Hot Lap Racing
Hot Lap Racing
Game
Game2024
Monster Jam™ Showdown
Developer Milestone S.r.l.
Monster Jam Showdown is a 2024 racing video game developed and published by Milestone. It is the eleventh game in the Monster Jam series. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
175 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Mastodon, Bluesky) · newest Nov 5, 2026 · last updated Nov 5, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
70
Fresh
117 positive · 50 negative
95% range 63–76%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 117 | 50 | 0 |
| Mastodon * | 1 | 0 | 5 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 2 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
139 of 191 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
70% recommend · 116 yes, 50 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 166 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (178 of 242 positive).
Some players complain about the lack of free play, real stadiums, and online multiplayer population. [1][2][3]
Liked
Representative posts
- [2]
Not worth it. There's no free play and none of the actual stadiums and arenas. I was hoping to be able to do quick play like in steel titans 2, but this game only has the tour mode with none of the real world stadiums. There also isn't an open world mode either. If you want actual stadiums and arenas, and/ or open world play just buy steel titans 2.
- [16]
This game can be fun, until the god awful physics engine rears its ugly head and launches you into the stratosphere for absolutely no reason. The Alaska map is atrocious as you are the only truck who is driving on ice, the AI drivers are on literal rails and god forbid you touch one of them because you will be sent on a death spiral every single time. If this game had better physics even slightly more grounded in …
- [4]
Intro Finally, after years of bad monster truck games, Monster Jam Showdown changes this. While there are certainly some glaring issues, Milestone has done a good job with this game. Pros -Great graphical fidelity while still having good game performance. This is an Unreal Engine 5 game, so expect that will be heavy in some aspects. I found the Colorado environment hit the performance the hardest. -Interesting art …
- [13]
Disgustingly repetitive and mediocre. My kids love it. Please put me out of my misery. The Physics are floaty and weird. It feels like driving a balloon animal car. Trucks get stuck to each other constantly, you'll hit a rock and go flipping through the air. The most realistic thing is the wind shoving your truck around in the heavy rain races. Freestyle physics feel different than in races, still very floaty and …
- [6]
a Better Monster Jam Key features Arcade-ish driving, They improved physics (since Steel Titans), You can do Backflips! Just Better I played both MJ Steel Titans and both times I was loudly cursing its physics. It was bad. Stunts were pain to perform and racing was a massive struggle. Showdown somehow fixed that all. Trucks no longer soar on a flat surface. You can easily initiate a stunt and continue performing it. …
Summarised from 34 of the 180 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 11, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Monster Jam™ Showdown sits at 70% positive across 167 opinionated reactions from 3 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Critics, per Wikipedia
Monster Jam Showdown received "mixed or average" reviews from critics, according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. IGN called it "a great looking, family-friendly racer", though they said it could use more depth and variety. Push Square praised the gameplay and variety of trucks, but they said it was formulaic. GamingBolt said they "really wanted to love" Showdown, but they felt found the campaign "dreadfully underwhelming", disliked how similarly the trucks played, and found the music generic. They still enjoyed the driving physics, though.
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 175 · most liked firstIntro Finally, after years of bad monster truck games, Monster Jam Showdown changes this. While there are certainly some glaring issues, Milestone has done a good job with this game. Pros -Great graphical fidelity while still having good game performance. This is an Unreal Engine 5 game, so expect that will be heavy in some aspects. I found the Colorado environment hit the performance the hardest. -Interesting art style for the menus and HUD. -Excellent vehicle handling that makes you feel…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not worth it. There's no free play and none of the actual stadiums and arenas. I was hoping to be able to do quick play like in steel titans 2, but this game only has the tour mode with none of the real world stadiums. There also isn't an open world mode either. If you want actual stadiums and arenas, and/ or open world play just buy steel titans 2.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'll start with saying that I waited for a sale. My son absolutely lives for MJ and I knew this would blow his Crocs off. Some of the early reviews turned me off a little bit but don't listen to all of that. If you're going to take this game for anything more than just rippin' monster trucks and having fun, you might be taking it too seriously. Yes, certain things like Free ride or custom races would be sweet, but something tells me there won't be a ton of post launch production on this.. As I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Monster Jam Showdown is a high-adrenaline racing game and brings back the Monster Jam name since Monster Jam Steel Titans 2 since 2021, that time developed by Rainbow Studios. While this time it’s developer Milestone who has passed the baton on and gotten hold on the Monster Jam license. At the first impression, the game brings back the Monster Jam Path of Destruction feeling. But digging deeper under it’s skin is where you will find the game is not as flawless as it might seems to in the first…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A launch day review for any other parents with 2-3 year old toddlers who love Monster Trucks. Coming directly from Steel Titans 2 with it's quirks and features, here's a comparison. The Good + The reset truck button is fast. No more five second resets. + A big leap in graphics. 4K HDR is actually pretty stunning. 