GOTY Alert! This Game Just Hit 90 on Metacritic!

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2025 has been a bountiful year for exceptional games, with promising Game of the Year candidates emerging from lesser-known development studios. The highly anticipated sequel, Monster Train 2, has recently been launched, and it’s making quite an impact as a masterfully crafted roguelike deckbuilder, earning impressive review scores immediately upon release.

Immediately following its launch on May 21, 2025, the highly anticipated sequel Monster Train 2 garnered a commendable 90 score on Metacritic. This rating is a compilation of opinions from 14 different critics. If it maintains this score of 90 or higher with at least 15 reviews, Monster Train 2 will be awarded the prestigious Must-Play badge by Metacritic. The latest creation from developer Shiny Shoe is receiving acclaim for its enhancements over the original game, which is highly regarded within the deckbuilding genre. It now stands alongside Blue Prince and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as critically acclaimed titles from smaller studios, all competing to be named the best game of 2025.

Monster Train 2 Is Fantastic

A New Deckbuilding Classic

In Monster Train 2, developers have expanded upon the foundation laid by its predecessor. This game is earning praise for its dedication to preserving and amplifying the series’ unique approach to disrupting the expected linear progression in roguelike deckbuilding games. As our review at Ebaster puts it, Monster Train 2 feels faster, more dynamic, and less step-by-step compared to similar titles. The original game’s cherished elements are almost all present in the sequel, but with even more content to enjoy.

Despite maintaining all the distinctive features of its genre, it offers an extensive deck-building experience aimed at creating “poggable moments.” Yet, it’s designed to be approachable for newcomers as well. This is evident in the inclusion of a handy undo button to reattempt moves and improved tooltips that clarify gameplay mechanics.

Smaller Games Are In The Mix For GOTY

Indie & AA Games Are Dominating

In terms of Metacritic scores, Monster Train 2 trails only three other games: Split Fiction (with a score of 91), Blue Prince (92), and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (also 92). The acclaim for Hazelight Studios’ Split Fiction was anticipated following It Takes Two’s win at The Game Awards GOTY in 2021. However, Blue Prince and Expedition 33 have turned out to be unexpected standouts. Interestingly enough, both games are the debut releases from their respective studios.

This year’s Metacritic’s best games list seems to be lacking big-budget blockbusters. If you don’t categorize ‘Split Fiction’ as a blockbuster, you have to scroll down to number nine to find ‘Monster Hunter Wilds’, which earned an aggregate score of 88. The rest of the year is still ahead of us in 2025, and Nintendo has some significant games planned for the Switch 2. However, ‘Monster Train 2’ is already making a compelling argument for itself to be included in the Game of the Year conversation.

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2025-05-21 21:20