[h1]Monolilith – Critical Review[/h1]
[b]Played on Linux. Native Steam with Proton-GE gave me problems, but the game ran properly for me through Wine 11 outside the normal Steam Proton setup.[/b]
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[h2]Introduction / Thesis[/h2]
Monolilith is a strange Early Access adult strategy game that surprised me more than I expected. I went in thinking it would mostly be carried by its adult theme, but underneath that there is an actual small strategy/tower-defense game trying to function.
It is rough, simple, and very niche, but it has identity. My main point is this: [b]Monolilith is not a deep strategy game yet, but it is more interesting and more functional than its surface makes it look.[/b]
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[h2]Basic Plot Summary[/h2]
You play around demonic rituals, monsters, monoliths, cult-like power, and waves of religious fanatic enemies. Instead of playing the clean heroic side, you manage the “evil” side: summoning creatures, using dark power, defending your base, and expanding your control.
The story is still light, but the direction is clear. It is dark fantasy, adult, weird, and fully aware of what it is.
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[h2]Gameplay / Structure[/h2]
The game mixes small-scale RTS, tower defense, exploration, and resource management. You move around the map, collect or convert units, power monoliths, and survive enemy attacks.
The gameplay is simple, but not fake. There is an actual structure here. The maps are readable, the objectives are understandable, and the game teaches its systems better than I expected.
The weakness is depth. It needs more enemy variety, more tactical decisions, more levels, and more reasons to think differently from mission to mission. Right now it feels more like a foundation than a finished game.
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[h2]Characters, Setting, and Tone[/h2]
The characters are not deep yet, but they have a clear visual identity. They feel more like dark fantasy archetypes: witches, demons, monsters, cultists, victims, and fanatics.
The setting is one of the stronger parts. Broken villages, dead trees, demonic structures, and corrupted landscapes give the game a dirty dark-fantasy mood. The art style is simple, but it is readable and memorable.
The tone is lewd, dark, strange, and slightly absurd. It is not serious horror and not pure comedy. It sits somewhere between adult fantasy, demon parody, and compact strategy game. That makes it stand out.
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[h2]Writing Style and Themes[/h2]
The writing is direct and rough, but it has personality. It feels like a solo-dev project, not a corporate product. That can be good, because it gives the game a specific voice, but it also means the dialogue and story presentation could use more polish.
The main themes are corruption, transformation, forbidden power, lust, monsters, and outsiders fighting against a hostile religious force. It does not pretend to be normal good-versus-evil fantasy, and that is part of why it is memorable.
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[h2]Unity / Technical Critique[/h2]
My biggest technical problem is the Unity side.
I have never liked Unity by default from a player’s point of view. That does not mean all Unity games are bad. A good studio or skilled coder can make Unity games run well. But many small Unity games feel heavier than they should for what is actually happening on screen.
Monolilith is a small stylized strategy game. It should not feel demanding, but it still gives me that familiar Unity feeling: functional, but heavier than the visuals and systems suggest. It feels like trying to power-drift with a car that has the weight of a truck.
I understand why solo developers use Unity. It gives them tools for UI, animation, scenes, input, assets, and faster development. But from the player side, weak optimization still matters.
I also had a specific Proton-GE issue: when running it through native Steam with Proton-GE, tabbing out made my GPU jump to 100% usage. As soon as I tabbed back into the game, GPU usage dropped again. That is not normal for a small game. It may be Unity, Proton-GE, focus handling, missing frame limits, or a mix of all of it, but as a player it still matters.
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[h2]Praise and Critique[/h2]
[h3]Praise[/h3]
[list]
[*]Strange and memorable identity.
[*]More actual gameplay than expected.
[*]Readable maps and clear objectives.
[*]Good dark fantasy atmosphere.
[*]Simple but functional strategy/tower-defense structure.
[*]Worked properly for me through Wine 11.
[/list]
[h3]Critique[/h3]
[list]
[*]Still very basic as a strategy game.
[*]Needs more content, depth, enemy variety, and tactical choices.
[*]Writing and story presentation need polish.
[*]Unity performance/optimization is a concern.
[*]Native Steam Proton-GE gave me technical problems.
[*]Background GPU usage hitting 100% when tabbed out is a serious technical issue.
[/list]
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[h2]Comparison[/h2]
I honestly cannot remember playing anything quite like this. It has RTS and tower-defense elements, but it does not feel like a normal tower-defense game. It has adult-game elements, but it has more actual gameplay than many games that only rely on that.
The closest comparison is not one specific game, but a type of strange indie project where the developer clearly had a very specific idea and built it without trying to be safe or generic.
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[h2]Conclusion / Final Evaluation[/h2]
Monolilith is rough, simple, early, and very niche. But it is also more interesting than it first looks. It has a clear identity, a weird tone, and a real gameplay foundation underneath the adult theme.
I would not recommend it to someone looking for a deep RTS right now. But if you want a strange adult dark-fantasy strategy game that actually tries to be a game, it is worth watching.
[b]Final verdict:[/b] Recommended, but mainly for people who understand what they are buying: a rough Early Access adult strategy game with personality, technical issues, and room to grow.
[b]Technical verdict:[/b] The game works, but it needs better optimization, better Proton behavior, and proper background frame/GPU handling.