80+ FPS with a 3080 on High. + The mechanics are more forgiving to chain combos. + Racing is less "floor it all the time" and more responsive to throttle control and braking. +…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game can't compete with other Monster Jam games. Gameplay: The game has nothing to set it apart from other Monster Jam games. Nothing new, nothing different. The only little plus I can give it is in its accelerator management and overall behavior on the track. But when it comes to managing tricks or fun, or the show offered by the Monster Jam atmosphere, this one has nothing more to offer. For me, this game could have stayed in my library and even received a positive review, but I'm…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My first Monster Jam experience was a lot of fun! I don't know much about Monster trucks but it's fun with some great stages to freestyle and race. The trucks feel good to pick up and play, movement is responsive and the tricks aren't too hard to master, collision detection and A.I need a bit of work but overall a good arcade racing experience. I have a review if you would like to know more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IuQKUHdvMr4&t
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pure arcade trash. I really had hope. Some of this looked like it could have been a successor to the old Monster Truck Madness games. Instead, you get a game where your truck won't stay straight unless you turn on all the assists. A game where you start in the back of every race and if you even so much as touch another truck, you're glued to them for half a lap while they sit on their brakes, ensuring you continue to stay glued to them as long as possible. And can we talk about the crushed…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun game! However, I can never find anyone playing online so how do you expect us to complete the ONLINE CHALLENGES? Maybe the developers should consider removing those challenges from the game!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →No free-drive stadium mode. Sad
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nope, another game tied to Epic, that forces EOS. Feel free to use if you are OK with this, but this is the third game in two months I have refunded due to this nonsense. I guess I will have to start checking every new game I purchase, before purchasing, since Valve/Steam is refusing to look after their own members. However, that might be rather difficult, seeing as to how this game and the last one I refunded does not mention Epic anywhere in the page. Real shame too, because had Valve not…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Disgustingly repetitive and mediocre. My kids love it. Please put me out of my misery. The Physics are floaty and weird. It feels like driving a balloon animal car. Trucks get stuck to each other constantly, you'll hit a rock and go flipping through the air. The most realistic thing is the wind shoving your truck around in the heavy rain races. Freestyle physics feel different than in races, still very floaty and light though. Graphics are fine. the really cool thing is the shell deformation…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →not that bad of a game over all, tho if you want a newer monster jam game thats very good, get steel titans 2 i dont like how when doing skills they yank you into them, even if your not trying to do them they also made my boi Dragonoid ugly while in steel titans dragonoid looks amazing
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game can be fun, until the god awful physics engine rears its ugly head and launches you into the stratosphere for absolutely no reason. The Alaska map is atrocious as you are the only truck who is driving on ice, the AI drivers are on literal rails and god forbid you touch one of them because you will be sent on a death spiral every single time. If this game had better physics even slightly more grounded in reality it would be an amazing game. But unfortunately that is not the case. I was…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you played the Monster trucks on either Hot Wheels unleashed games, you can easily understand everything wrong with this game. ---The physics are frustratingly unrealistic. If you even TOUCH another player or wall your truck bounces off like a rubber bouncing ball. This is literally a cut and paste from the hot wheels unleashed monster truck games, and I cannot stand it! ---It's too easy to flip and spin your vehicle. I get it Freestyle is easier, but now it just seems completely…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game hits all of my driving game cravings simultaniously. Racing, drifting, stunts, and great track and vehicle variety. 8/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Monster Jam Letdown should be the name. Maybe they can fix it over time, probably not.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'd heard good things about this game, but after playing it, I'm not sure why. the controls are a pain, with constant sliding off the track even at low speeds, and the game resets your car and sets you back if you stray off the road for more than 2s (that's the literal countdown timer). definitely not what you want in a monster truck game. their HDR support is completely busted, it doesn't actually expand the HDR range, just blows out the highlights of the bright areas. plus, there's only 4…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's okay if you play it with/for a 5-year-old, but the criticism by people here (too arcade, absurd air control, repetitive, bad physics, annoying crash behaviour) all mostly true. But much of that was expected. More importantly, me and my son miss the open world from the previous title (Monster Jam Steel Titans 2) and free play. I hope they add open world back in the next title and patch free play into this. Though regarding free play: every race you have done stays available on the world…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →First and foremost, the reason I bought this game is because my son and I go to a lot of monster truck events...he absolutely LOVES monster trucks, and he LOVES watching me play this game (he's only 4, so he doesn't play it himself yet). I don't do a ton of gaming anymore, so Showdown is a good game to have around. The controls are simple and memorable, there is no story to try to keep track of if I don't play for a month, and it's just good, somewhat mindless entertainment. However, it is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →More arcade racer than a Monster Truck sim, which I suppose is to be expected for a Monster Jam game, but I'd personally a more realistic approach. Lots to unlock and do for an initial play-through at least, and even though the game modes aren't that unique, I am still enjoying going through it. I do not see much replay-ability if you're not into multiplayer however.