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There are two major types of racing games, and that's well-known information: arcade racing games and simulations. Arcade racing games do not tend to be realistic and emphasise the fun factor above everything else, while simulations do exactly the opposite: realism above all else.
Monster Jam: Showdown is a unique racing game that tries to be both, at the same time, a simulation and funny arcade racing. If monster trucks are your cup of tea and you crave the game that simulates the feeling of driving those monstrosities, then there's probably no better game out there to scratch that itch than Monster Jam: Showdown.
Featuring tonnes of monster trucks you can drive throughout the locations scattered all over America, this game is really unique, but I cannot stress enough that it will probably be interesting only to the lovers of monster tracks because the game in general is nothing special. If you try to rate it as a regular racing game, it would probably get under the radar of many casual gamers.
As is the case with most of the racing games, Monster Jam: Showdown doesn't feature any kind of story, so that segment will be completely omitted, and that won't affect the overall rating of the game. With that being said, I will shift my attention to the most important part of the game, the gameplay.
In a nutshell, Monster Jam: Showdown is a racing game with all the features you can find in such games, all sorts of races like circuits, time attacks, eliminations, and more. Only in this game, as you can guess, instead of fast racing cars, you will drive monster trucks.
This game has two types of competitions: classic, above-mentioned races and stunts you pull within special arenas and stadiums with your trucks. These stunts have a different rating system than races, where being first is your main objective, and you do that, of course, by beating other racers.
During stunts, you earn points if you manage to pull something that will make the public cheer for you, like doughnut rolls, frontflips, backflips, two-wheel driving, and many more. Basically, everything that will make the public go crazy will get you more points.
At the beginning of the game, you can choose one of three available trucks, choose the region and select available races. Being the first will give you a gold medal, the second a silver, and the third a bronze. Each race can be replayed with a different truck and at a different difficulty, and doing all that will make you finish different challenges.
Those challenges are very important because, by doing them, you unlock new trucks, and new trucks mean more challenges to unlock more trucks, and it all seems like a neverending circle, but truly it isn't because you will be able to unlock 40 trucks by completing all challenges, and to be honest, it is far from an easy task.
However, unlocking all other trucks available is purely optional, and I cannot see anyone, apart from completionists, who is willing to put so much effort into doing all the tracks all over again only by driving a different truck and playing them on different difficulties, just to unlock all trucks; it is too much work for so little gain.
Speaking of repeating the same tracks and stages, you can come to the conclusion on your own that the game can be extremely repetitive and, dare I say, boring at times. And on top of that, the biggest problem isn't this kind of repetitiveness—it could be easily avoided by not repeating tracks if you don't want to. The biggest problem actually lies in the tracks themselves because once you enter an area or the stage, all the tracks are the same with only different weather conditions or some other visual designs.
For example, inside the Death Valley area, the first desert area of the game, you'll have several races to tackle, and all those stages are done on a single track, without a single change or a single addition to it. The only difference will be that some of those stages will be done during a sandstorm, while the others will be done during sunny weather.
The same situation is with stadiums, where you pull the stunts with your track. Every single one of them is just a copy of a previous one, and I must say that in this regard, there's a huge room for improvement.
The experience of driving these powerful machines is exceptional and deserves high praise. The support for the DualSense controller, complete with haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, adds a unique and immersive dimension to the driving. It's a job very well done, indeed.
However, even this, perhaps the strongest aspect of the gameplay, has its flaws, particularly in the driving physics of the trucks. It’s unclear if this was intentional, but it’s incredibly annoying. When you get close to another truck during a race, your wheels seem to stick to theirs, making it nearly impossible to break free. It feels like this part of the game was created without a solid understanding of the physics behind these massive wheels.
This might not seem like a significant issue when mentioned in a review, but believe me, this frustrating feature made me want to quit the game on several occasions. It’s incredibly exhausting and seriously disrupts the immersion of the game.
The other letdown is somewhat wanting an upgrade system in the game. Every truck can be upgraded, yes, but those upgrades are way too trivial. When you want to upgrade a truck, you just click on it and upgrade its level, spending one upgrade point you gain by levelling up. No part upgrades, no any kind of modifications, installing custom parts or such things.
Graphically speaking, Monster Jam: Showdown is an attractive game, but nothing we haven't seen already. It is well-known that the racing games look very good, especially when it comes to car models. The best examples are Forza and Gran Turismo's latest installments. The models of the monster tracks are very well-made and designed with lots of details.
The special commendations can go to the portrayal of weather conditions like sandstorms, rain or snow. Those graphical effects are beautiful and very lifelike. Every location in the game, from the deserts of Central America to the lush forest paths and the snowy northern landscapes, is visually stunning and highly appealing.
Just like the graphics, the sound design in the game is excellent, particularly the soundtrack. The rock and roll tracks in the background perfectly enhance the atmosphere, elevating the adrenaline level that's already through the roof.
The sounds of the roaring engines are impressively accurate, and when it comes to the audio aspect, the designers deserve full praise—there's really nothing to complain about. The only small issue with the audio presentation is the repetitive phrases from the announcer at the end of each race. While the delivery isn’t bad, hearing the same lines over and over can get a bit monotonous.
Conclusion
For fans of monster trucks, Monster Jam: Showdown might be a good choice, not because the game possesses some high qualities but rather for the theme itself. With the gameplay that can be quite repetitive and lacks creativity in design, the game can unfortunately lead to boredom rather quickly.
Some of the game mechanics can be so frustrating that you might find yourself wanting to quit—I know I did a few times. However, if you don’t mind repetitive gameplay, Monster Jam: Showdown can still offer some fun. With decent graphics and sound, it qualifies as a mediocre racing game, but unfortunately, not much more than that.
The Good
Detailed and visually appealing environments- Impressive weather effects
- Excellent sound design, including a rock and roll soundtrack and accurate engine sounds
The Bad
Frustrating driving physics- Highly repetitive gameplay and track design
- Lack of creativity in race and stunt design
- Tedious upgrade system with minimal customization options
