If you’re a fan of Monster Truck video games then there hasn’t been a lot of choice for you on consoles. Last year I reviewed Monster Jam: Steel Titans and wasn’t very impressed with it. This year, developer Teyon has decided to take their own stab at it with their new release Monster Truck Championship. Is this actually a good Monster Truck game finally?
Upon starting up the game I headed for the tutorial to get my bearings for how this game controls. I didn’t find it to feel a lot different from Monster Jam but it will take some getting used to for some players. Every truck has a weighty, realistic feel to it and it can be easy to find yourself flipping over if you aren’t careful. The triggers handle your gas and brake while the left and right sticks handle the front and back wheels. Once I felt comfortable with the controls, I jumped right into the career mode which is where you’ll likely spend most of your time in this game.
The career mode features three different leagues to play through each of which is made up of a number of events. These events can consist of straight on races, destruction events where you try to smash as much stuff as you can, events that focus on performing tricks, and more. There is a decent enough variety that I never found myself growing bored of doing the same type of event over and over. I did find some of them a bit annoying though but only because of the controls. The stunt and destruction events are when I would most frequently find myself flipping over. Over time I managed to have it happen less but I do think some tuning to the controls could help it feel less frustrating overall.
As you complete events you’ll be earning money that you can use to buy new parts to make your monster truck better. There is plenty here to toy around with like new suspensions, exhausts, and more. There is also a lot of customization options when it comes to the look of your truck like the color, paint, pattern, and more so you should be able to find something that is enjoyable to look at while racing. Money can also be spent on hiring specialized people to join your crew and they serve to provide stat bonuses to your truck, your wallet, and more. Another element of the career mode is the sponsorships that you can take part in. These task you with completing certain objectives in races and reward you with a good amount of cash if you can do as they ask. Some of the objectives are easy while others are a bit trickier to complete. Honestly though I didn’t find the sponsorships to be that necessary as I wasn’t struggling to earn money while playing through the career.
Outside of the career mode which will last you quite a few hours there isn’t much else to do in the game. You can do some quick races and the game does have online multiplayer support for up to eight players. Sadly, the online options are kind of lacking as you just go into a lobby and play standard races and drag races. It would’ve been nice to be able to play the destruction and stunt rounds against others online as well. Visually the game looks fine but not great. There are 25 arenas in the game set in cities like Orlando, Las Vegas, and others but we’ve seen much more impressive looking racing games. I on the audio side of things I thought the sound of the trucks sounded good but the commentary and soundtrack was forgettable.
For Teyon’s first try at it I think they did good with Monster Truck Championship. While the controls definitely take some practice the trucks control probably how they should. The game’s career mode will last you awhile and does a good job of keeping itself varied so that you don’t get tired of doing the same thing over and over. The online options are lacking though so I wouldn’t recommend getting this if that’s what you’re looking for. I think this is better than some of the recent Monster Jam games so if those disappointed you give Monster Truck Championship a shot.
*Monster Truck Championship is available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Reviewed on a PS4 Pro. Review copy provided by the publisher for this review.
Monster Truck Championship
$39.99
Pros
- Career mode has enough variety to keep you interested
- Lots of ways to customize your trucks
- Trucks handle mostly how you would expect them to
- Audio from the trucks sounds good
Cons
- Lacks online features
- Not impressive visually
- Controls take practice and can be frustrating in certain events
