Monster Loves You Review

Dejobaan Games first made some noise with their IGF finalist game AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! - A Reckless Disregard for Gravity, but Monster Loves You is worlds apart in terms of genre and style. Different from any of the studio’s previous titles, Monster Loves You is an interactive story that carries oodles of charm with it.

Originally developed and released on PC, Monster Loves You has been redesigned for iOS devices and is very much a welcome companion to its elder brother. Cute and childish, children will love this quirky little story about the hectic life of a monster. Players guide the development of said monsterling from birth; making decisions and choices along the way that shape the personality and outcome of the monsters life. Outside of the decision making there’s not much interactivity, but the story’s end brings with it some huge life-changing outcomes depending on the path chosen at each step.

From the outset, the monsterling will be in the player's control; with the ability to build up on appearance, personality, and its earliest attributes as it brews in its tank of slime. With points applicable to Bravery, Cleverness, Honesty, Ferocity, Respect, and Kindness, there are a multitude of outcomes for how our little monster is shaped to take on the world. Each choice made throughout the story will come into play; for instance, owning up to doing something naughty will earn Honesty, but lose Respect, whereas hiding the truth and pushing the blame elsewhere will gain points in Cleverness. Likewise, chasing mice may gain points in Ferocity, but protecting them from dogs will earn some Kindness, and so forth.

Eventually, as the developing monsterling reaches each stage of its life, more options and plot-points become available and there are even more adventures to be had with over 900 various choices to make and a dozen possible endings. Gaining respect from the monster Elders is really important as the story comes to a head, and whichever choices have been made will greatly affect the way various situations play out.

Monster Loves You will set players back around 40 minutes in total to complete, but unless there is a great desire to explore each ending, there is no real reason to hurriedly return to the game. A perfect substitute for a children’s book, there are plenty of scenarios to keep the story interesting. And though the game lacks any in-depth mechanics, this doesn’t really matter hugely given the target audience.