Monster Jam Showdown: PS5 Review

Developed by Milestone
Published by THQ Nordic
Platform: PS5

There's nothing more thrilling than firing up a big truck, revving it and then cutting loose across a dirt track without a care in the world for anything that lies in your way.

Monster Jam Showdown knows that vicarious thrill very well, and the latest from THQ Nordic does much to exploit that feeling to the max.

Exploiting the physics of the trucks themselves makes the game feel real for a simulator and as a result, the experience genuine. But the only real downside is just few modes are on offer once you've got the basics.

It's great that the twin sticks control the elements of the four wheel driving, allowing for movement both in the air and on the ground. There's a great deal of fun to be had in flipping them over like spoiled turtles and then watching them flounder.

But this also points to some of the minor issues with Monster Jam Showdown - it occasionally feels a little bit too shallow to be too fully engaging for long periods of time, leading more to a feeling that this is a disposable game to pick up and play.

Freestyle events offer the options to flip up and down in the air, and obviously drifting, flipping and other stunts give you points to try and win a competition. It's fun stuff if you're playing with younger members of the family, but for a game that offers so many different trucks, there's very little handling differentiation between them all.

Online multiplayer matches and single player Showdown matches add to the fun of the experience, but the hope remains that THQ Nordic will look to add more depth to this title.

It's one of the better of the genre, but without suitable investment, it may end up just withering on the gaming vine.