Battle Train

I've been super-excited about Battle Train for a long time and now that I've finally played it, I'm very impressed with this roguelike concoction.

Pacing aside, Battle Train has the opportunity to become an instant classic with its easy to learn, difficult to master gameplay. The characters, story, and the humor in general all ease the sting of defeat, but they also ensure that your victories will feel triumphant when you eventually succeed.

Battle Train has a fun cast of characters, a solid story, and a lot of love put into it. The core gameplay is strong, but the lack of build variety leaves a lot to be desired. Hopefully, some future updates will add some more deck themes down the line, because I would gladly return to Battle Train if they play their cards right.

A jack-of-all-trades roguelite that sacrifices depth to reach as many bases as possible, succeeding barely in some, and excelling in others.

Battle Train is certainly an exercise in mashing together some wild ideas. It's a strategy game with trains. It's a strategy game with trains that's played with cards. It's a deckbuilding strategy game with trains that's also presented like a wacky game show. Co-developers Terrible Posture Games and Nerd Ninjas go full bore with their ideas with the kind of confidence that attracted eventual publisher Bandai Namco. Blended together, Battle Train's many ideas work well together, but there are a few bumps along the track that keep this from being a smooth ride.

Battle Train has a great premise for a roguelike deckbuilder, but it massively fumbles in its execution.