train 2’s new cast and cards, it’s time to see what else is out there. That’s where Monster Train 2’s myriad new modes come in. See how far you can make it with a brand new Endless mode, conquer your friends list and climb the global leaderboards with the ever-changing Daily Challenge mode, or if you’re feeling truly bold, tackle the daunting Dimensional Challenges hand-crafted from the minds of our most sadistic developers. We considered the original Monster Train to be “endlessly replayable” - with all of these new ways to play, we think Monster Train 2 is leaning closer to “eternally replayable”.


So I know what you’re thinking. “Wow! Between the new gameplay possibilities to master, modes to explore, and the state of *gestures around* everything else happening in the world, it only makes sense that Monster Train 2 would be more expensive! A copy of Monster Train 2 must cost a million, nay, a bajillion dollars!”

No way. We’re happy to share that Monster Train 2 launches on May 21 for $24.99. The same price as the original Monster Train when it launched exactly five years ago to the day. And for you OG Monster Train owners out there (if you’re reading this that’s almost certainly you) things get even better. During launch we’ll be running a Monster Train + Monster Train 2 bundle offering a sweet discount to those picking up both games at once. But since you already own the game you’ll simply be getting the discount no questions asked. Why? Hell, why not?

If you’re a Monster Train fanatic wanting to go the extra mile, we will also have the Monster Train 2 Supporter Pack Bundle available starting day one. This bundle includes the base game along with the entire Monster Train 2 Original Soundtrack and an exclusive Digital Compendium. Jam out to MT2’s tough-as-nails musical score while getting a glimpse at previously unseen renditions of MT2’s ghoulishly gorgeous world and characters featuring page after page of art, wallpapers, and more.


Quite frankly, we can’t wait for you to see what Monster Train 2 has in store. Whether you’re using MT2 to hop on to the Monster Train for the first time, or you’re one of our daily commuters: Thank you for being here. Next stop: launch.

- Shiny Shoe & Big Fan Games

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2742830/Monster_Train_2/

Going into Monster Train 2, we had better connections and had made friends with folks at other studios who had played our games. This gave us an opportunity to reach out to some folks who we were fans of Monster Train to ask if they’d be up to let us work with them as part of Monster Train 2. Fortunately a few of our favorites said yes and so we set to work making these crossovers happen.

We knew the right place in Monster Train 2 to put them was where surprises happen on every run: the ‘event system’ (aka., the Concealed Caverns in Monster Train 1 and Celestial Alcove in Monster Train 2).

We also have some useful tools in this system to make sure our crossovers don’t show up too much, we get to define their frequency against each other, and also we can set it up so they don’t show up in the earliest runs a player does in their career, making sure the player is fully immersed in Monster Train before they start to experience some of these wilder or weirder events.


Here at Shiny Shoe we are big fans of Richard’s work on Magic the Gathering and other board and card games. Plus he was a Monster Train 1 fan! So we knew when we were making the sequel we had to reach out and see if he’d be up to design a little something for us.

The result was the Wonderous Boxes event! He came to us with an idea where the goal was to make every choice explode into even more options and we loved it. With a little iteration going over theme and implementation it turned into the event you see before you today.


The legendary jokers and the Cavendish/Gros Michel are iconic and fun, and since they were passives, fit in neatly as artifacts. The hard part came in balancing their wild powers in the context of Monster Train.

For example, in Balatro, Canio gives a 1X mult when a face card is destroyed. Since we don’t have ‘face cards’ or ‘mults’, we had to break down the core idea of the Canio which is essentially: “Get a bonus on card removal”. Then we translate that idea into the mechanics of Monster Train. As a result, in our game, Canio gives gold whenever you purge a card.


If you're visiting us at PAX East this weekend, you may have noticed a familiar face on the side of the Big Fan booth.

Inscryption also had random events on their map like ours, and we talked about adapting a few options (like the Villagers). Then we looked towards sigils that work similarly to our upgrades, and realized those would be the most natural fit.

Of course, since it’s Inscryption, we needed to add a secret to the event (but we won’t reveal that here). It took our playtesters the course of a week or so to solve it, but with more of you out there maybe it will go faster with a little coordination.


We knew we wanted to use the Red Crown and let any character ‘become the lamb’. In their game, the Red Crown gives the lamb immortality and transforms into weapons that the lamb uses. So, in our game, the Red Crown gives you Endless and equips the character with a random weapon.

