Monster Pub

Monster Pub is about that feeling when you make new friends where in one sudden rush you know a lot of stuff about someone new that you thought was interesting. It's about learning the weird varieties of card games in a friend's room when all you really had to entertain yourself was a deck of cards. And it's about allowing being a good person. This game is keen, clever, and very cute. If you like narrative games, beautiful pixel art, quick card games and a complete disregard for the appropriate function of the postal service, you should play Monster Pub. Absolutely worth the price.

(Disclaimer for Ethics: I purchased and played the game through itch.io. The developer is a friend of mine.) What a brilliant, fun little game. Honestly. It doesn't set out to be some grand dramatic emotional bomb like every other narrative indie game - it's a fun little time, chatting with some visually well-designed monsters, playing simple card games. It's got a genuinely charming atmosphere and sense of humor, the art style is unique and colorful, and a number of the little bite-sized interactions you have with the characters are genuinely some of the better small-scale pieces of dialogue writing I've seen in games. Another nice feature is the card games making the game more playable for folks like me who get bored by games that are purely dialogue. This game isn't for everyone - especially those who need levels of mechanic depth or grand emotional narratives to be engaged - but it's damn good at what it does.

This game is absolutely delightful. The art is wonderful, the music matches the setting perfectly, and the whole game is a very rewarding experience that asks you to invest yourself in and get to know a cast of very enjoyable characters. The card game mechanics are very simple but actually a lot of fun, and the emphasis on relationship-building over strictly winning each game shows that the developers really understand what they're trying to make and know how to convey their world through the game mechanics themselves. Just one thing to beware of: it is very short, even considering all three playable chapters. However, $10 to support the creation of a product like this is hardly too much to ask, and there's a free demo version on the developer's Itch.io page if you'd like to try it and see what it's all about without investing any money.

This game just had me melting with big friendship feels. It's charming chapters get you meeting and greeting with some very true-to-life personalities in monster form. The music and pixel art are delightful, so is the attention to detail - especially on the decks of cards that are crafted to each monster's interests. The fact that Sandwiches and Samson can be played in real life with an actual set of cards is pretty lovely. I did have a little trouble with the hit boxes every now and again, but ultimately the game is nicely polished and super wholesome! I'd certainly recommend to anyone who enjoys cute, short, positive, or narrative games - make some friends in Monster Pub!

(In the interest of full disclosure, I know one of the people who made the game, so make of that what you will) Very cute game! It's one of those where you can come home from a long day and just sit and play for a few hours to wind down. The characters are charming and getting to play cards with all of them is a delight. The music is swell too! My only gripe is that sometimes the WASD controls get a little wonky and when you try to talk to people. you have to sniff around a second and keep pressing E until they start talking. All in all a very charming game!

See, the mechanics behind the logic here are probably that when we are children, we are told that humans are generally good, and monsters are bad. In great oversimplification and Willie Trombone’s* lingo, in time we learn that humans are not so great after all. So, if the initial condition falls apart, then consequently, the monsters must be nice, right? And the protagonist is a monster as well, so from this game’s viewpoint the perspective is already crooked since, are the monsters monsters to another monster? [h3]And do monsters scare their children by telling them that there’s a human underneath the bed? [/h3] But I’ve been getting philosophically, grammatically and semantically questionable thus far, so let me tell you about the game itself. What was its title again? <checks the Steam page> Ah. The Monster Pub. So yeah, it takes place in a pub. And has monsters in it. And you make friends with them and play Solitaire. The card game, not that guy from Dark Souls. And that is more or less it. Okay, there is another card game besides the solitaire to be played here. The players place the cards on the table in turns, when a certain condition is met – for example the cards are of the same rank but different suit – the player needs to tap the stack before the opponent. It’s simple, tremendously enjoyable and a very satisfying distraction from the talking. Because that is exactly what those games are supposed to be. There is no real danger of losing at any time since the player is given very generous windows to react and the solitaire game is won by default. Each chapter is about an hour long. The player talks to every other patron, plays cards with some of them, and then leaves. The entire point of the game is to befriend the other monsters and learn about them. This can be achieved in two ways – by making correct choices during the conversations and by winning the game of cards. Each conversation happens exactly once per chapter but there is a save available so if the player is not satisfied with the outcome, the encounter can always be redone. There are three chapters, and each is an independent game, but the friendship levels can be exported between them as a separate file. [h3]They are monsters in the name only. [/h3] Obviously, a game of this kind relies heavily on its writing and the characters. The Pub’s patrons are quirky, absolutely lovable and extremely awkward at times. Also exaggerated and unrealistic, but it’s done in a charming way, and they are monsters so they can’t be blamed for not being particularly realistic. The conversations they engage the player with are also entertaining and unique. The player helps monsters save their friendships, discovers secrets, compliments someone’s astonishing purple snout and helps someone else write their *absolutely NOT*X-Files fanfic. Bread and butter of short visual novels. Controls feel a bit raw, and the protagonist gets stuck between the game’s objects every now and then, at times the way the cards fall on the table prevents the player from seeing what card was underneath and sometimes the comments that the characters make during the games don’t match the context, making it is obvious that the particular line was meant to be uttered after a winning hand while the character saying it has lost, or the other way around. But none of those is a significant problem. Instead, the Pub’s main issue is the lack of any significant conclusion. While the third chapter seems more meaningful than the previous ones and some arcs are indeed finished, I felt that this was the moment for this game to begin rather than end. There still was plenty of room for development of both characters and their stories. It seems a real shame that Monster Pub has not become more popular since this might have convinced the authors ( actually, a three-people team) to follow up with more chapters. [h3]FIVE reviews in total, oh come on!!!!** [/h3] The game’s graphics are adorable. Especially the monsters. It is impressive, how the game is able to convey the complete array of emotions with how quirky some of their appearances are. It is also welcome that each of the pub’s patrons uses a unique card deck, the looks of which reflect their story and personality. The music is also pleasant and relaxing. In the end, Monster Pub is an enjoyable barfly lite. The mood is considerably lighter when compared with other bar-oriented visual novels like Coffee Talk (which isn’t particularly heavy-themed in the first place). It’s a pleasant little journey, and with the current pricing model I would gladly pay for another three, four or twenty chapters. Real shame. * Willie Trombone is a character from an ancient but wonderful game: The Neverhood. He spoke in a very simple way “These disks tell a story. Story about good. Story about bad.” and would make a great patron of the Monster Pub. ** Each chapter ends with a “Thank you for playing!!!!”. A close call indeed. Five exclamation marks are a clear indication of an insane mind. As always, do with it what you will, and as always [h3]Try to have a wonderful life. [/h3]