This light RPG has some genuinely touching moments that had me misty eyed.
MEG’S MONSTER is the perfect game for a parent, it’s a succinct experience that draws heavily on the 16bit era with a colourful cast of loveable characters.
It might even make you cry, I’m warning you.
It's well worth your time, and if you're like me you'll find yourself smiling as you play.
The “dadification” of games is well worn trope at this point, older gruff character begrudgingly cares for a child as they journey towards their goal and eventually they can admit they care for each other.
Hell one of the biggest television shows on air is an adaptation of the peak dad game The Last of Us.
The titular monster is Roy, a hulking tank who starts with a maxed out HP bar unable to be really harmed by foes, but it’s the secondary health bar of our ward Meg that really counts.
See Meg is the Harbinger of the apocalypse and can’t cry and anything too scary, like Roy getting hurt in classic Final Fantasy styled turn based battles brings her to the bring of game ending tears.
In many ways MEG’S MONSTER feels like a puzzle game masquerading as a JRPG, it’s less about your stats though you do level up and Meg’s “heart gets stronger” giving better resistance to overwhelming emotions.
As you play the formula does mix up quite a lot, especially in the second half of the game where new mechanics change the battle system in some refreshing ways.
Roy and Meg spend more and more time together connecting through play along their journey and you unlock more toys to keep her spirits high if things are looking hairy in a battle.
There are even a few movement puzzles as well, including using Roy or companion Golan to block flying projectiles and lasers to allow Meg to move through a maze.
It’s not tricky really, but it does take a little bit of trial and error, thankfully the game gives you plenty of slack and puts you back in a good spot if you fail.
It’s a relatively linear story with a few optional side quests but they are so easy to complete it feels like you’re barely stepping out of the main path at all.
MEG’S MONSTER is filled with heart, the world of monsters and weird science is cute if pretty surface level, but at the end of it all I just wanted to hug my loved ones close which is a pretty high praise for this story.
A copy of MEG'S MONSTER on PC was provided to SIFTER for the purpose of this review.
