Reviews Monster Jam Showdown – Impressions

Monster Truck games have always been a bit of a mixed bag. In many ways they share a lot in common with the biking genre. A type of vehicle that requires a certain perspective to fully translate into a video game form, and whatever the direction, the outcome will never please everyone. Despite this, there is always a certain amount of excitement when a new release arrives, perhaps this time a games company will get the formula right and truly capture that big monster truck magic.

On first seeing the announcement trailer I was impressed, the graphics looked great, lots of detail and particle effects. While the trucks bouncing around showcased the excellent work done on the physics, and seeing potentially fun tracks to drive, this was all shaping up to be a break from the norm, a step forward for the genre.

Fast forward to my first hands-on, about 2 weeks after the games release and a wave of disappointment quickly washed across me. Following the introduction sequence, I attach my wheel and no joy. Going back to the controller, and it is clear to see shy, the rear wheel steering. Yet as a game, the wheel should always be an option, either lock the differential in some way or give an option to assign rear steering to either a gear stick or dual use with the controller. Either way, this was the first failing. So, now playing with the controller, the tutorial gives a solid idea on how to control your truck, as tutorials go, it was basic to say the least.

I’ve gone through the tutorial, and something just wasn’t grabbing me. Be it the understeer of the trucks. The lack of engine revving and atmosphere before a race start, the generic course design, the sticking to other vehicles, the trouble overtaking, the cumbersome nature of the thing, or just the general lack of feeling from the racing, like nothing really mattered.

I went through race after race, unlocking various vehicles and new tracks. All beautifully designed with quality, highly polished menus. Yet, these menu’s wouldn’t have looked out of place in Dirt 5, or Forza Horizon 5. It all starts to look the same, like a blur. While the courses all started to quickly feel repetitive, just a gaming grind to do the next thing. As the hours passed and I unlocked the desert, forest and show sections, the circuits lost their appeal more and more. Each biome using the same figure of 8 circuit style, it all felt like I has been here before. The various environments didn’t even offer a great deal in handling differences.

Along with the races, a key part of Monster Truck gaming will be the arena challenges. But again these felt rather dull. The stadiums lacked any atmosphere and by this point I was severely losing interest. For all of it’s polished beauty, it really wasn’t a terribly enjoyable game. Searching through the menu’s I looked for other aspects that could catch my interest. The photo mode was nice. But that was about it, multiplayer was dead, so I couldn’t test that. It felt like more of a blessing on this game, I was done.

I just couldn’t waste any more of my time on this. There is so much potential here, but generic game design just kill any enjoyment, There is no discovery here, no magic in terms of design or understanding of the elements that truly make a Monster Truck game special.

If you like Monster Truck games, then Monster Truck Showdown is worth a look, but for all of those wanting a quality off road experience, I would look elsewhere.