21 May 2026Developer post

Celebrate Six Years of Monster Train with a Week of Challenges and Prizes!

Hello Monster Train Fans! Today is a special day as we celebrate the very SIXTH anniversary of Monster Train! We cannot believe that it’s been six years since we pressed the launch button here on Steam and across platforms. Before we get into some of the fun things we have planne

Hello Monster Train Fans!

Today is a special day as we celebrate the very SIXTH anniversary of Monster Train! We cannot believe that it’s been six years since we pressed the launch button here on Steam and across platforms.

Before we get into some of the fun things we have planned, we want to send a massive thank you to each of you! Without you we could never have embarked on such an incredible journey we had this year. From now only launching a whole sequel with Monster Train 2, launching two full, free content updates along with the first Monster Train 2 DLC, Destiny of the Railforged. None of that would be possible without the dedication, the hundreds (sometimes thousands) of hours you played, and your love for Monster Train. And, for that, we could never thank you enough.

The journey is far from over! To celebrate both Monster Train and Monster Train 2's birthdays, we’re hosting a week full of challenges and giveaways! Keep scrolling for more details on how you can enter to get a free Monster Train 2 t-shirt, a signed MT1/MT2 postcard, or, even, a free Monster Train 2 Digital Compendium or Soundtrack key!

Community Challenge with a MT2 T-shirt prize!

Are you a master of all things Monster Train? Or do you just want a chance to win a free t-shirt? Come join the Community Challenge! This time, we’ve got FIFTEEN MONSTER TRAIN 2 T-SHIRTS to give out to the winners of the challenge! The Community Challenge starts on May 21st at 12:00 PM PST and will run until May 26th, 12:00 PM PST. THE TOP TEN WINERS along with FIVE RANDOM PLAYERS will get a free t-shirt!

Read the full list of rules, prize limitations, along with how to enter the challenge here.

Want to watch the devs try their hand at the Community Challenge? Join Mark at 4:00 PM PST here.

Fan Art & Memes Week!

Until May 28, 2026, we’re inviting all the amazing artists in our player community to please send us your art pieces! Do you have a sketch you’ve been working on but haven’t had a chance to finish it? Do you love Ekka and want to give her a new outfit? Do you have an excellent wit that must be shared with the world? We want to see your creations! Share them in the Shiny Shoe server's fan-art channel for a chance at a prize!

As a thank you for sharing your creativity with us, we’re giving out Monster Train and Monster Train 2 card print outs to 20 artists chosen at random. Check out the rules here and here.

Guess that Card Competition!

If the above just wasn’t enough, we have ONE MORE giveaway!

Once a day starting on May 22nd and until May 28, 2026, we will be posting in the Shiny Shoe server a zoomed in detail of a random Monster Train 2 (and sometimes a Monster Train card that was brought over to MT2) card in the Shiny Shoe server announcements at 12:00 PM PST. The first person to guess the correct card will win a key for the MT2 Soundtrack or the MT2 Digital Compendium (your choice).

For those interested, you can read the full rules and guidelines in the Monster Train 2 announcement!

Anniversary Livestream!

Last but not least, we are hosting a special YouTube Anniversary Stream today, May 21st, at 4:00 PM PST to 5:00 PM PST to celebrate Monster Train 2's one-year anniversary and Monster Train turning six!

During the stream, we'll dive into the details of our full week of challenges and giveaways. We have MT2 DLC and MT1 CODES to giveaway DURING the stream so mark your calendars so you don’t miss out!!

Join the livestream here!

Thank you

We’re so excited to celebrate Monster Train’s anniversary with all of you! Please don’t forget to join this week’s festivities including the Community Challenge, Fan Art & Memes Week, and the Guess the Card Competition, for your chance to win prizes like a free t-shirt, signed MT1/MT2 card, or a MT2 Soundtrack or Digital Compendium key!

Thank you all again for your incredible support this past year. We can’t wait to see your username on the leaderboard, your art, and more on the Shiny Shoe Discord server!

Original post

16 May 2025Developer post

Monster Train 2 - Next Stop: Launch

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

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.

New Clans, New Cards, New World

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.

Modes, Modes, and more Modes

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”.

Ticket to Ride

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.

Go to Heaven

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/

Original post

21 Apr 2025Developer post

Monster Train 2 - Introducing The Underlegion

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 or hanging around the Shiny Shoe Discord server as ‘ShinyCami.’ This week, I’m taking over the dev blogs and putting on my game designer hat to talk about the

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 or hanging around the Shiny Shoe Discord server 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. I'll also be sending out more sneak peeks in our Shiny Shoe newsletter 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!

Original post

17 Apr 2025Developer post

Monster Train 2 - Introducing the Luna Coven

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 a

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!

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.

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

Original post

14 Apr 2025Developer post

Monster Train 2 - Introducing the Lazarus League!

