An Indie Backlog curated overview. We round up the best indie roguelikes and how professional critics and players received each one — the scores below are theirs, linked to the source.
A roguelike deckbuilder with a vertical twist — defend a hell-train across three floors at once. The thinking player’s Slay the Spire alternative.
At a Glance
| Developer | Shiny Shoe |
| Release year | 2020 |
| Platforms | PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, Mobile |
| Subgenre | Roguelike deckbuilder |
| Length | ~25 hours (main story) |
| Metacritic | 86 / 100 |
| Steam rating | Overwhelmingly Positive (~96%, 22,000+ reviews) |
| Steam Deck | Playable |
| Languages | 6 |
About the Game
Monster Train, from Shiny Shoe, took the roguelike-deckbuilder template Slay the Spire popularized and added a brilliant spatial dimension. You’re defending the last ember of hell — carried on a train climbing back toward a frozen heaven — and combat plays out across three stacked floors at once, with enemies ascending toward the pyre you must protect at the top.
The depth comes from combining two of five factions per run, each with distinct mechanics, plus a deep upgrade and card-merging system. Managing which units to place on which floor, when to let enemies through, and how to build a board that snowballs is a richer puzzle than most deckbuilders attempt.
Wildly replayable thanks to its faction combinations and high “Covenant” difficulty tiers, it became a favourite among deckbuilder devotees and won acclaim for adding genuinely new ideas to a crowded genre. Generous post-launch support kept it deep and balanced.
Screenshots
Screenshots: official Steam media for Monster Train.
Why It Made the List
Monster Train makes the list as the deckbuilder that proved there was still new ground after Slay the Spire. Its three-floor battlefield and faction-mixing give it a strategic depth that keeps devotees coming back for hundreds of runs.
What the Critics Say
Monster Train holds a Metacritic score of 86. Critics praised its multi-floor twist, faction depth, and replayability; the main caveat is that its systems can intimidate newcomers.
What Players Say
On Steam it’s rated Overwhelmingly Positive across more than 22,000 reviews — about 96% positive. Players praise the strategic depth and the faction-combination variety.
Praise & Criticism
Praise
- Inventive three-floor battlefield
- Deep faction-mixing builds
- Hugely replayable
- Generous difficulty tiers
Criticism
- Systems intimidate newcomers
- Less iconic than Slay the Spire
- Art style is divisive
Games Like This
- Slay the Spire — the deckbuilder it builds on
- Inscryption — cards with a dark twist
- Balatro — the modern deckbuilder phenomenon
Where to Buy
Plain store links for now — swap in your affiliate-tagged URLs once you’ve joined Amazon Associates and the eBay Partner Network. (Steam has no affiliate program; that link is for convenience.)
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