Summary
Developer – Milestone
Publisher – PLAION
Platforms – Xbox Series X|S (Reviewed), Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch and PC
Review copy given by Publisher
Monster Jam, the live motorsport event tour by Field Entertainment, has returned to video games with Monster Jam Showdown. The newest game from Milestone is built in Unreal Engine 5 and features an engaging multiplayer experience and a single-player showdown tour.
As someone who grew up being a fan of Monster Jam this game is almost everything I wanted when I was a kid. Monster Jam Showdown comes with immediate arcade gameplay that gives the real feel of driving a 1500hp beast of a monster truck. Each truck in the game comes with unique skills that are useful during specific events.
Monster Jam Showdown caters to the players who don’t aim to be the best driver as you get rewarded for destruction and creating chaos through a race or freestyle event. During a race you’ll earn points just for driving the destructible object and of course, if you land a big jump or drift through turns.
The gameplay of this title is very simple and operates like almost any racing game. However, you’ll have to be smart when taking turns or going through certain obstacles as these are monster trucks after all. A turn at full speed could result in significant damage to other trucks or, worse, your truck, causing you to respawn and fall behind in the race.
Controlling your truck by doing jumps and different tricks is all smooth, but it’s when you do a race where some of the controls feel clunky. You might find yourself getting frustrated by messing up a few turns while racing against other beasts. After all, monster trucks weren’t meant for racing.
One of the biggest features of Monster Jam Showdown is the different environments. You will go from racing in snowy Alaska to Death Valley then to Colorado. Visually, Monster Jam Showdown is impressive and you can see how beneficial Unreal Engine 5 has been for this game.
Monster Jam Showdown comes with a lot of settings to help your experience. You can have Steering Aid on if you are having trouble taking turns, Auto Brake, Accelerator Aid, Assisted Rear Steering, Drifting aid, Flying Alignment, and more. For someone who isn’t the best at racing games, this has been very helpful in my experience.
As someone who was a big fan of Monster Jam, this game features 66 different iconic trucks including Grave Digger, Max-D Maximum Destruction, Megalodon, El Toro Loco, Zombie, and Monster Mutt. There is a ton of replayability when it comes to this title as you’ll have to unlock all of these trucks and the 140+ liveries offered.
There is no lack of Game Modes either. There are 10 Game Modes offered in the game such as Head-To-Head, Freestyle, Circuit Racing, Best Trick, Figure 8 Racing, Survivor, Horde, Treasure Hunting, and more.
In Freestyle you’ll find yourself in familiar-looking stadiums as you’ve seen on TV – Baseball Stadium, Speedway, and American Football Field.
The level system rewards players for the grind as you’ll unlock trucks and other cosmetic items that way through the Showdown Tour. There is also a level system in the Multiplayer that Monster Jam Showdown offers. Some of the great features of the game’s multiplayer include Cross-Play, Cross-Platform private parties, Leaderboards, and profile customization. There’s also split-screen which is a rare sight in games these days.
The audio in Monster Jam Showdown can become repetitive with the constant announcer’s voices and the sound of the trucks. Luckily there are settings where you can adjust the audio to only hear certain aspects of the video game which is always beneficial to have.
Overall, Monster Jam Showdown is a much-needed game for the sport, fulfilling the cravings of its fans. It will keep you occupied for hours as you strive to achieve the highest score in freestyle and unlock every possible Monster Truck.
