MONOBOT Review | Glowing, but not shining
Indie titles are a beloved category of games today and it's easy to see why: from some who try to fill the void of a particular game that hasn't been released in years, to others who tackle experimental mechanics that on paper seem to be absurd and in practice become captivating.
However, despite being all around well-made, not all titles manage to break the mold and, due to unexciting reasons, MONOBOT doesn't either.
Aesthetics
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Desolation, solitude and a calm sky... |
The game uses a 2d digital drawn style, it looks fine, the drawing are defined enough.
The animations are simple, the main character does little poses and facial expressions to show emotions. Cute to watch, but ultimately nothing that sticks out in a good or bad way.
There isn't any kind of voice acting or sound to imitate speech, the few
characters interactions are executed completely silently.
I don't remember any tracks from the soundtrack, it's simply used here and
there to set up situations and the ambient, it's not emphasized at all, it's
not bad, just bland.
Sounds are ok, they give a good metallic and heavy sensation to the
movements, and also make the areas outside a sense of solitude with the
swift winds on the sandy hills.
In short, even if not particularly impressing or remarkable, the visuals and the audio work.
Game Mechanics
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This is the only instance where the solution is to stun out the guard |
The game is a 2d platformer, the player
is tasked to reach the end of each level by solving platform-based challenges and also some
conventional puzzles to progress. There are also two more tools that are
going to be used, but gained later: a magnet that allows the robot to instantly stick for a
limited time to any surface with a blue light or a magnetic symbol near it and
a short teleporter that allows the robot to swap places with a
crate as long as he has direct line of sight. There are also minor gameplay
loops, such portions in which a vehicle is controlled, and the aforementioned puzzles.
Mechanical wise, everything works, there is nothing exiting or broken about all of these. What is a bit more interesting is a set of optional exploration challenges put in specific parts. The player must keep a keen eye, for if all the five secret areas are found, the true ending will be unlocked. The way these areas are telegraphed is very subtle, so much so I managed to find only 2 out of the 5 required to unlock that ending.
Difficulty wise, the experience is very lenient. Even though dying is easy,
a one hit and you're done deal, the game automatically saves often.
Apart from a particularly obtuse ending puzzle which I didn't figure out the solution and
had to brute force it, it's pretty much smooth sailing.
I finished the game in 5 hours.
Narrative
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Scattered notes is the main and almost only way of storytelling |
In a robot facility in an undefined future, a robot wakes up in a stasis pod, he doesn't have time to recover, something tells him that he is free and must run. Soon, the robot gets chased by the guards, escaping in the nick of time by falling in a pit and finding the remnants of his fallen brethren. Whatever is happening, it's clear that he is in danger and must escape.
From here, the adventure starts in the shoes of the fleeing robot.
The narrative is framed around the escape, it's the sole moving force for the player from the start until the very end. It's strongly advised to search for every nook and cranny, it's possible to find notes describing the world and the characters, this is particularly important when finding information about Robert Brown, his figure and role becoming clearer and clearer the more notes are found. It's almost mandatory to find those notes, otherwise nothing will be understood about the surrounding events, the few cutscenes are only going to be a source of speculation, and you may come out of the game feeling like there was no story at all.
A bit more on the cutscenes, there are going to be flashbacks where humans are showed on screen, this sticks out because every single figure that are going to be encountered during gameplay are robots. This gives some interesting questions worth to ponder, and it's possible to extrapolate what has happened to the humans by watching the cutscenes and ending alone, but without the extra info and context given by the notes, it's impossible to truly understand everything.
Trying to keep the spoilers to a minimum, it's clear that the situation the
main character is in is mainly due to the action of Robert
Brown, almost all documents reference him. Unlocking the true ending, achieved by
finding five secret rooms, yields a better vision of the whole picture.
In conclusion, the story can be truly appreciated only with an extensive search of every note.
Recommendation:
MONOBOT does nothing wrong, but it also doesn't stick out. Those looking for a 2d puzzle-platformer are going to be satisfied, while everyone else may just feel
lukewarm.
Available on Steam and iPhone.
Thanks for the review!
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