Of course, the Red Crown also comes with your own loyal cultist followers. We knew we wanted to make these followers start off weak, as a tradeoff for taking the Red Crown. But although the followers have very low stats, with 1 attack and 1 health, they also have Multistrike 2, which can make them extremely strong if you decide to strengthen your cult.


A collaboration with our own game! The idea of characters from Inkbound diving into an inkwell and landing in the world of Monster Train has been a small joke we’d tossed around occasionally. In fact, there are already some small nods to Monster Train in Inkbound. So when it got around to Monster Train 2, since we were already doing crossovers, having one with Inkbound was a no-brainer.

We picked a handful of vestiges from Inkbound and updated their mechanics to fit in Monster Train, which was surprisingly straightforward. Nib & Bin are also in the event, who have seemingly entered Monster Train through the inkwell portal. We thought it would be neat to imply that the worlds of Monster Train and Inkbound are connected. Because they technically are, they’re made by the same people!

---

Monster Train 2's collaborations come from our love of fellow deck builders, indie games, and the unique gameplay possibilities they bring to our players. While you almost certainly won't encounter these random events on every playthrough, we hope their presence comes as a fun surprise to spice up your run.

Multiply your run wins with the help of the Jokers of Balatro! Swing by a Celestial Alcove for a chance encounter with Jimbo, who is more than happy to lend you their powers! Jokers are artifacts, giving unique effects that can change the entire flow of your run. Buff your Pyre Heart with Triboulet, who gives a permanent health boost for each rare card in your deck, or Chicot who ensures you’re paid for each card you purge. There are many jokers hopping on the Monster Train from the world of Balatro, how you use their powers is up to you!

Hedge your bets and stack your pile of winnings higher than the heavens! Play with fate and fortune when Monster Train 2 hits PC, Xbox Series X|S, Playstation 5, and Nintendo Switch on May 21st!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2742830

Hi, everyone!!

Thank you so much to everyone who has played the Monster Train 2 demo and submitted feedback on the game. Leading up to Monster Train 2’s launch on May 21st, 2025, we’ve integrated many of your suggestions into the game. Since there have been so many changes to the game, we wanted to update the demo so it fits the current version of the game more closely. Plus, players who are interested get a little sneak peek before Monster Train 2's launch.

So, without further ado, here are just a few changes we’ve made to the demo:

• Updated balance: buffs and nerfs on a variety of cards, artifacts, and enemies.
  
• Fixed several edge case gameplay bugs.
  
• Dualism redesigned to only affect buffs and debuffs.
  
• Strike now only applies when attacking or using an ability.
  
• Max unit cap per room increased from 6 to 7.
  
• Improved visuals in a variety of areas.
  
• Added support for sorting your Deck.
  
• Improved controller/keyboard navigation support in a variety of ways.
  
• Fixed reported Undo Turn bugs.
  
• Added clarification that you must choose a path on the map first before you can collect rewards. This is how it worked in MT1 but changes to the map visuals in MT2 made it less clear in some situations. We think this UI change improves clarity.
  
• Increased contrast and reduced visual business of some areas on the map of Heaven.
  
• Added a confirmation step before merging equipment so you can review the outcome before spending the gold.
  
• Added an indicator next to the End Turn button if you have any unused unit abilities as a reminder that you might want to use them. Also clicking this button moves the camera to a room with an unused ability.
  
• Added intro FMV that bridges the story from MT1 to MT2.
  
• The first story character dialogue now happens after the first run.
  
• New and updated music.
  
• Updated the Run Summary screen to fit many more cards without pagination.

These are just a few of the changes we’ve made to both the demo and the game in general. All these improvements are possible because you, the amazing players of Monster Train 2’s demo, submitted feedback and let us know how we could improve it.

For this new demo, please continue to give us feedback! I hope that these improvements make the demo all the more fun and thank you for supporting the Shiny Shoe team.

It’s official, Monster Train App will be released on Android! Soon, you’ll be able to play your favorite roguelike deckbuilder on the train, in the car, in the bus, or while you’re waiting in line at the grocery store. Really, you’ll be able to play Monster Train anywhere (although please don’t do so while operating heavy machinery or power tools).

Pre-register for Monster Train on Android today by clicking on the link here[play.google.com]!

