As heaven threatens to extinguish the flames of Hell once and for all, it’s down to you, some demonspawn, and a handful of cards to allay the danger. The stakes are high in Monster Train, a roguelike deckbuilder that throws in a teensy bit of tower defence for good measure. It’s a mix that works remarkably well, delivering satisfying, strategic combat in what is one of the genre’s better examples.

Monster Train is initially a little overwhelming due to its minimal tutorials and a somewhat messy UI; the game does its best to communicate how enemies behave, their stats, and what effects they create in battle, but at first it’s quite hard to parse. Once you get past that, it’s fairly straightforward, playing out similarly to Slay the Spire. The big difference is strategically positioning your units across three combat levels, preventing baddies from reaching the all-important pyre at the top. It’s a fun extra step, asking you to pay attention to not only what cards you have, but where they’re played.

As you progress through a run, you’re given lots of opportunities to add cards to your deck, make them considerably stronger, and more. Each upgrade feels impactful; very rarely are you presented with weak choices. There are fairly clear synergies to find, too. You begin runs with two factions, and learning how to combine their strengths for some deliciously powerful plays is always gratifying. Of course, there’s plenty of new cards and other items to unlock as you complete runs, opening up possibilities even more.

On top of the regular game, Challenges includes some fun asides. You can create and share challenges with the community, complete a daily seeded run, and play Hell Rush, a multiplayer race through a run to earn the highest score.

While the presentation isn’t much to write home about, Monster Train’s moreish gameplay and nigh-endless replay value more than make up for it. If you’ve played and enjoyed other deckbuilders, this is another solid example to add to the collection.

Leaving on a hell train