GamingPickz
Game vs game · side by side

Across the Obelisk vs Monster Train

Across the Obelisk is a roguelike RPG game from Dreamsite Games (2022) while Monster Train is a roguelike RPG game from Shiny Shoe (2020).

Across the Obelisk

2022 · Dreamsite Games

6.9GamingPickz Score

$19.99

Steam: Very Positive

Monster Train

2020 · Shiny Shoe

8.2GamingPickz Score

$24.99

Steam: Overwhelmingly Positive

What each one is

Steam files Across the Obelisk under Roguelike and RPG. In contrast, it files Monster Train under Roguelike and RPG.

Across the Obelisk

Set forth in a co-op roguelite deckbuilder where every choice matters! Craft decks of breathtaking power. Journey alone or with up to three friends. Plot your party’s path to glory and face powerful enemies in deep tactical combat on your quest to save the kingdom of Senenthia in Across the Obelisk!

Description from its Steam store page

Monster Train

Monster Train is a strategic roguelike deck building game with a twist. Set on a train to hell, you’ll use tactical decision making to defend multiple vertical battlegrounds. With real time competitive multiplayer and endless replayability, Monster Train is always on time.

Description from its Steam store page

At a glance

Across the ObeliskMonster Train
GamingPickz Score6.9/108.2/10
Steam ratingVery Positive (80%, 13,086)Overwhelmingly Positive (96%, 22,925)
Critic aggregateNo aggregate86/100
Price$19.99$24.99
Install size1 GB2 GB
Steam Deckplayableplayable
Released20222020
DeveloperDreamsite GamesShiny Shoe

Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.

Across the Obelisk vs Monster Train, point by point

Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.

  1. Genre and premise

    Across the ObeliskRoguelike RPG game
    Monster TrainRoguelike RPG game

    What each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.

  2. How it plays

    Across the ObeliskRogue-like, Strategy, 2D
    Monster TrainCard Battler, Rogue-lite, Card Game

    The tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.

  3. Reception

    Across the ObeliskScore 6.9 · 80% on Steam
    Monster TrainScore 8.2 · 96% on Steam · 86 critic

    The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.

  4. Content and scale

    Across the Obelisk13,086 reviews · 15 add-ons · 1 GB
    Monster Train22,925 reviews · 2 add-ons · 2 GB

    Reach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.

  5. Price

    Across the Obelisk$19.99
    Monster Train$24.99

    Read live from Steam and subject to change.

  6. On a Steam Deck

    Across the ObeliskPlayable
    Monster TrainPlayable

    Valve's own Deck compatibility rating.

Across the rounds a number can settle, it is level at 1 each. Which one is "better" is the part no figure decides, so we leave it to what you want from the two.

The two on the grid

Compare the whole catalogue

Across the Obelisk and Monster Train on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.

2 games have both

01000100PlayersPopularity

Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.

Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.

  • PC

Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.

See the whole grid

How positions are decided

No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
  • Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
  • Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
  • No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
  • A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
  • Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.

Which to pick, by what you want

  • The higher-rated of the two: Monster Train (GamingPickz Score 8.2)
  • The cheaper right now: Across the Obelisk ($19.99)
  • Lighter on storage: Across the Obelisk (1 GB)

What they have in common

Both are tagged by Steam players with:

Rogue-likeStrategyFantasyRoguelike DeckbuilderCard GameRPGCard BattlerDeckbuilding

Where they differ

Across the Obelisk is also

2DSingleplayerMultiplayerCo-opTurn-BasedDungeon Crawler

Monster Train is also

Turn-Based TacticsTurn-Based StrategyPvPChoices MatterProcedural GenerationColorful

Tags players apply to one game and not the other.

Difficulty and who each is for

By the tags players apply, Across the Obelisk is demanding, for players who want a challenge. Monster Train is demanding, for players who want a challenge.

Accessibility features

Steam store pages declare 0 accessibility features for Across the Obelisk and 1 for Monster Train. A declaration is a floor, not a review.

If you like one, also try

Common questions

How different are Across the Obelisk and Monster Train in scope?

Across the Obelisk has drawn 13,086 Steam reviews, ships 15 add-ons and installs in 1 GB. Monster Train has drawn 22,925 Steam reviews, ships 2 add-ons and installs in 2 GB.

Is Across the Obelisk or Monster Train better?

By the GamingPickz Score, Monster Train rates higher (8.2 to 6.9). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.

Which is cheaper, Across the Obelisk or Monster Train?

Across the Obelisk is cheaper right now at $19.99, against $24.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.

Do you rank one above the other for a fee?

No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.

How we compare, and what we will not do

The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.

More on each