What does it mean to pre-register? It just means that you will be the first notified when the game launches (which, although I cannot reveal an exact date, I can say that it will be very soon).

So, spread the news and pre-register here so you don’t miss a single second of Monster Train on Android!

The One Who Waits has spread his influence to Heaven! Our friends at Massive Monster have lent the power of the Red Crown and its Cultists to the Legions of Hell! Embolden one of your units with the power of the crown, making them endless and giving them a random equipment each time they’re summoned! The source of this power is wrapped in secrecy, but there are rumors of obtaining it at a Celestial Alcove if you’re lucky.

Don the Red Crown, amass your cult, and take down the corrupted legions of Heaven! Cult of the Lamb is just the beginning - keep an eye out for other strange visitors from worlds beyond when Monster Train 2 hits PC, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch on May 21st!
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2742830/Monster_Train_2/

My name is Cami and I am the Community Manager at Shiny Shoe. You might have seen me during one of our weekly dev streams [www.twitch.tv]or hanging around the Shiny Shoe Discord server[discord.gg] as ‘ShinyCami.’

This week, I’m taking over the dev blogs and putting on my game designer hat to talk about the cutest clan (in my opinion) in all of Monster Train 2: the Underlegion!

Don’t let their cute faces deceive you, the Underlegion is one of the most formidable clans in Hell. Spawned from the putrid soils of a forest on the edges of Limbo, this clan has many dangerous characteristics beneath the surface.

Led by the incomparable Madame Lionsmane and her trusted right-hand mushroom, Bolete the Guillotine, Madame Lionsmane has a slew of followers who adore her and her odorous perfumes. Mistress of the olfactory poisons, Madame Lionsmane disarms her enemies with her fumes before she strikes.

Also, can we all just appreciate her outfit?!

First Underlegion champion: Madame Lionsmane

One of her starting Abilities is Maneating, which has a cooldown of two turns and applies Decay and Sap to one unit. She also has Spawn at Incant. Spawn is a focal feature of the Underlegion clan that you’ll see again and again.

In the example below, I chose for Madame Lionsmane to have the starting Trigger “Incant: Spawn 1,” meaning that every time I use a spell card, she spawns a unit.

But what unit? Well, that is where my all-time favorite unit comes in: the Funguy!

Funguy

Every time an allied Underlegion unit uses Spawn, a Funguy unit will appear. This one shown below is the first unit I spawned after using one of Madame Lionsmane’s starting Trigger: which is to spawn one Funguy whenever I play a spell card on her floor.

Madame Lionsmane’s Tooltips

Funguy spawned after playing a spell card on the floor with Madame Lionsmane.

As I use more spell cards, the more Funguy are spawned. Below, I have shown what happens after I play multiple spell cards on the same floor. As you can see, Troop stacks and Funguy gains health and attack damage with each stack.

Funguy unit with Troop 2

However, the unit loses said stacks when it takes damage. Below, you’ll find before and after images of when Funguy takes damage.

Funguy with Troop 1

As you can see, after losing 4 health, the unit loses one stack of Troop.

Other Underlegion units also have the Spawn mechanic. Take, for example, the Green Recruit which Spawns two Funguys when killed.

Underlegion shroom unit card: Green Recruit

Or Room Cards, such as Infectory, which spawns one Funguy unit whenever a unit without Troop dies.

Underlegion room card: Infectory

As you can see you cannot kill the Funguy in a way that matters.

The second of three core mechanics of the Underlegion clan is Decay.

Born from the roots of the Fatal Elm tree, the Underlegion’s Shrooms often can apply Decay to their enemies. Decay slowly chips away at an enemy until they are overcome by its rotting power. More specifically, Decay deals 3 damage per stack at the end of your turn. While not an immediate damage mechanic, stacking decay on enemy units can be a game changer.

Underlegion shroom unit card: Cheery Deathcap

And, finally, the third core Underlegion mechanic: Propagate. Propagate increases the stack count of Buffs on friendly units and Debuffs on enemy units. To better illustrate this, check out the spell card Proliferate below.

Underlegion spell card: Proliferate

With the spell card Proliferate, all units get Propagate 2 immediately. So, for example, if I have friendly units with Valor, that Buff will increase by two. Propagate will also work for Troop and Decay, which, with the Underlegion clan, can be a huge advantage.

