
Play as a conductor trapped in a haunted and crazy mansion! As a concert begins, a jealous ghost appears and takes possession of your orchestra. To free them, you must explore every corner of the mansion, complete musical challenges, and rebuild your troupe.
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About
Play as Maestro, a conductor and his traveling troupe who must perform in a mysterious mansion. Explore these places filled with melodious rhythms in search of your musicians who have been captured by the mansion's owner, MONSTRO.
Prepare to battle various ghostly monsters that inhabit these grounds and unravel the curse that hangs over this mansion.
Monstro Maestro is a 2D action-adventure game inspired by the Megaman X franchise, the rhythmic mechanics of BPM, and platform/adventure games such as Celeste and Hollow Knight.
Game features :Discover a mansion populated by monsters, passing through its gardens and exploring its various rooms.
Explore diverse biomes, each with unique movement abilities and powers.
Face off against the five enemies that live in these places. Flying, jumping, or stationary, you will have to choose the best method to eliminate them.
Defeat 5 formidable bosses! Face off against the disciples and the master of the domain in unique battles where the fate of your musicians hangs in the balance.
Take on the Kaiso board challenge! After collecting all the bells in the mansion, put your movement and navigation skills to the test in a whole new gaming experience.
Enjoy a unique musical experience thanks to the different types of music that emanate from the location and gameplay. Original soundtrack composed specifically for the game.
Fight using your wand by casting various powerful projectiles that can be imbued with the rhythm of the surroundings.

Monstro Maestro is a project created by second-year Game Development students. The main development of the game took place over a period of nine weeks, during which a team of 12 programming students and 11 graphic design students designed and produced the entire game. It was presented as a second-year final project in June 2025.
Following this presentation, a proposal to publish on the Blacknut platform was made by its CEO. Part of the team continued development during the summer of 2025, making adjustments, fixes, and adding new content with an entire new biome. The final phase of production was completed in December 2025.
On the technical side, Monstro Maestro uses a custom engine developed by programming students during the year. This game engine, called T.E.DD (Technical Engine 2D), is based on SFML, ImGui, SDL3, and C++. It is based on an Entity-Component model. This engine was developed over a period of three months.



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Languages: English, French, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain
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Reviews
Themes across 41 recent reviews and how positive each mention is. A keyword signal, not full sentiment analysis.
Reviews
I was randomly looking for free games released this year (2026) when I came across this one. At first, I thought, well, just another free game what can I really expect? However, after watching the game footage, I became very excited to play it, as it looked very similar to Hollow Knight, a game I absolutely loved to play. Once I started playing, my expectations were more than met. The gameplay is very fluid, just as I expected. In terms of game dynamics, movement, and abilities, I would say it compares very well to the original Hollow Knight. That said, there are a few aspects that could be improved. For instance, the story felt quite short. I would have liked it to be longer, as I really enjoyed the gameplay and wanted to experience more stages. Additionally, I would like to be able to look up and down to see what is above or below the character, which would help in planning platforming sections and combat. It also felt a bit strange that attacks can only be performed in a straight horizontal line. However, since the game offers several healing opportunities, this limitation does not make the game overly difficult. Overall, despite these minor issues, I think the game is amazing. Considering that it is free to play, I believe everyone should definitely give it a try.
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Concurrent players on Steam, sampled daily since tracking started.
Hours played at review time, across 41 reviews with recorded playtime.
