Customer Reviews (135)

fbkvsasvjookn be aacvn • 2025-03-16T04:14:13-07:00

It’s well designed, had a relatively simple yet in-depth card system, and is so very very addicting

mbuffington2841 • 2025-03-10T08:47:14-07:00

While I really enjoyed playing the different factions, combining different deck strategies, and the game design; on MULTIPLE OCCASIONS within 2 days the game would completely lose my save file. This makes the game unplayable since you cannot unlock other factions, new cards, and other game features since the game makes you start from the beginning. I am sure anyone could understand losing several days of play time, and until they address the bug I will not recommend this game. To reinforce my point, any google search on IOS game file and Monater Train will bring up many many times this is happening to the community over the past year!

FastSpeedCrazy • 2025-03-06T13:22:33-07:00

I knew this was a monster game says in its name, but didn’t realize you are fighting angels and heaven . If you love the devil you keep playing

Summary of Key Insights

Monster Train on iOS is generally well-received as a high-quality port of a popular deck-building roguelike game, often compared favorably to Slay the Spire. Users praise its addictive gameplay, strategic depth, replayability, and lack of pay-to-win mechanics. However, significant issues exist, primarily related to cloud save functionality, bugs affecting gameplay (e.g., targeting issues, unit ability malfunctions), and performance concerns on some devices. Many users desire feature parity with the PC version, such as viewing the deck during card selection and additional graphical options. The overall sentiment is positive, reflected in a high average rating, but the negative reviews highlight critical flaws that need addressing to maintain user satisfaction.

Quantitative Metrics:

  • Overall Rating: High (majority of reviews are 5-star)
  • Score Distribution:
    • 5 Stars: 71.1% (96/135)
    • 4 Stars: 14.1% (19/135)
    • 3 Stars: 5.9% (8/135)
    • 2 Stars: 3.0% (4/135)
    • 1 Star: 5.9% (8/135)
  • Overall Sentiment: Positive, with concerns about specific bugs and performance issues.

Key Strengths: Addictive gameplay, strategic depth, high replayability, no pay-to-win elements, faithful port of the PC version. Key Weaknesses: Cloud save issues causing data loss, bugs affecting gameplay (targeting, unit abilities), performance issues (frame rate drops, overheating), lack of feature parity with PC version (deck viewing during card selection), UI/UX issues on smaller screens.

Data & Methodology Overview

  • Data Sample Size: 135 reviews
  • Time Frame: Reviews span from the game's release on iOS to the present.
  • Analysis Methods:
    • Sentiment Analysis: Manual assessment of the overall tone (positive, negative, neutral) of each review.
    • Keyword Extraction: Identification of frequently occurring words and phrases related to user experiences, issues, and requests.
    • Thematic Analysis: Grouping of similar issues and suggestions into overarching themes.

Key User Pain Points

  • Cloud Save Issues/Data Loss: The most critical and frequently mentioned issue. Users report losing significant progress due to problems with iCloud synchronization, especially when playing on multiple devices. The game sometimes overwrites progress with older saves or starts from the beginning, causing immense frustration.
  • Gameplay Bugs: Several users report bugs that directly impact gameplay, such as:
    • Inability to target off-screen bosses with spells.
    • Unit special abilities not triggering correctly.
    • Apex Imp’s Armored skill not granting rage.
  • Performance Issues: Some users, particularly on older devices or when using the DLC, experience frame rate drops, slowdowns, overheating, and crashes, especially during intense battles.
  • Interruption Handling: The game often fails to save progress during a run when the app is interrupted (e.g., switching to another app, turning off the screen), forcing users to restart the battle.
  • UI/UX Issues:
    • Difficult card selection and accidental spell casting due to small card size and touch sensitivity.
    • Inconvenient swiping between floors.
    • Small screen size makes it hard to see everything when there are multiple units.
    • Cards being clipped or squished on iPads.
  • Artifact Descriptions Lacking Clarity: The effects of artifacts, particularly those gained from the frozen cavern, are sometimes unclear, leading to poor strategic decisions.

