{"id":169,"date":"2026-04-09T15:39:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T15:39:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/5faa325fe4b082e810c709eb"},"modified":"2026-04-09T15:39:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T15:39:12","slug":"monster-truck-championship-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcader.org\/news\/monster-truck-championship-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Monster Truck Championship Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s an endearing earnestness to the world of monster trucks that has the capacity to turn any onlooker into a chuckling, five-year-old child. A purity of purpose, perhaps \u2013 if that\u2019s not too weird of a phrase to apply to five-ton, 1500-horsepower, methanol-fuelled rigs that are regularly shaped like cartoon dogs and sharks. Giant, impractical, single-seaters exclusively designed to jump around, squish stuff, and\u2026 make people smile. It\u2019s the motorsport equivalent of a kaiju movie.Monster Truck Championship<\/a> does a decent job of capturing this world \u2013 or, at least, an unlicensed, off-brand facsimile of it. The graphics are pretty rough at times and it\u2019s lean on content, but Monster Truck Championship successfully fuses the over-the-top madness of monster trucks with an accessible, simulation-style approach that makes both the driving experience and pulling off wild stunts quite satisfying.<\/output>The first and most crucial piece of the puzzle in any racing game is the handling, and the good news is that it\u2019s actually really good here. Teyon \u2013 the Polish team behind 2019\u2019s Terminator: Resistance and 2014\u2019s Rambo: The Video Game \u2013 has done well despite a distinct lack of racing games in its back catalogue. The trucks have an excellent sense of bulk, particularly as they squat back on three wheels during drifts, or slap off the ground after landing from huge air.<\/p>\n

The trucks have an excellent sense of bulk, particularly as they squat back on three wheels during drifts.<\/p>\n
\n

\u201c<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The independent rear-wheel steering \u2013 controlled by the right stick \u2013 also adds a whole new dimension to the driving, and it\u2019s essential to master it. It\u2019s not just crucial to get your immense truck to make tight turns and perform aggressive donuts, it\u2019s equally handy as a way to reduce the angle of a sketchy drift, or hastily correct a bad landing. The fact that these vehicles are so unlike the light, low, and nimble racing cars that star in most other motorsport sims makes for a fun and interesting change of pace.<\/p>\n

If you miss this you\u2019d better be dead, or in jail<\/h2>\n

If Monster Truck Championship resembles any other contemporary racing game, it\u2019d be Wreckfest \u2013 although not simply because destruction derbies and monster truck rallies share the same sort of spiritual link with Anytown, USA. It\u2019s actually more superficial than that; in fact, scrolling through the menus I\u2019d forgive you for assuming the two games shared a publisher. But they don\u2019t and, as such, the general presentation is a little too derivative.<\/output>Progression is pretty plain, as well. Monster Truck Championship spreads its action across three championship tiers, each featuring 10 main events. Unfortunately, there\u2019s not really any difference in the pomp and pageantry associated with any of the leagues; it\u2019s all packed crowds, fireworks, and major stadiums from your debut event. Running events in the \u201cMajor League\u201d doesn\u2019t really feel any different from your initial events in the ostensibly entry-level \u201cNational League\u201d, especially when you\u2019re returning to the same cities and competing on the same courses. The atmosphere of these major stadium spectaculars may have been more impressive if I\u2019d started my career wowing more modest crowds in small-town showgrounds or local fairs. As it stands, it\u2019s all a bit one-note.<\/p>\n

And if you\u2019re in jail, break out<\/h2>\n

Monster Truck Championship features two types of racing \u2013 conventional circuit racing, and drag racing. The racing is fine but it gets a little clumsy when the trucks are too close to each other and a little boring when they\u2019re too spread out. It\u2019s also hampered by utterly broken timing; it\u2019s never clear how far in front you are because the times fluctuate seemingly at random. The drag racing is probably my pick here. They\u2019re not simple, straight-line dashes; rather, they\u2019re tricky and technical 10-to 15-second sprints against an opponent tackling a separate albeit mirrored version of the same course. Drag racing rewards quick reaction times and skilful truck control and I found it quite addictive.<\/p>\n

The other events are destruction, which is pretty self-explanatory, and freestyle, which is classic, stunt-centric monster truck mayhem and the highlight of the game for me. This is where Monster Truck Championship becomes Tony Hawk\u2019s Pro Skater in a truck, and the amount of different stunts and combos you can execute is surprisingly robust. Somersaults, backflips, wheelies \u2013 all kinds of wild stunts are accommodated by the physics here.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a surprising amount of scenery pop-in on the race tracks and the dirt and dust effects aren\u2019t going to knock any socks off in 2020.<\/p>\n
\n

\u201c<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Just know that it\u2019s not especially pretty \u2013 there\u2019s a surprising amount of scenery pop-in on the race tracks and the dirt and dust effects aren\u2019t going to knock any socks off in 2020. Truck detail is largely fine, although the entirely static flags are a dud inclusion \u2013 they look quite awful frozen rigid as your truck blazes around the arenas. There\u2019s a decent array of truck bodies but only really a handful of pre-set monikers and themes, which is a shame considering there\u2019s no editor to give your truck a custom name.<\/p>\n

\n

The Greatest Racing Games Ever<\/p>\n