Monster Train 2 DLC - Destiny of the Railforged Xbox Series X Review 8/10 "Keeping it Rail" 🚂 @TheMonsterTrain #IndieGame #GameDev

The first paid DLC for Monster Train 2 has arrived at the station. The lauded sequel itself only came out in May of last year, and in late 2025 we were blessed with a host of new additions through the ‘Echoes From the Void’ update. Now, only a few months later, we have another, more substantial offering to expand the network in a way that shows HS2 how it’s done (Google it, non-UK people).

Monster Train, for the uninitiated, is a roguelike deck-building game. I won’t go into the mechanics too much as I cover a lot of it HERE. And I didn’t review the Void update, but essentially it offered a bit more of everything. We were furnished with new foes, new weapons and new variants of the Pyre (source of the player’s life and what your monsters protect) to up the ante and keep the train rolling.

What the Void update provided was welcome across the board. Unlike Slay the Spire, which has daily variants to alter the challenge, but no material changes since 2019, Monster Train has brought new characters, weapons and enemies to the table in a short space of time.

So, to the latest update, Destiny of the Railforged, costing £8.39 (as of 16/02/26). It brings with it a new clan (character cards to use in battle), new artefacts and a new endgame/game mode.

The new clan is called the Railforged and they are essentially the beings that made the train in the first place, so they’re steeped in lore and a welcome addition for Monster Train fans. Their angle is forging, which is essentially consuming cards to enhance others, and requires some planning as you build up resources to use during the round (most abilities are turn-based, by comparison).

The new game mode of taking on a series of bosses and being given both charms and curses after each is interesting, as you look to map out your approach to balance the good and the bad, and avoid the worst curses for as long as possible.

The game overall is the same, and that’s a good thing. They haven’t made any game-breaking changes but have added more levels of detail and interest.

I felt like the addition of additional resources to manage made the game a little overcrowded however. It can already be a very complex game to keep track of and I found myself having to concentrate hard to not lose track of when to activate various elements (you compare this to Slay the Spire which you can play more casually). Luckily the rewind feature to replay a turn is VERY useful in that regard.

SUMMARY
Overall I think that this DLC is perfect for who it’s designed for – the Monster Train devotee who’s ploughed countless hours honing their decks and perfecting their strategies, who needs a new challenge. 

You’re only getting this if you’ve got hundreds of hours invested, and in which case, you won’t be disappointed as this adds additional levels of detail and challenge to what is already an unforgiving game.

I’m not totally convinced that this paid for extension is that much better than what we had for free in November, but getting a few more stops added to the devilish adventure that is Monster Train is no bad thing. And roll on Monster Train 3 I say…

8/10

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