Monster Jam Steel Titans 2
- March 2, 2021
- Rainbow Studios
- 20h median play time
Monster Jam: Steel Titans 2 is at its best when it embraces the arcadeyness, depth, and lightheartedness that define its most exciting moments, though it sometimes punishes the very ambition behind those aspects.
"Monster Jam Steel Titans 2" offers a thrilling experience with 38 Monster Jam trucks to choose from, including fan favorites like Higher Education and Grave Digger. Explore five new outdoor worlds and compete in 12 authentic stadiums with various game modes. This sequel also introduces new online multiplayer modes for even more excitement.
Reviews
- The game is very enjoyable for young children, especially with the 'playground' mode that unlocks all areas and trucks.
- The graphics and truck designs are impressive, capturing the essence of Monster Jam and providing a nostalgic experience.
- The gameplay offers a fun mix of arcade-style racing and stunts, making it accessible for both kids and adults.
- The physics can be frustrating, with trucks flipping easily and inconsistent handling, especially during races.
- The AI can be overly aggressive and unbalanced, making some races feel unfair and difficult, even on lower difficulty settings.
- The game lacks depth in terms of customization and has some technical issues, such as controller configuration problems and minor bugs.
- graphics38 mentions
- 37 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
Overall, the graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with many players praising their quality and realism, particularly in vehicle design and environmental detail. However, some users criticize the graphics settings as limited and note issues like glitches and a lack of advanced options, suggesting that while the visuals are decent, they may not meet the expectations for a current-generation title. Despite these criticisms, several players appreciate the improvements over previous installments, highlighting the game's vibrant visuals and smooth performance.
“The graphics are great, the gameplay is fun.”
“This is the best game ever, graphics are insane!”
“The last monster jam game I played was Path of Destruction, and this is a huge step up, the graphics look good, the gameplay is smooth, and the challenges are fun!”
“The graphics settings are also extremely primitive.”
“The gameplay is decent enough but the graphics just aren't up to par for a current-gen game.”
“The graphics are not what I'd expect to see in 2021 - think PS3.”
- gameplay28 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed feedback, with some players missing classic mechanics and mini-games from previous titles, while others appreciate the fun driving mechanics and graphics. However, issues such as frustrating collision mechanics, lack of support for certain controllers, and occasional bugs have been noted. Overall, while the gameplay is enjoyable for many, it could benefit from tighter controls and more engaging content.
“The last Monster Jam game I played was Path of Destruction, and this is a huge step up. The graphics look good, the gameplay is smooth, and the challenges are fun!”
“There are not many games out there with the free ride gameplay crossed with split screen that this game has.”
“The graphics are great, the gameplay is fun.”
“But I miss the old mechanics of the two games I mentioned; outdoor maps or even full-on cities were being used as tracks, and the fun little mini-games like the long jump game mode or high jump from Urban Assault.”
“Nonetheless, this is a really annoying mechanic, and driving anywhere close to them in a race just knocks you away.”
“While the mechanics of the game itself seem to be a lot of fun, the lack of official support for my Logitech G29 wheel and pedals is disappointing.”
- music21 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising the heavy metal tracks and overall quality of the soundtrack, while others find it unappealing and suggest turning it off in favor of personal playlists. Notably, there are no unique entrance songs for the monster trucks, which disappointed some fans. Overall, the soundtrack is described as a blend of rock and metal, with varying opinions on its enjoyment factor.
“The game has an awesome soundtrack.”
“The more I listen to the songs, the more I'm just like 'damn, these are some really good tracks!' A lot of the songs are very heavy metal in mind, with one song in particular sounding like a Killswitch Engage track.”
“Some of the fan-favorite trucks have their own unique song that plays before each event, which is a nice little attention to detail.”
“The soundtrack is butt rock types of stuff, can't say I care for it much.”
“I'm not a massive fan of it, it's mostly rock-y stuff, but personally, I wouldn't really crank up the music to hear it or anything.”
“There are no monster truck intros or entrance songs, so if you have a favorite monster truck, you may be upset to learn that you don't get to drive out to your truck's theme song or anything, which I find weird because this game is licensed by Monster Jam.”
- story12 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect is described as minimal and somewhat repetitive, with a mix of main missions and optional challenges that can be quite difficult. While some players appreciate the inclusion of a "story mode" and the ability to engage in various missions, others find the narrative lacking depth and the progression challenging, even on easier settings. Overall, the experience is more focused on gameplay mechanics than a compelling storyline.