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 var

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. Have questions? Chat with the devs on our Shiny Shoe Discord server.

Original post

19 Feb 2025Developer post

Monster Train 2 - demo out now!

Hi, Monster Train fans! We are so excited to announce our next game at Shiny Shoe: Monster Train 2 ! That’s right, Monster Train now has a sequel and you can play the demo today on Steam! Delve back into the battle between Heaven and Hell in Monster Train 2 . But, there’s a twist

Hi, Monster Train fans!

We are so excited to announce our next game at Shiny Shoe: Monster Train 2! That’s right, Monster Train now has a sequel and you can play the demo today on Steam!

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

Delve back into the battle between Heaven and Hell in Monster Train 2. But, there’s a twist. This time, we’re bringing the fight to Heaven! Lead all new clans of Hell and take on the corrupted angels of Heaven in this all-new, action-packed, and endlessly replayable continuation of the Monster Train story!

Monster Train 2 has hours of new content for the roguelike fan to enjoy (I see you, players who’ve spent hundreds of hours on Monster Train 😛). Lead new clans, master never-before-seen abilities, and ramp up your run with features like endless mode, dimensional challenges, new card types, and empowered Pyre Hearts!

Monster Train 2 has all that you loved about Monster Train and more! Did I mention the all new clans? Oh, but that’s not all. Start off the game with your new champion, Fel! Remember her? Well, now she’s working for Hell. Play the demo to find out why!

For more details, check out Monster Train 2 on Steam. The game launches later this year but you can play the demo today and explore new characters, challenges, cards, and bosses!

Also, come hang out with the Shiny Shoe team! We know you have questions and want to answer them! CEO Mark Cooke along with Creative Director Andrew Krausnick will be hosting two livestreams today at 11:00 AM PST (2:00 PM EST/8:00 PM CET and 4:00 PM PST (7:00 PM EST/1:00 AM CET) here.

During the livestreams, they will be answering questions and playing the demo. Team members will also be hanging out in the chat so come say, ‘Hi!’

And finally, from everyone on the Shiny Shoe team, thank you all so much for your support. Your enthusiasm and passion for Monster Train is the reason that our team has been able to work on its sequel. Thank you so much for believing in us and we can’t wait to bring Monster Train 2 to all of you!

Original post

01 Aug 2023Developer post

Fledgling Imp Plushies are OUT NOW!

It's here! This adorable little plush replica of everyone's favorite diminutive orange demon is available now until August 22nd , but ONLY until then! Fledgling Imp Plushie does EVERYTHING that Fledgling Imp does, only snugglier! Also, it doesn't do anything that Fledgling Imp do

09 Dec 2022Developer post

Introducing Monster Train Plushies!

Calling all guests on board, this is your Steward Chief Speaking. We are now entering the first stage for the production of a monstrously powerful item that will change the tides of our war with the Winged. When the time will come, we're going to hit them with the strength of A T

27 Oct 2022Developer post

Monster Train is now available on iOS!

Hello friends! We're happy to inform you that the 27/10 Monster Train has now departed from the iOS App Store! It's been a hell of a ride, no pun intended. Check out Monster Train iOS here! ! Monster Train iOS includes: the base game the "Wild Mutation" update the "Friends and Fo

Monster Train

Updates & announcements

Celebrate Six Years of Monster Train with a Week of Challenges and Prizes!

Community Challenge with a MT2 T-shirt prize!

Fan Art & Memes Week!

Guess that Card Competition!

Anniversary Livestream!

Thank you

Monster Train 2 Now Available!

Monster Train 2 - Next Stop: Launch

New Clans, New Cards, New World

Modes, Modes, and more Modes

Ticket to Ride

Go to Heaven

Monster Train 2 - Creating Collaborations

Overview

Richard Garfield Collaboration

Balatro

Inscryption

Cult of the Lamb

Inkbound

Monster Train 2 - Balatro x Monster Train 2

Monster Train 2 - Updated Demo Now Available!

Monster Train launching on Android!

Monster Train 2 - Cult of the Lamb x Monster Train 2 - A Cult Crossover!

Monster Train 2 - Introducing The Underlegion

Monster Train 2 - Introducing the Luna Coven

Monster Train 2 - Introducing the Lazarus League!

Monster Train 2 - Official Clans Reveal Video

Monster Train 2 arrives May 21st, 2025

OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Monster Train 2 releases on May 21st, 2025.

The Ultimate Deckbuilding Duo is Here

Monster Train 2 - demo out now!

Celebrate Demon's Mirror's Launch with a Monster Train Bundle!

Monster Train x Dicefolk Bundle Available Now

Fledgling Imp Plushies are OUT NOW!

Introducing Monster Train Plushies!

Monster Train is now available on iOS!