The Underlegion is a dynamic and complex clan that has lots to uncover and plenty of variability. Honestly? It’s my favorite clan (but don’t tell Luna Coven). The characters are a little bit terrifying but mostly formidable, the core mechanics are not too complex that you can’t get a good run but not too easy that it feels impossible to master, and the Funguy is adorable!

Oh, and did I mention that the Underlegion has a dog named Truffles?

Underlegion Shroom unit card: Truffles

If you’re interested in learning more, I’ll be playing this clan with Avarem on Friday, April 25th, 2025 at 12:00 PM PST on Twitch.[www.twitch.tv] I'll also be sending out more sneak peeks in our Shiny Shoe newsletter[shinyshoe.com] before Monster Train 2's launch on May 21st, 2025!

I hope you’ll love the Underlegion as much as I do and thank you so much for reading!

I’m Albert A. from the design crew. Today I’m here to introduce one of the clans in Monster Train 2, the Luna Coven!

Below, you’ll find Ekka, leader of the Luna Coven. A powerful magic wielder, she was present for the tragic destruction of the Coven’s home beyond Heaven. She is also one of the few champions who has seen first hand the corrupting force enveloping Heaven. Perhaps that is why her home was targeted.

Ekka, Luna Coven's main champion

She is accompanied by the second Luna Coven champion: Arduhn, Guardian of the Coven and personal guard to Ekka. He too, remembers the tragic fall of the Coven’s homeland and has made it his mission to return to Coven to the skies once more.

Arduhn, second champion of the Luna Coven

As you might have guessed, the Luna Coven are not original denizens of Hell or Heaven. They come from a place far beyond Heaven and hints of their origins are found throughout the game.

The Luna Coven clan was designed around the theme of balance between darkness and light, good and evil, the full moon and the new moon. From the beginning, players can see this balance at play with Ekka’s starter card, Witchweave. This card has dual properties and can be used to heal allies or cause damage to enemy units.

Ekka’s starter card, Witchweave

The Luna Coven utilizes magic power and spells to defeat their enemies, all while tapping into the mercurial power of the moon. The clan has a unique mechanic, each turn during combat the moon changes phases between New Moon and Full Moon. Some cards allow you to manipulate the current phase of the moon, in order to set up certain spells or units.

Luna Coven spell card: Moonrise

Certain cards gain bonuses based on the current moon phase, or whenever the moon changes phases. Mooncycle, shown below, triggers when the moon changes phases between turns.

Luna Coven spell card: Starstruck

Luna Coven Equipment Card: Luna Cyclestaff

Since the clan focuses on spell-slinging, there are various ways to make your spells more powerful than they already are. We already discussed one method, which was through utilizing the current phase of the moon. Another way to build up powerful spells is through a new status effect called Conduit, which you can apply to units, and which grants Magic Power for every stack.

Luna Coven spell card: Moon Ritual

Conduit isn’t only useful for spells. Units can also benefit from magic power as well! For example, with the card Moonlit Glaive, an equipment card that uses Magic Power to boost a unit’s attack. In the case of Moonlit Glaive, the equipment gives Mageblade 3. Mageblade increases a unit’s attack by +1 for each Magic Power on the floor.

Luna Coven Equipment card: Moonlit Glaive

And here’s another card,The Planetarium, which offers blanket boosts to Magic Power by granting all friendly units Conduit 5.

Luna Coven Room card: Planetarium

The Luna Coven is also where we as the designers first stepped away from the card designs of Monster Train 1 and took on a more experimental approach. Take, for example, the following:

Luna Coven spell card: Heavenfall

Heavenfall can affect all floors during the full moon. This ability was not present in any Monster Train 1 card and we were very excited to incorporate it into this sequel.

The Luna Coven is a magic casting clan, but not everything is about Magic Power, there are cards that have other ways of manipulating spells. For example, Stardust Invocation can copy spells which are made Ephemeral, meaning players have until the end of their turn to use the copied spell.

Luna Coven card: Stardust Invocation

Thank you so much for reading and I hope you will have as much fun playing the Luna Coven clan as it was to design it.

Note from ShinyCami:

Want to chat with other players? Join the Discord server here[discord.gg]!

Want more sneak peeks? We have a newsletter in which we show off special, not available anywhere else sneak peeks of Monster Train 2. Sign-up here[shinyshoe.com].

Edit: Cards and text updated for clarity and to reflect most up to date information in Monster Train 2.

