In some other yr, I would have spent hours of our end-of-year debates singing the praises of Monster Prepare 2, however sadly, it has been an astounding yr for roguelikes as an entire. Each my first and second favourite video games of the yr, Hades 2 and Blue Prince, respectively, are most likely additionally my first and second favourite roguelikes of all time. When I’ve to whittle down a listing of hills to die on throughout our discussions, Monster Prepare 2 is simply barely beneath the brink. That mentioned, it is nonetheless a unbelievable sport, and I want extra folks (particularly sport critics) had frolicked with it this yr.
Because the yr involves an in depth, we’re highlighting some private favourite video games from our group that we really feel you should not miss. In case you’re nonetheless in search of the fitting sport to hold you into 2026, and you have already hit up our Prime 10 Finest, we’re hoping considered one of these suggestions will hit the mark.
Like the primary sport, Monster Prepare 2 is a cool fusion of tower protection, deckbuilding, and turn-based fight. Your fundamental playing cards are models, that are positioned on considered one of three ranges of the practice automobile you are tasked with defending. Every spherical, allied and enemy models take turns attacking one another, and if the enemies survive the combat, they advance to the following degree. The target is to maintain them from the highest of the automobile, the place they will injury your Pyre Coronary heart and finish your run. Decks even have spells, which might help, hinder, or hurt models on the sphere, gear, which alters models, and room playing cards, which modify ranges of the practice automobile in main methods.
The factor that also stands out to me about Monster Prepare 2 is the sheer quantity of variables. On the smallest scale, decks are shuffled, so every hand is recent. Routes are randomized, so every cease in a run is barely totally different than the final. However most importantly, every run makes use of considered one of as much as ten factions, every of which can be utilized as a main or secondary faction. In case you do not rely the alternate champions for every faction (which alter the sport considerably), there are 180 beginning mixtures alone. When you unlock all of the factions, you may play this sport for a really very long time with out repeating any combos.
In fact, a sport with choices just isn’t routinely good, however an excellent sport with this many choices, one I really feel I might play for months and months, is one thing particular. Not each roguelike feels that manner, and lots lose me after a profitable run or two, however Monster Prepare 2 is so large that I’ve fallen in love, and there are nonetheless simply dozens of beginning combos I have not even tried, a lot much less mastered.
On high of that, the sport options considered one of my favourite roguelike facet modes I’ve ever seen: dimensional challenges. It is a number of cleverly crafted eventualities to play by way of, the place the builders have organized enjoyable mixtures of factions and modifiers to make for distinctive runs you are unlikely (or unable) to come across by way of normal play. “Weapons Make the Warrior” reduces all playing cards’ improve slots to 1, however makes gear playing cards twice as highly effective and value much less to play. “Twofer” doubles all cash earned, standing results inflicted, and makes it so every time you add a card to your deck, you get a replica of it. In case you’re overwhelmed or pissed off by the sport’s random nature, it is a fantastic palette cleanser I hope extra video games within the style proceed to make use of.
Is Monster Prepare 2 the perfect roguelike of the yr? No, however that does not imply it needs to be excluded from the dialog, and it actually doesn’t suggest it is a dangerous sport. It is considered one of my highest opinions of 2025, and regardless of my love of Hades 2 and Blue Prince, I hold coming again to Monster Prepare 2 as properly. In case you’re fascinated by selecting it up, it is on sale for the Steam winter sale till January 5 (and it runs fairly properly on Steam Deck).