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →So I will say this, it is very repetitive and it feels like a freemium game or one that relies on "seasons" to unlock stuff. It's a grind. HOWEVER, if you're really a fan of the IP Monster Jam, loves the trucks, can tolerate some goofy physics and just want to feel like a kid, it's worth a discounted price. I want the DLC and bonus stuff too, but I really don't know if I can justify spending more on this. Also multiplayer / split-screen is definitely fun for the absurdity of it all.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pros- New Monster Jam Game in 2024? Sweet! Cons- New Monster Jam Game in 2024. Not Nice. Trucks are so dam slidey idgaf if they're really that slidey in real life, i wish to be able to control the truck thanks. Announcer is so annoying, Music choice is also pretty dam annoying. 2-stick steering, never liked it, never will. If you have the balls for it, bring us Monster Jam Urban Assault HD. If you really want to try this game, wait for a sale. its not worth the $50 nor $70 for Big Air…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Got it on discount, after trying freestyle and racing I can say it's worth it at the discounted price. A good arcade racer for a person who enjoys monster jam.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Kind of fun to drive the trucks. Racing is a joke the ai just gets in your way and hits the brakes constantly.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →honestly good game with absolutely the worst execution. I can be flipping my brains out and still not score anything in this game. is honestly nuts that that's the case as well as when i even kind of land on the roof i cant use any of the momentum at hand to sing the truck back to the wheels its like roof +m finish run. that would make sense if damage went beyond cos.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Probably a fun game, but doesn't support PXN steering wheel
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →a Better Monster Jam Key features Arcade-ish driving, They improved physics (since Steel Titans), You can do Backflips! Just Better I played both MJ Steel Titans and both times I was loudly cursing its physics. It was bad. Stunts were pain to perform and racing was a massive struggle. Showdown somehow fixed that all. Trucks no longer soar on a flat surface. You can easily initiate a stunt and continue performing it. You can actually feel how you are getting better at it, and so it becomes…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game keeps crashing. I9 14900k with 4090. Stating I dont have enough video memory. Also cant figure out how to turn off auto steer during races. The free style aspect is fun. Also bought DLCs to have access to grace digger (My sons favorite truck) and it seems like i cant even use it. Very frustrating experience.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Just bought this at 20 bucks, highly disappointed in this game. The Steel Titans 2 is far better than this game. My big negatives are individual races don't feel that great, when you get behind another truck its like your stuck to their bumper and cant push or maneuver around them. When you do a stunt it feels like the computer is more in control than you ...almost like it automated. There is also no apparent Free Roam! *Edit, I went ahead for a refund, neither of my kids liked the new…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As a life-long Monster Jam fan and avid player of Monster Jam video games (and video games in general), I can this without a doubt that this is the best Monster Jam video game in recent years. There is so much to accomplish with winning every event, achieving all objectives, obtaining every truck/livery, among other things. Even with all the trucks/liveries in the base game alone, there are many more that have been released/are still to come through the game's post-launch updates, which is a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The OG price point blows, but I got it for 40% off and it's easily the best monster truck game since Monster Truck Madness.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →pretty much 10 times better than the last game, and pretty much the best game from from this genre. You won't find a better monster trucks game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →clip of wonkies https://medal.tv/games/requested/clips/izEfCHR8b3QDXo8KO/d13371fXVc0h?invite=cr-MSxKZ0QsMjM2NjI1MzY1LA the physics are very wonky lmao, they need to be worked on, i was literally slamming on my brakes to put the wheelie down and it just wouldnt. i like the graphics alot, but the physics are just... HUH?
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My son LOVES Monster Jam Steel Titans 2. Saw this on sale, grabbed it for him back in the holidays. Finally got around to giving it a try and I can say, it is an awful game. Handling, controls and physics are awful. This is a step backwards from the previous game. You are also perpetually stuck in the training ground tutorial with no instructions and you can’t actually progress into the actual game. We have attempted exiting out of the game multiple times. Trying to reset the game. To no…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game Crashed about 20 minutes in on my second race on a 9800X3D/5090 after being forced to deal with EAC, the EULA, troubleshooting getting my controller to work ( for those having issues it seems u may need to disable steam input then restart the game and use the controller before u click anything ), the game not having a borderless window mode ( has DLSS though ) and using Epic Games login for MP ( which isnt that much of a issue but it didnt seem clear if u had MP access without that…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →ugly smeary unreal engine crap with nonsensical physics - how did milestone make a game worse than the old monster jam games from the 2000s?
