The Monster Within

A good spin on the deckbuilding/resource allocation style of game. Your setup involving packs rather than cards and building as you play makes the game far more dynamic than most deckbuilders. Additionally every monster having at least 2-4 play styles keeps things pretty fresh. The game also ramps up well with the blood/level system. There are some playstyles with some monsters (plant) that are very strong but there are bosses that seem made to counter only playing that strategy. Finally the Weird Tales/Eerie horror comic aesthetic and humor is fantastic . The only downsides are standard issues with the unity engine rather than anything about the game itself. The creator is also quick to respond if those do crop up. Overall I 100% recommend.

I wish there was a "Maybe" option for the "Do you recommend this game?" question for reviews on Steam. I like the aesthetic and the characters. I enjoy the gameplay and little pre-battle leadups. The card pack, blood level, and affliction systems are well-designed. Usually when I've lost, it's because I didn't know how to deal with an enemy's particular unique attributes, or I bloated my deck poorly, or I counted on being able to buy a key card that I didn't get, which is what you'd expect from a card-builder with ramping difficulty. The game has lots of bugs, though, and it hasn't been updated in about a year. If the game just got some additional time for bug fixes and polish, it would be a solid "Yes" for the recommendation. For now, it's a very shaky "Yes". If the demo video looks interesting at all, this is worth grabbing on sale. If it's issues were fixed up, it would be worth grabbing regardless of sale.

Ultimately, meh. It's a game you can play it and enjoy it somewhat, and it has some interesting, clever ideas clever ideas you can play it, but ultimately it never comes down together. I feel like I've already seen everything it had to show and it doesn't seem there's a lot more to be seen.

So, this is a cute deckbuilder (a la Dominion), with some twists as your character loses health. There seems to be a ton of unlockables, and it's a bit of a grind (almost 8 hours and I haven't even unlocked all the characters yet), but I mean... if you're gonna sit there and play a game like this, you have to be attracted to something in it. And for me, it's a mix of the artwork and the amount of combos that come with the deck building. The art is very 40s comic book, complete with the coloring being slightly off center, and I adore it. The deck building is... hit and miss. Mostly hit, but it's worth saying that some card packs don't play well with others. As health decreases, card types like the one that uses the ♥♥♥♥ Tracy wristwatch becomes wasted space. Would I recommend this? I mean, if you're in love with the art and understand the grind, full price ain't bad for it. I grabbed it on sale, and have no complaints.

A fun deck-building roguelike where resources are used in an unconventional way. Rather than spending resources to play cards, you use them to build your deck. The art and theme of the game are both fresh and fun and the skits are pretty entertaining. Unfortunately, the game is plagued by several bugs. The most egregious offender is probably the cultist enemy trait where the damage scales even when you block the damage. I'm actually assuming this is a bug, because the text doesn't resize on my screen for me to be able to read the whole trait. There are several problems with the shapeshifter cards, too. I really hope the developer returns to finish/patch this game, because there is a lot of potential here. All in all, the recommendation just barely edges into the "yes" because the monster transformations and vibe of the game still make it a fun experience even in face of the frustrations.

its just a good fun game

Fun Deckbuilding game where you are tempted to lose health to gain access to more powerful cards.

It was a fun game, but now it won't let me select a character. Literally can not be played after first session.

Sooo... It's a fun slay-the-spyre-like game, with amazing concept of fighting monsters, while being one of them as well, all in the style of 50's comic books. I got it for a steam sale price, and I don't want to be rude, but after playing it, I wouldn't be comfortable paying it full, it's just too much... The Monster Within is looking rather goofy, while I respect developers' rights for money, it just feels like there could be more work done. You could commission artists to do actual comics before fights, as well as death effects not being so digitally smooth and out of place... I'm an artist myself, so there are just the things that outstand to me. Also I have some issues with game itself, it crashes during interludes between fights. But I enjoyed the dialogs and jokes so far! I will recommend this game for more people to see it, but personally I think it's undercooked. If you're a fan of the genre and want something fresh, there you go.

I'm a bit ashamed to say I know the original. Thanks Apollo7Games