Howdy! I’m Brian, senior gameplay programmer at Shiny Shoe, and I’m here to introduce a new clan in Monster Train 2 - the Lazarus League.

The Lazarus League is a group of mad scientists and their creations. Themed around horror and the macabre, we drew our inspirations from a variety of films and books: Frankenstein, Nosferatu, Reanimator, Alien, and a bunch of others have their DNA running through the League.

Orechi, first champion of the Lazarus League clan

This is immediately exemplified by their Champion, Orechi. He serves as the head of the Lazarus League, the scientist at the center of every dark experiment and twisted creation.
He’s a clear nod to Dr. Frankenstein, though in my head he’s closer to the one found in Young Frankenstein (it’s pronounced Franken-steen). During gameplay, he excels at bringing back the dead and brewing dangerous serums.

Erratic Assistant Unit, Lazarus League clan

Within the labs of the League, a host of different Assistants lend their expertise. These are the grunts of the group, and are often the subject of experimentation themselves. Some have weapons stitched to their body, which can then be… reappropriated by another unit. Some have been made unstable through some rather iffy science and are in danger of coming undone.

Erratic Assistant was inspired by Edward Scissor Hands, having sharp hands attached to her body and behaving a little off-kilter. Thematically she serves as the group’s ace surgeon, able to perform delicate amputations and not-so-delicate ones as the situation calls for it. Gameplay-wise, she has starter equipment that gives her an attack boost. Should she lose those pointy fingers, another unit can take them up to get the added attack.

Overworked Assistant, Lazarus League clan

Visually, Overworked Assistant is a nod to the BBC adaptation of Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I just really wanted a two-headed character in the clan. A frustrated worker bee who is the subject of experiments as often as he is conducting them, years in the lab have made him increasingly unstable. This is reflected in his gameplay mechanic of gradually becoming more unstable as you cast more spells in the room he’s in.

(Fun fact: early in design we discussed using the merchant cats as our assistants, but I decided against subjecting those cuties to the horrors of the League.)

Hydra Armed Horror Monstrosity, Lazarus League clan

Hulking Mass Monstrosity, Lazarus League clan

The clan’s experiments have led to grotesque Monstrosities. These are the more outlandish units, with deformed features and anatomy that doesn’t quite work. But they’re also the powerhouses.

Hydra Armed Horror gains more attacks for each piece of equipment fed to it - if you’ve got the cards to spare, it can be quite the heavy hitter. It’s the clan’s take on a nightmarish tentacle monster, but with muscley arms instead. Hulking Mass gains armor each time it is reanimated from the dead, making it a doubly (or triply) effective front-liner.

Lazarus League equipment card: Organ Harvester

Mechanically, the Lazarus League is a “high risk, high reward” clan. Many of their cards center around purposefully letting units die to gain some reward. New statuses help facilitate this - Reanimate immediately revives a unit upon death. If you’re careful, even a sacrificed unit can survive to continue the fight. The Unstable status will cause units to explode on death. Combine the two, and you can create combos where units die, explode, die again, explode, die for the third time … life in a mad scientist’s lab is tough.

Lazarus League spell card: Tome of Horrors

Every clan has a Tome card, a powerful card that can inform the strategy of a run. The League has Tome of Horrors, which grants a massive amount of Unstable. Playing it on an enemy can be good, but it can also combine really well with the Overworked Assistant for massive, repeated explosions. It’s also gives some fun Evil Dead 3 vibes.

Lazarus League spell card: Brain Transfer

And as for Brain Transfer, it’s good for sac’ing your underperforming workers to embolden your sturdier units. It’s one of the first cards I designed, a reference to similar operations found in several classic works, and it helped inform how far to push the horror motifs.

Lazarus League spell card: Secret Ingredient

There are other new gameplay mechanics underpinning the Lazarus League, but I don’t want to spoil all the surprises just yet. You’ll have to come check them out when the game launches on May 21st! In the meantime, thanks so much for supporting Monster Train 2 and us folks at Shiny Shoe!


From ShinyCami, Community Manager at Shiny Shoe: Thank you so much for supporting the Shiny Shoe team and for your interest in Monster Train 2! If you would like to see the Lazarus League in action, watch the dev stream live on Twitch on Friday, April 18th, at 12:00 PM PST here[www.twitch.tv]. Have questions? Chat with the devs on our Shiny Shoe Discord server[discord.gg].