I'm Making a Monster

I really wish that there was a neutral option for reviews. I like the concept of the story and feel that there is a really good foundation for a good story, but ultimately it falls flat. The choices feel too linear and there's very little nuance to them - it's extremely clear what you "should" pick, and it feels less like the experience I think the devs were intending, and more like "this is the good choice, this is the bad choice". [spoiler] One of the final choices literally says something to the effect of "pick this one before it's too late".[/spoiler] From the technical side of things, there are a few spelling errors and the text doesn't quite cycle as cleanly as it could, so it building on existing paragraphs feels jittery at times. Given that the text is such a key detail, this kind of gives the impression that the devs focused more on the art (which is beautiful for what it's worth) and the the story ends up feeling tacked on as a result instead of being the central focus. It really ends up feeling like "my friend made this cool art, but now I have to make up a story to go along with it", which sucks because this could have been truly an incredible story about loss and grief and healing. Overall, if this was something available for free on Itch, I'd absolutely recommend it to everyone as an example of what the dev team could do, but it doesn't feel complete or polished enough to be asking for money for.

Sweet, simple visual novel. The monster itself is a backdrop to the story about grief and moving on. The music is lovely and the visuals are a very beautiful water color. That being said, the total content to see is quite limited, and I'd hoped for $7 there'd be a little bit more to it. Overall, would recommend, but would probably recommend borrowing the game from someone who already has it.

My ONLY reason for not recommending this game is the price for the amount of content you get. The art is beautiful, but I was able to complete all the stories and achievements in under an hour. The art is not complex enough to warrant the rest of the price, there is a lot of negative space in the screens so it doesn't fill the role of a visual novel, either. I felt that the choices I made were not as consequential as they should be for the price. I did not request a refund because I did enjoy the game. At $3-5 I would absolutely say give this game a try- but even getting it on sale for about $7 felt steep.

This is a truly beautiful exploration of grief and managing your life through it. I personally found the experience very emotional (cried through a lot of it) so you may want to block off time to play it when you can be emotional. The decisions all feel realistic and meaningful to the story's narrative in the sense that each path gives you something a little different. The art is gorgeous and flows beautifully into the gameplay itself. This was clearly made with a lot of care and consideration for the dev's community, with a large variety of pronouns to choose and the assortment of friends our player character has. The credits note is much appreciated and overlaps beautifully with the game's narrative (in my opinion). There's a lot of variety in more than one run, and you can save at any point so if you don't want to fully restart, you can save at each path, though there are a lot of different paths to see. I personally plan to revisit it again in the future when I need a bit of catharsis. It is a short game - my playtime at the time of the review is a little over one run, but I think the quality is there for the game's price (I bought it at 10% off and wouldn't have hesitated at full price). Really great game!!!!

I love it! I cried. 🥲 I mean, I went into it knowing that it's about grief. I've also played the demo before. But I really like how the game offers it in a subtle, bitter sweet way. The friends keep coming and I feel supported, but as someone who also has dealt with grief in real life, I really do feel compelled to push them away, which is what makes my playthrough feel so emotional to me. It is a short game, but I can definitely play it again with different mental states, and see how the game will reflect it back to me. Also, the art is making it even more melancholic, it's gorgeous! I'm definitely considering buying the wallpaper DLC, omg.

I thought the watercolor-y art was so moody and beautiful—captured the tone perfectly of this short story about grief, friendship, and what it means to let yourself heal. if the work is always there, will always be there, what would it mean to put it down for a bit and just feel?

First of all, I must recommend prospective players to play the prologue first as it adds depth and context to the entire experience. It is certainly not necessary but it enriches the game and should be considered free DLC. Now that that's out of the way, where do I begin? I came across this visual novel (with some choice mechanics) by stumbling onto a thumbnail on steam or itch (doesn't matter which). The art style intrigued me and the demo/prologue ensnared me. From the subtle worldbuilding to the elegent prose, I could tell this project would be worth my while. I purchased and immediately installed the game (which is saying something as me current qeue consists of over 500 games). Within minutes of installation, i was enthralled by the experience. Having recently suffered the loss of my best friend, I could not help but feel the heavy personal connection between the developers and their creation. Consequently, I felt connected to them through loss and the extreme manifestations of grief that some of us suffer as a result. I empathized with the developers, the characters, and all others whom have thought about or even enacted bizarre schemes deemed "unhealthy" by onlookers in order to cope.... but as usual, I digress. This is a simple, short, elegant, and beautiful story told through the medium of a visual novel with some light choice-mechanics The game utilizes excellent prose and gorgeous illustrations to execute a contemplative, cozy yarn of loss, grief, friendship, and obsession in a New Weird setting. If you are intrigued by the illustrations and snippets of story shown within the game's trailer or enjoyed the prologue, than i urge you to support the developers by purchasing this game. NOTE: It should be stated that it took me a little over an hour to play the game multiple times in order to experience all of the endings and branching story paths. Depending on one's reading speed and willingness to playthrough more than once, i imagine the length of the game will range between 40 minutes and 2 hours for most players.

I really loved and enjoyed this game. It is shorter than I anticipated, and I wish it was longer, but it is still a beautiful story. I appreciate how this game explores grief and how wallowing in grief can lead to self-neglect, and neglecting one's friends. I found this game to be very impactful especially for the short amount of time it took to complete it. Also very excited to see sheet music for the soundtrack! I often have to scrounge the internet for sheet music of my favorite video game songs or attempt to play by ear so having sheet music be available from the developers is appreciated.

Despite the game being short, it involves you in the Protagonist's story and their sadness by using not only text, but great art and music. The game offers several pronoun options to truly immerse yourself. It shows how much the developers put their heart and soul into their work. Great game "There is too much missing from this picture for it to feel complete. But maybe this is what it feels to pour paint over an old canvas and create something new"

A short but impactful story. Just the reminder I needed to spend time with friends and not be consumed by work. :')