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game is an unplayable mess without a controller, though I highly doubt a controller would fix the acceleration and/or steering. Not to mention a specific lack of "free play with whatever truck you want" mode. I want a refund, or a partial!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Honestly I have a ton of fun playing this game. It can get a little repetitive with the freestyles & I absolutely would love more stadiums to play in, but other than that I’ve had an extremely fun experience playing this exclusively on my steam deck. It’s a great game to put on the dock, hook up 2 controllers & split screen with family. My son asks to play it with me almost every day when he gets home from school & is always asking his grandparents, siblings & aunties to play with him too.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →bought it to play with my son since it was on sale but controls are real rubbish with the sim wheels and borderline unplayable. wouldnt be as mad if it was cheaper but it is a monster jam game and kids love it but for gameplay it is frustrating as hell.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The audience for monster jam is primarily family and kids but the level of difficulty of this game makes it far cry from a kids game. Not sure who this game is for just seems like a port of another generic racing game with skins
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The gameplay loop is simple, do race, get rewards. It's fun for the first couple hours seeing the new content and events. Until you get to the harder difficulty (i noticed on legendary) the game forces you to do the same event over and over again in the same stadium. (I know the course changes slightly.) The physics are JANK, sometimes your truck will spin around uncontrolably and other times you can slam the brakes in a nose wheelie and just literally freeze in place, not roll forward like…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There is no option to change the difficulty in this game or restart the campaign from the beginning. I picked the easiest difficulty, and the monster truck was driving without any input from me—I only pressed the acceleration. Additionally, there seems to be some connection to Epic Games Store.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I got given this game as a gift from a friend. The only problem I faced was I cant access the first mission. I click enter over the button and it changes my resolution and bricks my pc.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A truly indifferent game! Graphics look both detailed and astonishing, without sacrificing too much game performance. The monster truck selection is diverse, whilst containing some paint schemes, or trucks from past Monster Jam events (Ex: Jurassic Attack's 2007 scheme) Game mechanics are easy to understand, while the gameplay itself is also easy to understand. Especially with driving assists that can be turned on or turn off (with the user's desired intensity) For a modern Monster Jam game,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →THIS IS MONSTER JAM!!!!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this game sucks the controls dont work
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →No decent ultra wide support. Textures are grainy at the best settings. OK at best but now worth even 50% of full price.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Doesn't run on steam deck, throws an anticheat error after the initial splash screen.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love Monster Jam and this game does not disappoint! The graphics are amazing, there's so much to do, and so many trucks and liveries to unlock!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Best graphic in any Monster Jam game. The game gets 144 fps consistently
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →mid as hell, the donut mechanic is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ stupid youll make a 90 degree corner and suddenly it throws you in a donut and you just spin with like 50gs of force and its so goofy how heavy it feels when youre driving the monster truck in a straight flat line but if you hit something youre like 5000 feet in the air and bouncing off ♥♥♥♥ like youre made of rubber
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →just a lot of ♥♥♥♥ needing fixed
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →why do we have multiple developers and publishers. I would LOVE to see just a normal monster jam game that we have to compete against AI or normal rivals to get to Vegas. Keep it just Freestyle and Stadium racing. Make it more real. The graphics are amazing, but the physics of the trucks suck. Monster Jam Steel Titans 2 physics where amazing with the suspension to the drifting (still wish in freestyle the tires came off and there was more cars ans rvs to crush) Just bring back the OG games…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Oh yeah, first Monster Jam game and it really hits. Gameplay variety is good, there's enough to keep me engaged. Driving requires you to steer both the front wheels and the back, requiring skill to get around the track quickly. Overall, solid game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm playing this game with my young son, he is a Monster Truck fan and we played Steel Titans 1 and 2 as well. Monster Jam Showdown is a good game but I feel they have to work on a few things here and there, especially controls and how trucks behave during a collision - so yeah well the physics in general. The trucks are more stable than in Steel Titans, which is good. No need to worry to tip over if you hit a little bump. The difficulty is a bit strange as well. We've set it to "easy" and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Monster Jam™ Showdown makes the childhood dream of many of us come true by finally being able to sit behind the wheel of the biggest icons of the sport, even if only virtually, but unfortunately, due to the few courses and even fewer options, the initial experience quickly turns into boredom.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Its like you're driving on ice and holy crap what are these physics cant even do a bicycle or hit a jump without flipping like crazy.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →the graphics are wonderful the only thing they should make better is that the suspension to the wheels can break.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a solid Monster Truck title, with a lot of very enjoyable events. The trucks can be challenging to drive, but once you get used to them, you can dominate. The trucks are well-modeled, graphics are excellent, sound is excellent, and the game runs very well on my mid-grade gaming PC. Working through the player progression is quite addictive, and you'll find yourself thinking, "Just one more race." Where it falls down would be the lack of a detailed cockpit model as found in Monster…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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