Just when I think I have reached the end of the weird sub-genre indie game deep end, I swim a little further out and find something like Monster Loves You by Dejoban and Radial Games.
So, what is this thing?
Well, I guess the best description would be an interactive character development story featuring a monster. Who even knew that could be a thing?
The game begins when your monster comes into being as a tiny monsterling in a vat of slime. Right away you are given options of how you want your monster to behave through dialogue boxes with a series of outcomes to choose from.
Help a fellow baby swim or eat it whole? As you navigate complex choices such as this, your monster grows and its character traits fill up with things like honesty and ferociousness. The higher you build certain traits, the more you are able to influence fellow monsters and later humans as the game goes on.
While the above sounds fun, and basically is, the game itself is a pretty unexciting experience from a visual perspective. You do get a peek at your monster from time to time, but for the most part what you are looking at is the backdrop of you current location, an image icon and dialogue boxes. The boxes are witty and well written with lots of possible outcomes for every choice you make. However, since nothing you do ever plays out visually, its a very flat gaming experience.
I can see a market for this game in young players that are getting their sea legs as readers. The images are all bright and colourful and a creative kid could have a lot of fun playing through the multiple endings.
I played through my monster from vat of slime to elderly over the course of less than an hour, choosing a path of honesty, courage and truthfulness which led to a profitable friendship between monsters and humans. I don’t feel the need to play it through again, but my kids might at some point if they ever put down Fortnite.
Long story short, Monster Loves You is another unique gaming experience that probably isn’t for everybody. However, if you have a young gamer in your home that isn’t keen on button mashing and gem collecting, it may be something they can sink their teeth into.
Til next time, bleeps and bloops ya’ll.