“It's more than just driving around; you can actually do missions and stuff with them too!”
“+ a fun new 'story mode'”
“The story/career mode is fun.”
“The singleplayer 'story progression' is pretty hard, even on easy; and the optional missions to increase your team truck stats are just insanely difficult.”
“The main missions are kind of repetitive and bland, but you drive big trucks, so it's still cool.”
“Sometimes you'll be racing in a realistic stadium, while other times you'll be driving up to a 10-story high fire hydrant or dog house to unlock new parts of the really off-putting hub world.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game excessively time-consuming, often requiring a significant investment of time to unlock content, particularly in championship modes. This repetitive gameplay leads to frustration and a loss of interest, especially when compounded by challenging AI opponents.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“And at this point in my life, I don't have time for games like this which require a lot of grinding just to unlock the cool stuff.”
“To unlock most of them you have to play the incredibly grindy championship mode which is just event after event.”
“The campaigns are way too grindy as well and I quickly lost interest.”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by amusing scenarios, such as fetching oversized bones in a dog truck and the contrast of epic orchestral music with chaotic gameplay. Players find it entertaining to imagine older adults frustrated by the game's departure from traditional truck simulators, and the occasional glitches and AI quirks add to the comedic experience.
“The dog truck ones were pretty funny because you would literally be fetching huge bones.”
“It's funny to me picturing older adults getting this game and getting angry that it's not their perfect truck simulator (besides, that other monster truck game that came out got bad reviews as well, despite being much more realistic).”
“The AI is a little wonky from time to time and I've had some hilarious stretching glitches with damaged body panels.”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from numerous bugs and visual glitches, leading to a generally unstable experience. While some players find the issues amusing, such as quirky AI behavior and stretching glitches, others report frustrating stutters and problematic vehicle interactions. Overall, stability is a significant concern for many users.
“The game is super buggy and jumpy.”
“I don't even care about the constant visual glitches or the stupidly hard-to-reach collectibles.”
“The AI is a little wonky from time to time, and I've had some hilarious stretching glitches with damaged body panels.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -150 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is considered lacking, with some users noting that while it runs reasonably well, it still falls short of expectations, leading to performance issues that can render the game unplayable.
“The game runs fairly well, but there is still room for improvement in the optimization department.”
“The game looks fun, but the performance issues have made it unplayable.”
“While the game runs fairly well, it leaves much to be desired in terms of optimization.”
“The optimization is lacking, leading to performance issues that detract from the overall experience.”
“I encountered frequent frame drops and stuttering, indicating that the optimization needs significant improvement.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviewers suggest that introducing distinct differences between trucks could enhance the game's replayability, making it feel less monotonous. Additionally, certain undisclosed elements significantly contribute to the game's replay value, encouraging players to return for more experiences.
“Even arbitrary differences between the trucks would make the game significantly more replayable and less mindless.”
“I will not mention them to avoid spoilers, but it really boosts the game's replayability.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the emotional impact of the game to be profound, with moments that evoke intense feelings, such as the overwhelming experience of a seemingly simple action leading to significant consequences.
“Touching a single pebble makes you crash and burn like nothing I've ever seen.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game is positively received, with players appreciating the variety of trucks available and the high level of detail, suggesting that the in-game purchases and advertisements accurately reflect the game's offerings.
Critic Reviews
Monster Jam Steel Titans 2 Review (PS4)
Monster Jam Steel Titans 2 is fun, at least for a couple of hours. After that, you will not be inclined to run the game again, because you will already have figured out everything it has to offer. It feels like even the developers designed the game as a temporary distraction, aware that the magic quickly fades out. It is only a small improvement compared to the first Monster Jam Steel Titans and even with a more modest price tag and online multiplayer, it is hard to recommend for someone. Monster Jam Steel Titans 2 is way too arcade for the fans of the sport and offers very little to anyone else.
60%Monster Jam Steel Titans 2 Review
Monster Jam Steel Titans 2 is an alright game, but lack of customisation options and a lot of repetitive animations, music and levels make it get boring very quick. It doesn’t make you want to come back for more.
60%Monster Jam Steel Titans 2 Review – Let the carnage begin!
Monster Jam Steel Titans 2 almost gets there but it’s just not consistently fun enough to warrant ongoing play. The open worlds are large and some of them are well designed, but there just isn’t really anything to do other than drive around. The races themselves are too much of a mixed bag, mixing some exciting races with other tracks that would better suit a Rally Car rather than a Monster Truck. The arena challenges are fun for a while but they become too repetitive to keep going back to.
50%