The PlayStation Plus monthly games for November 2026 are here: Dead Island 2, Tomb Raider 4–6 Remastered, and Monster Train 2 are all available to claim from Tuesday, November 3 through Monday, November 30. And while games like Dead Island 2 or the Tomb Raider trilogy may seem the obvious headliners, that couldn’t be more wrong, at least for fans of Slay the Spire, Balatro, and the deckbuilding roguelike genre at large. For those gamers, Monster Train 2 is the PS5-only pick that absolutely deserves the top spot in the download queue.
Especially since Slay the Spire 2 has only been in Steam Early Access since March 5, 2026; console versions seemingly won’t arrive until the game reaches its full 1.0 release, which still doesn’t have a date. That said, Monster Train 2 is about as strong a pick as the genre offers in the meantime, carrying an overwhelmingly positive user rating on Steam well over a year after its launch. What makes it worth the time, though, is how it reshapes the deck-built battlefield itself, spreading every fight across a train with three floors to defend at once.
Why Monster Train 2’s Floor Plans Change the Deckbuilding Game
At its core, Monster Train 2 will feel familiar to anyone who has put in time with Slay the Spire—players drawing a hand each turn, spending a limited pool of energy on unit and spell cards, and drafting new cards between battles to shape their deck. The twist is where those units go, as players have three vertically stacked levels to defend, with the Pyre, the burning heart of the train, sitting on the top floor while enemies board from the bottom. Once a turn ends, each floor resolves its own fight automatically, and any enemies left standing climb one level closer to the Pyre, with the run ending if its health ever hits zero.
Guess the games from the emojis.
Monster Train 2 Key Features
- Three-Floor Defense: Units hold three floors of the train against enemies climbing toward the Pyre at the top; if the Pyre falls, the run ends.
- Clan Pairings: Every run combines a primary clan with an allied clan, mixing both card pools into one deck.
- Room and Equipment Cards: Room Cards upgrade the train itself, while Equipment Cards attach bonuses directly to units.
- Pyre Hearts: Unlockable Pyre Hearts change how a run plays.
- Endless Mode: Runs scale in difficulty for as long as players can survive, with stats to compare against friends.
- Daily and Dimensional Challenges: Daily runs add mutators and global leaderboards, while Dimensional Challenges offer handcrafted twists and cosmetic rewards.
The extra layer of strategy in Monster Train 2 is one most deckbuilders never account for, since every round carries the secondary decision of which floor gets which card placement. Pouring everything into a single floor might look efficient, but some enemies and bosses can move between levels, and certain foes deal damage straight to the Pyre if they find a floor with no defenders. The result is a turn-by-turn triage puzzle that borrows as much from tower defense as it does from Slay the Spire, where even a perfect hand means little if it ends up on the wrong floor.
The extra layer of strategy in Monster Train 2 is one most deckbuilders never account for, since every round carries the secondary decision of which floor gets which card placement.
Balatro fans, meanwhile, will find engine-building to have plenty of the same magic that makes a great run snowball into something ridiculous, starting with the way each run pairs a primary clan with an allied clan and mixes both card pools into a single deck. The game originally launched with five clans, each with its own strengths and playstyle, but developer Shiny Shoe has since added the Wurmkin Clan as a free update. Layered on top of that are new Room Cards that boost the train itself and Equipment Cards that attach bonuses directly to units, giving players even more levers to pull when chasing a broken build.
The reception the game has received so far speaks for itself, too: Monster Train 2 holds an Overwhelmingly Positive rating on Steam, with 95% of English-language user reviews landing positive, alongside an 87 on Metacritic. Shiny Shoe has also kept the content coming since the game’s May 2025 launch, with the paid Destiny of the Railforged expansion adding another clan and a brand-new game mode back in February. The next helping is right around the corner, as The Punished DLC arrives on PS5 on November 10 for $7.99, landing one week into the PS Plus claim window for players who want even more after the base game.
The PS Plus Deckbuilder Worth Claiming First
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Image via Shiny Shoe, Josh Drechsler -
Image via Shiny Shoe, Josh Drechsler -
Image via Shiny Shoe, Josh Drechsler
Until Slay the Spire 2 makes the jump to PS5, it’s hard to think of a better way for console players to get their deckbuilding fix than Monster Train 2, especially as PS Plus removes the last bit of friction from giving it a shot. The three-floor defense rewards the careful, turn-by-turn planning Slay the Spire does, while clan pairings, upgrades, and Equipment Cards feed the same scaling high Balatro players are always on the lookout for. The only real cost involved is remembering to claim it before November 30.
That said, the rest of November’s PS Plus lineup is worth a look as well, as Dead Island 2 offers a pulpy, gore-soaked tour of a zombie-infested Los Angeles, complete with a very solid online co-op for up to three players. Tomb Raider 4–6 Remastered collects The Last Revelation, Chronicles, and The Angel of Darkness, lets players swap between the original polygonal models and remastered visuals, and completes the set for members who claimed Tomb Raider 1–3 Remastered back in April. Yet, for anyone who has worn out their Slay the Spire saves or played Balatro one hand too many, though, Monster Train 2 is undoubtedly the one to snag first.
- Released
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May 21, 2025
- Developer(s)
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Shiny Shoe
- Publisher(s)
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Big Fan Games
- Franchise
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Monster Train
- PC Release Date
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May 21, 2025
