Real estate may be all about location, location, location, but indie games are all about personality, personality, personality (and of course, fun). I’ve sent a billion zombies to the post-undead afterlife, collected more coins than Scrooge McDuck and rotated my share of colorful blocks. I have no patience for rote mediocrity; games need to have spunk, style and, well, a dash of personality to go along with the fun gameplay in order to warrant my time.
Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess is the perfect example of a game that exceeds beyond its core gameplay mechanic with a stylish presentation and and interesting characters. It is absolutely teeming with personality and a self-aware sense of humor, while the gorgeous hand-drawn graphics capture the essence of this wacky world.
As you may have ascertained by now, a princess is missing (gasp, spoilers!). Duke’s princess, to be precise, and the Duke sure as heck doesn’t oblige to kidnapped princesses. The Duke is what might kindly be referred to as a charmingly quirky egomaniac, and not-so-kindly dubbed a narcissistic lunatic. He’s a vampire of sorts, though he borrows more from The Count than from the glittery, pale-faced pretty boys of recent vampire lore. The Duke is the star of the show and his over-the-top dance moves and obnoxious personality make him a very memorable character.
As for the game itself, it’s a vertical 2D platformer with a rather unique twist. The Duke chases monsters up the levels by rapidly jumping from platform-to-platform in an attempt to prevent the monster from escaping (probably) with the princess. The Duke accomplishes this feat by attacking each monster with a double jump, each of which sends the monster scouring up the level at a faster clip; hit the colorful monster three times and the Duke triumphs.
The monsters themselves are gorgeous 2D sprites and are full of life. I’m a humongous fan of hand-drawn artwork, and each of the five monsters is unique looking, animates well and has a slightly different defensive maneuver that adds a little flavor to the levels. Their names are out of the Earthworm Jim book of naming, and as with Square Off, I almost find some kind of endearing, cuddly aspect about them (though maybe that just says something about me). Perhaps I’m a bit biased considering this site, but bonus points will always be awarded to games featuring a giant purple octopus. I hope my credibility isn’t compromised too drastically when I label Monsters the pinnacle of electronic, nay, gaming in its entirety, and it is a vicious plummet downhill from here.
What makes the game so fun – aside from the engaging story, fast-paced gameplay and purrty graphics – is the combo system, which encourages the player to ascend each level without hitting the same platform twice. Each new platform increases the combo counter, and missing a jump or landing on a previously visited platform resets the combo. Stringing together long combos also provides the Duke a slight speed boost in addition to some gaudy scores.
The only minor gripe I should mention about Monsters is the rather brief length of the story mode. There are only five stages (and thus five monsters) to defeat before concluding the enjoyable campaign. The final stage doesn’t deviate from the game’s formula, but the narrative climax was hilarious, if perhaps predictable. For those so inclined, there are a ton of point-based challenge levels. The challenges are based on stringing together longer and longer combos, and they also rearrange the layout of the platforms to enable some monstrous scores.
There are in-game achievements and unlockable artwork to encourage players to perfect each level, but this game is just screaming for bona fide Achievements. They may seem trivial to some, but I think they could really give the game some additional legs, while the in-game ones sadly feel tacked on.
Monsters is the perfect execution of a rather under-explored concept. Its precision-jumping gameplay is fast and furious and I found it impossible not to fall in love with the Duke and the rest of the zany monsters. Some might balk at the $3 price point versus the length of the game, but it’s a small price to pay for such a high-quality experience.
Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess was provided for review by Mediatonic. It is available for 240 Ms Points ($3).
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