Monster Loves You! (PC) review "Maybe?"

Monster Loves You! has difficulty making a consistent point about the moral choices presented in its story. I admit some discomfort about the duality of humanity … or, in this case, monster-ality … but it all doesn’t add up to a satisfying experience.

I’ll quantify that: I can casually, even easily, unite monsters and humans for the prosperity of all. It takes about twenty minutes, maybe less. I remember feeling moderately pleased until I realized how easy it was and how several different branching paths and monster types could bring me to the same conclusion.

Monster Loves You! is not your typical choose-your-adventure game. It's a game that keeps you on your toes, not allowing you to peek at the pages to see how it will turn out. You’re stuck with your choices, but there’s a twist, and it's a striking one: Role-playing style attributes that you build with each choice. Good choices can add to your “Honesty” stat but can subtract from your “Ferocity” or “Cleverness.” This unique gameplay element adds a layer of unpredictability and excitement to the game.

Before we delve into the game's shortcomings, let’s take a moment to appreciate its charm. Monster Loves You! has moments of genuine charm that can truly captivate you. However, these moments are not as frequent as one would hope, especially considering the promise of “a dozen or so possible endings.”

One aspect of Monster Loves You! that deserves praise is its unique storybook artwork style and the engaging moving menus. These elements add a touch of whimsy to the game, making it visually appealing. The game also features recurring characters whose lives you can influence, adding a layer of depth to the gameplay.

You exist as a monster and choose your way through as many as four phases of life. Born from a vat – which raises many questions about your parentage – interactions with other “morsels” provide some of your first statistics and decide which adventures you’ll choose from. After your morseldom, you become a monsterling because failure isn’t yet an option. You have days to round out your attributes … the game is clear about this.

I guess I don’t get to discover that for myself. Radical Games … and Dejobaan Games … get points for lore explanations, but flailing around a bit is part of the learning experience. Well, enough of that, it's time to grow up. As an adult, you can’t change from an honest monster into a dishonest cheat, but that won’t matter much because you can anyway. It all depends on what your goal is.

That is if you can manage to become an Elder. Each phase of life introduces a new social mechanic to your list of interactables. Monsterlings have other monsterlings to impress, so the first new social mechanic is respected in adulthood. Yes, that is one of your base attributes, too, which doesn’t make any sense because you only need the respect of the Elders to become one.

Yes, that’s right, twelve days after becoming an adult, your interactions with monsters and humans will decide your fate. As your body softens, will you receive enough support from the Elders to join their ranks? By your second playthrough, you know enough to have adequate respect to explore endings as an Elder. Maybe?

This is my biggest beef with Monster: Any adventure doesn’t get you far enough away from a nearby narrative lane that you can’t easily jump them. Rolling dice on choices affected by an attribute, such as Kindness, means you can still fail. Why aren’t all choices affected by your attributes? I mean, I know mine are. This is where all of the carefully planned stories and adventures break down. What’s the point of exploring them if they’re all so closely related?

After all, are there so few adventures you can have in a monster village? I will propose: At the end of the game, you’re presented with your monster, who stands in the village of Elders. Alone. Where are all of the Elders you’ve met? The ones who supported you in becoming an Elder? Did the developers lose focus and patience at the end?

For all its attentiveness, Monster Loves You! is an incomplete adventure. Was it possible that one of those human children you befriended remembered you? Tell us a little more about how prosperity worked out in the end! A paragraph would have done wonders to inspire the imagination.
As an Elder, you can influence the destiny of Monsterkind. Will you encourage mistrust? Hatred? War? Peace? Indifference? Will you go solo and try to make your connection? Each carries a risk and reward but is not supported by the imagination that brought it into being.

Do the developers know what inspired them to create this adventure? Do they see the power of the enthralled masses? I’m sure they do, but it may have been out of their reach to inspire others. There are too many choices and far too few adventures capped by a harsh binary branch path at the end that can derail all of your plans.

But what’s the big deal? It only took twenty minutes to get there. The problem is that if it didn’t matter enough the first time, it certainly won’t matter after that. If honesty made you what you are – as a monster –how can you defy it so quickly? It all smacks of the unfairness of life, but is that the point of this adventure? I wonder if they know? Alright, it's time to put a bow on this.

This artwork oozes charm, literally at times, and has a distinctive personality that is infectious. I wanted to know more about the characters I interacted with. The music is suitable if ultimately forgettable. Having four stages of life helps to plan your future, even if it isn’t clear what you’re doing or why.

The “unpredictability” of life gets in the way of the narrative of this story. Is there truly no good? Does honesty only matter if you’re just honest to your kind? When the game says you have claws, my monster should have claws. While there seem to be plenty of choices to make, there aren’t many adventures to explore the range of your agency.

Monster Loves You! is hard to recommend because of its flaws. The morality of death can be distorted, as with any other, but Monster is hesitant to make a positive or negative declaration either way. If you’re curious about how the other side lives, this is an amusing distraction but nothing more. Two steps short of the inspiring, memorable adventure you would share with friends and loved ones.

Tweet

Community review by hastypixels (January 13, 2017) Wisdom comes from effort and mistakes.