Back in 2019, Rainbow Studios and THQ Studios released their title Monster Jam Steel Titans and it was a decent title with some issues that needed some more work. Fast forwarded to 2021 and Rainbow Studios is back with Monster Jam Steel Titans 2 which is the second title in the franchise and comes packed with plenty of new features, additions, and improvements over the first title. It sticks true to the core of the franchise however it builds and expands over everything. This is our review of Monster Jam Steel Titans 2 on PC in which we crush some cars and jump over some buses.
Monster Jam Steel Titans 2 is an arcade monster truck racing game. This is not a simulation like the previously released Monster Truck Challenge so both titles fall in a different category. In Monster Jam Steel Titans, you now have five huge environments to roam around for your free roam sessions unlike the single one in the first game. Each environment here is unique and themed around a certain element. Each location has its own collectibles, secrets, and unlockables that expand your experience way past the normal racing and stunt events. There is no strictness on how you have to play the game. After the intro and tutorials, you can free to play the game however you want.
The game has a Main Career where you can compete in different series in chapters and unlock special new monster trucks. Each of these chapters contains a series of events and at the end of the series, the one with the highest score wins. These events range from different showcases ranging from stunt events to racing events. You have sprint races, circuit races, head-to-head races, and plenty of stunt modes including Two-Wheel Stunts, Timed Destruction, Freestyle, and much more. Each series is loaded with these events randomly mixed with each other so each series will offer you both racing and stunts, keeping a balance between both.
You will mostly spend your time in the game while completing these story chapters or exploring the maps for collectibles and challenges. Each location unlocks a team of Monster Trucks for you to drive in the game. However not all monster trucks are tied to the main story. Some of the trucks can only be unlocked by completing these map challenges such as the new Creatures category of monster trucks which are designed after different animals found in the world. There are plenty of fan-favorites trucks in the game such as Grave Digger, Soldier Fortune, Monster Mutt, Ice Cream Man, El Toro Loco, and plenty of variations of these trucks as well. There are some non-licensed trucks in the game as well which are really crazy to look at.
The trucks are detailed pretty well from the top, down to the tire treads. While the damage is still limited to just body panels breaking down and falling off the truck, there is no way to terminally damage the trucks in the game. Some of the tracks in the game are absolute choke points where half players will be coming right at you from the front but even top speed head-on collisions do not break the trucks much. All you will see are some broken truck panels on the ground. Most of the environmental items can be broken as well including trees however some of them will stop your gigantic truck like it’s a fly going up against an elephant.
The controls are much better than before however, they could have been even better. Using a controller, you control the front tires with the left stick and the rear tires with the right stick. Because of this, you cannot move the camera around to look around you since both the sticks on the controller are being used for steering. Each truck has two gears with the second gear pushing the top speed depending on the specs of your truck Each truck has its own unique stats and the more you use a truck, the more it levels up and becomes better at performance. These upgrades are vital for later events including the World Series which is the ultimate test of your performance.
One of the things that I noticed while playing the game was the off-road limitations which are extremely absurd at this point. There were many instances where I would be taking a turn drifting and I will go a little off-road with my truck still sliding and before I would come back to the track, the game would just reset my truck back on the road at zero speed. The respawn limits are a little too harsh considering the fact that the game is about monster trucks that take a lot of space and in tight spaces and corners, it is not possible for all trucks to turn at the same time, and sometimes you have to go a little off while trying to keep that first position away from the opposition. The AI has improved a lot since the first game but I still think that it needs more tweaking since it still plays really safe and does not take any risks going off the tracks even in point-to-point races.
Apart from the single-player modes, you can also play the game in local co-op in splitscreen action or go online to try out various game modes in both public and private rooms. The online aspect of the game follows the same criteria of the singleplayer campaign however you have the option of setting custom events and even have freeroam sessions with your friends or random online players from around the world as you roam around, having fun in your monster truck without any sort of competition. The local splitscreen splits the screens into halves and you can enjoy with your friends and family on the same screen. For sharing the action with the world, you can enter the Photo Mode and take some pictures and share them with the world.
Coming to the gameplay of the monster trucks, normally, the trucks drive just fine. The twin-stick steering takes some time for getting comfortable since you do not always use them and only use them in strategic positions to ensure that you are not losing too much speed, especially in tight corners. For racing, sometimes high-speed truck controlling can be a little difficult as the trucks tend to roll over easily over jumps. You have to watch out for these unexpected jumps as one jump can easily overturn your truck and ruin your race. In addition, the stunts are not that varied in the game as pulling a wheelie and stoppie is really hard. The tires just do not lift up as easily as you would normally expect them to lift while driving a monster truck even on jumps. The stunts could do with a few adjustments to make them more accessible for all players.
Technically, the game is a lot better this around. While the visuals are not very demanding so it an easy run on a fairly dated system as well. The game looks brilliant during indoor events however when you come out and are exploring in the daytime, the visuals somewhat still look dated for a modern title. Compared to other arcade racing games, I will say that Monster Jam Steel Titans 2 lacks when it comes to visuals and special effects. While a lot better and crisper than the first time, it is still lacking and looks old-gen especially on bigger screens. The gameplay has been improved as well and the monster trucks feel a lot more solid and heavier this time around just like they should.
In direct comparison with the first title in the series, I am extremely happy with the amount of progress I have seen in Monster Jam Steel Titans 2. I could not find a single aspect of the title which has not been worked on to make it better. THQ Nordic has taken the formula, if its not broken, don’t fix it. This is perhaps the main reason why some things have not been changed in the second title as the developer has spent time on making the other things better in the game as well. It is a much more refined experience this time around and much more enjoyable as well. Even if the visuals are not up-to-mark with modern video games, they are still an improvement over the first title and the developer seems to be going in the right direction with the franchise. All this aside, the developer not adding an action replay cam is still a big disappointment for me.
Final Verdict:
Monster Jam Steel Titans 2 is a massive improvement over the first title in the franchise however there is still room for improvement. Some of the fan-requested features have found their way inside the game which is a good thing. The developer has improved in nearly all aspects of the title be that visuals, gameplay, AI, level design, and overall handling of the trucks, and ever since I received the review code, I have spent a lot of hours in the game and I loved playing it. However, in some departments, the game is still lacking and is far from the perfect Monster Truck arcade racing title. It offers a lot of fun and content to the fans of the franchise as it is however visually, the game could have been a lot better and is probably the biggest let down for me as well. Still, it plays great and the monster trucks in the game are amazing. If you are a fan of monster trucks and arcade racing games, then Monster Jam Steel Titans 2 is highly recommended for you.
Final Score: 8.0/10