positive critical· bar length = how often the theme comes up
this is the worst game i have ever played... no... correction, would have played beceouse it wont even turn on, when i press option or play the game just freezes after pressing the continue butto which i assume is to make a new game, and its not that it freezes or the app stops responding the game literaly become unresponsive to my controler and i have tried like 5 time and every single time its been the same bs, playtest your garbage before putting it on steam espessialy if it is completely unplayable Edit: Finally i managed to play it after like 9 attempts to open the game and my oppinion doesnt change its garbagio and has zero challenge, you can literally stand in a single spot and tank every single boss including the final one, the stories conclusion is terrible and the gameplay itself as well as the rythm aspect baraly works properly, this game is broing and has little to no enojyment out of its fights, the "collectibles" are given to you instead of being hidden and the only thing good in this game is the grahpic desing, maybe the music too but its way to quiet to be audible
This game has to be the most inconsistent piece of GARBAGE I've ever had my hands on, not only did the game basically only work with a controller(since there is NO keyboard control scheme) but it's just generally overhyped by plenty gaming reviews, I personally think that the only thing that's SLIGHTLY close to hollow knight was the janky movement and wind tunnels. It's good at first but the story is too fast-paced and it just randomly skips at the end??? Please for the love of god playtest the game first, or if you did, think into rehiring new tester(if you even have any in the first place that is) Now there were some positives, One is that the art style and level design were really good in my opinion... And that's about all the positives But I'm writing this to help the devs improve their future games Oh and the final boss is very anti-climatic, but kinda funny ig
its a fun game i just wish it didnt progress so fast and it was a little difficult at the end and the final boss was really anticlimactic but the music and visuals were amizing so if the game was lnger and the final boss a little harder 9/10 game but its like 8.5/10 i guess i like it since i love hollow knight ok bye and enjoy :).
Haven't progressed much in the levels but I must admit. I've really fallen in love with the main hall music. It's really nice to put on as background music on days like that (and IMO may be one of the best harpsichord pieces I've heard in a while)
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The overall gameplay of Monstro Maestro isn't satisfactory with the keyboard. The graphics are below average.
If you’ve played Hollow Knight, you know the vibe: a beautifully crafted world, precise gameplay, memorable bosses, and the constant feeling that the game is silently judging your reflexes. Now imagine that same level of challenge… but instead of fighting elegant bug warriors, you’re conducting a bunch of chaotic monsters who barely understand the concept of rhythm. Welcome to Monstro Maestro! Instead of wielding a nail and exploring a ruined kingdom, you wield a baton and attempt to lead a musical ensemble that behaves like someone dumped a zoo into a marching band. And somehow…it works...Mostly...Sometimes...Okay, occasionally. [b][u]The Good:[/u][/b] The idea behind the game is simple: conduct monsters to create music. Each monster contributes different sounds, and your job is to keep them in rhythm and turn their chaos into something resembling a song. If Hollow Knight is a carefully choreographed duel… Monstro Maestro is more like trying to lead a symphony while your orchestra eats the sheet music. Playing on the Steam Deck feels fantastic. Controls translate smoothly to the handheld layout. Performance is stable Perfect for quick play sessions. It’s the kind of game that feels right on a portable device. The visuals pop on the smaller screen and the rhythm mechanics are easy to jump into. Also, unlike some modern games that make your Steam Deck sound like a jet engine attempting liftoff, this one runs quietly and smoothly...Your battery survives...Your sanity might not. [b][u]The Bad:[/u][/b] There is a double jump mechanic. At least, In theory. In practice, the double jump works roughly 65% of the time, which means every time you attempt a tricky platforming section you’re gambling with physics. This becomes particularly noticeable in difficult areas where precision matters. Instead of skill-based platforming, it occasionally turns into a coin flip with gravity. Fans of tight platformers like Hollow Knight may notice the difference immediately. The hidden level after the final boss is pure madness! So you defeat the final boss...Victory!...Triumph!...You feel like a musical legend! The game then unlocks a hidden level. At first you’re excited. Bonus content! A secret challenge! Then you enter the level and realize the developers apparently woke up that morning and said: “What if we made the player question every life decision that led them here?” You’ll try it once...Then again...Then again to get those sweet, sweet bells so you can complete the game! By attempt number twenty you’ll be staring at the screen like a conductor whose orchestra has staged a hostile takeover. [b][u]Final Verdict:[/u][/b] Monstro Maestro is a wonderfully strange rhythm-platformer with a hilarious concept and some genuinely satisfying musical gameplay. It runs great on the Steam Deck, the monster orchestra idea is creative, and the moments where everything comes together feel fantastic. Just be prepared for the occasionally unreliable double jump and a secret rage-inducing hidden level that seems specifically designed to test the limits of human patience. Especially if you’re coming from the precise platforming of Hollow Knight. For a free game though, I give the developers some Kudos! This was a fun game to play.
Purée si vous voulez du challenge allez-y il est trop rigolo le jeu
slop
Audience
Estimated from the language of this game's reviews — a proxy for where players are, not official Steam demographics.