A Beautiful World, Corrupted By Negative Emotions

For those already experienced with third-person diorama-style games such as Moss or (to a lesser extent) Escaping Wonderland, My Monsters will feel like a familiar descent into a miniature, surreal world filled with light puzzles and platforming. Where My Monsters differs from its genre peers is in its beautiful hand-painted art style, which is paired with striking themes of emotional struggle.

You are The Traveller, a human interloper in the dreamlike lands of Onirium. Your bonded ward, a curious monster named Moti, is quickly cursed by the oppressive God of Void, and your connection is almost severed. The God’s Generals steal three parts of your soul, starting you on a quest to retrieve what you’ve lost and free the land from the God of Void’s corruption.

Your initial introduction to the world of Onirium and its struggles is brisk, delivered by an omnipotent narrator. Many of the world’s key NPCs are voice-acted well, adding additional color to the world and its characters. More can be learned about Onirium and its residents by collecting reminiscences throughout each biome, and these little luminous sprites trigger additional insight from the narrator.

My Monsters leans hard into its theming of emotional concerns, providing manifestations of concepts like fear and loneliness in the God of Void’s Generals, with underground waterfalls described as tears of grief from ancient beings. It’s executed well and respectfully, without feeling too gimmicky, with Anxiety being the first boss you encounter. He goads the player with cutting remarks that play on our own insensitivities around self-worth, resulting in a climax that leaves me with goose bumps as a corrupted Moti looms over me and color drains from the screen. It’s a sense of active participation and immersion I don’t often find in these types of games.

Moving through My Monsters is typical fare for fans of the genre. You progress through interconnected scenes, solving light puzzles as you go. Puzzles range from moving platforms to collecting items to unlock new routes. As you delve deeper into the adventure, Moti’s skillset also evolves, allowing you to face harder challenges or access previously blocked paths. The dodge ability becomes invaluable for providing additional maneuverability to escape any area-of-effect attacks from specific enemies, and the heavy attack combo lets me open new routes and dispatch lower-level enemies much quicker.

Early on in your adventure, the narrator notes how violence is an unfortunate and difficult necessity in a corrupted Onirium. I do hope this concept is explored further later in the game. Although you can navigate some scenes without the need to engage enemies, some areas remain blocked by tainted thorns until the appropriate number of foes have been dispatched. Facing the manifestations of ugly emotions defiantly as a pacifist could have delivered a meaningful foil to the God of Void’s minions and the game’s themes.

My time with My Monsters, although enjoyable, is not without some minor frustration. When obtaining my first collectible, it isn’t immediately obvious what I need to do. Moti holds it aloft, but he is immovable. After some small trial and error, I realize I need to take it from Moti and add it to my inventory; however, he’s so deep into the scene I can’t take it without moving in my play space and reorienting my view. The same occurs when removing items from my inventory to pass to NPCs. As a seated experience, you’ll have to ensure enough free space in front of you to really stretch into scenes when required.

Accessibility options are also very limited. There are currently no options for those who are left-hand dominant, with the right hand used for jumping and combat and the left for primary movement and inventory management. My Monsters also only supports English and Portuguese language options. Those with sound sensitivity will be pleased to see the ability to independently adjust the volume sliders for music, sound effects, and voice-overs.

My Monsters evokes all the things I liked about Moss, all while peppering the world with the post-collapse intrigue of Hollow Knight and humanist subject matter I find really intriguing. I look forward to playing more.

My Monsters launches on October 2 for Quest and Steam.