Frequently Requested Features

  • Deck Viewing During Card Selection: Many users want the ability to view their current deck while choosing new cards or units, mirroring functionality available in the PC version.
  • 60 FPS Option/More Graphical Options: Users desire a higher frame rate option for smoother gameplay and more granular control over graphics settings to improve performance and battery life.
  • Controller Support: Controller support, especially for iPad/MacBook, would improve the gaming experience for some users.
  • iPad-Specific Layout: Users suggest a more optimized layout for iPads, taking advantage of the larger screen size.
  • Confirm Buttons: Users suggest adding confirmation buttons for card selection and choices in random events.

Strengths and Positive Aspects

  • Addictive Gameplay: Users consistently describe the game as highly addictive and engaging.
  • Strategic Depth: The game offers a complex and rewarding strategic experience, with numerous card combinations and playstyles.
  • High Replayability: The variety of clans, champions, and cards, combined with the roguelike structure, provides excellent replayability.
  • Fair Monetization: Users appreciate the absence of pay-to-win mechanics and the value offered by the DLC.
  • Faithful Port: The iOS version is generally considered a faithful and well-executed port of the PC version.
  • Comparison to Slay the Spire: Many users compare Monster Train favorably to Slay the Spire, a highly regarded deck-building game.
  • Good Art and Music Production Great artwork and music production.

Prioritized Action Recommendations

High Priority:

  • Fix Cloud Save Issues: Address the data loss problems with iCloud synchronization immediately. Implement a robust cloud save system with clear conflict resolution mechanisms. Provide options for manual save/load.
  • Address Gameplay Bugs: Resolve the identified gameplay bugs, including targeting issues, unit ability malfunctions, and any other issues that directly impact the core gameplay experience.
  • Improve Interruption Handling: Implement a system to reliably save and restore the game state when the app is interrupted, preventing progress loss.

Medium Priority:

  • Implement Deck Viewing During Card Selection: Add the ability to view the current deck while choosing new cards, mirroring the PC version.
  • Add Graphical Options: Provide options for adjusting graphics settings, including a 60 FPS mode and the ability to disable animations to improve performance on lower-end devices.
  • UI/UX Improvements:
    • Optimize card selection to prevent accidental plays.
    • Improve the swiping mechanism between floors.
    • Optimize the card displays on iPads, so cards aren't clipped or squished.
  • Clarify Artifact Descriptions: Ensure that artifact descriptions are clear and comprehensive, providing all necessary information for informed decision-making.

Low Priority:

  • Controller Support: Consider adding controller support for iPad and MacBook, but prioritize other issues first.
  • iPad-Specific Layout: Explore opportunities for a more optimized layout on iPads, but only after addressing more critical issues.
  • Confirmation Buttons: Add confirmation buttons for card selection and choices in random events.

Opportunities for Startup Ideas

  • Cross-Platform Cloud Save Solution: A service that provides a reliable and user-friendly cloud save solution for mobile games, addressing the common problem of data loss and synchronization issues.
  • Mobile Game Optimization Toolkit: A toolkit for game developers that provides tools and best practices for optimizing mobile game performance, addressing issues such as frame rate drops, overheating, and battery drain.
  • Adaptive Mobile UI Framework: A UI framework that automatically adapts to different screen sizes and resolutions, ensuring a consistent and optimal user experience across a wide range of mobile devices.

Trends and Observations

  • Positive Sentiment: The overall sentiment towards Monster Train on iOS is positive, indicating that the game is generally well-received.
  • Critical Bugs Impacting Sentiment: However, the presence of critical bugs, particularly those related to data loss, significantly impacts user satisfaction and can lead to negative reviews.
  • Feature Parity Desired: Users expect feature parity with the PC version, indicating a need to prioritize features that are missing or implemented differently on iOS.
  • Performance Concerns: Performance issues are a recurring theme, suggesting a need for ongoing optimization to ensure a smooth and enjoyable experience on a variety of devices.

Conclusion

Monster Train on iOS is a successful port of a well-loved game, but critical issues related to cloud saves, gameplay bugs, and performance are detracting from the user experience. Addressing these issues should be the top priority for the development team. By resolving these problems and focusing on feature parity with the PC version, the developers can ensure that Monster Train on iOS remains a highly rated and enjoyable game for all players.

Overall Recommendation: Prioritize bug fixes and cloud save improvements.

Original App Link

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/monster-train/id1577392165?uo=2