The Monsters Are Coming!
Monsters are Coming! There have certainly been games that are less eager to jump straight to the point, but as you can tell by the title, Monsters are Coming! revolves around exactly that premise.
Monsters are Coming! can be easily understood if viewed as a combination of two gameplay elements: the endless, foe-filled survival roguelite approach Vampire Survivors took, and the tower-defence genre as a whole. As you’re dropped into the main menu you must choose between the limited maps and heroes before your initial run will begin.
Heroes each offer their own respective weapons and abilities so, once you’ve progressed enough to unlock more, it’s important to match them to your desired playstyle. Maps are a different story, with each offering different foes and bosses to battle, yet whether you opt for linear progression to complete them in order or go from most to least difficult, it has little impact on your experience.
Now actually in a run, the main objective will become clear. You must protect a small town hall which slowly and automatically moves on a straight downwards route towards your destination. Enemies will attempt to attack said town hall and erase all HP, with your trusty weapon defeating them for XP. Gather said XP, resources and gold to return them to the town hall, thus levelling up. Upon levelling up, you’ll be able to add a new building to the vast grid of squares surrounding the town hall, ranging from producing resources, offensive and defensive measures, to giving stat upgrades.
That is the core gameplay loop of Monsters are Coming! simplified. It may not seem exactly complex, yet what it lacks in depth it makes up for in micro-management between battling foes, collecting resources and clearing obstacles. Each system does offer more than face value however, so let’s analyse how they all stack up.
Building Merging Adds Strategic Depth
Sticking with the buildings, they’re the bread and butter of Monsters are Coming!, largely being the framework for any builds or focused tactics players choose to employ. Aside from their placement on the aforementioned grid, buildings can also be upgraded through any of the same towers you place on top of one another. Placing multiple of the same type of appropriate buildings near one another can also merge them into one huge structure named a street, offering all the benefits of multiple with the size of one.
This building system is one of the few things which keep Monsters are Coming! maintaining a distinct identity, and offering replay value, something which cannot be said for the stage design.
The Stage Design Is Almost Non-Existent
The level design in this title has a major flaw… it seems to have been forgotten. That may be a bit harsh, but there’s no other way I can explain it aside from non-existent.
No matter which map is chosen, runs remain extremely similar thanks to the auto movement of the town hall always to the same destination. This leaves the room for level design stretching as far as whether to prioritise resources, enemies or upgrades. This is challenged when “obstacles” (small destructible parts of the environment which take a couple seconds to deal with) show up, yet each map still offers the same overall loop, instead relying on players’ innate desire to experience all heroes and builds to keep them playing.
These differing playthroughs are achieved upon completing runs and unlocking things in the progression menu. This can range from typical upgrades for town hall HP, to hero damage, or unlocking new abilities for weapons and buildings.
The extent of these upgrades will be decided by how much of the pocket-watch-looking currency you opt to collect in runs, creating a risk-reward system where current runs may be more difficult for the reward of an easier future. There is certainly plenty to keep players occupied, so the lack of any clear stage design isn’t dire yet significantly harmed the enjoyment of my runs.
Generic Bosses Fail To Make An Impact
I’ve failed to mention the big bads the game is not so subtly named after… the bosses. My reasoning for leaving them until now is simply to emphasise their disappointment. I could forgive the seemingly identical maps if each one offered a unique, in-depth and multi-phase boss battle which challenged the builds you opted for, yet they don’t. The bosses aren’t disastrous per se, yet they fall victim to being rather generic in design and visuals, leaving combat simply middling.
Thankfully, Monsters are Coming! redeems itself through art style, presentation, and soundtrack. They’re nothing standout; I was never once playing and thought “Wow these visuals work so well with the musical ambience!”, but I appreciate the effort that went into both nonetheless. Presentation on the other hand is great, with sleek menus to navigate, great visuals for sprites and buildings, and an overall immersive nature to maintain the arcade-like roguelite atmosphere.
An Enjoyable But Flawed Hybrid
Monsters are Coming! succumbs to many errors in game design, namely the lack of variety throughout stage layouts, yet there’s also plenty to appreciate. The natural beauty of merging roguelite and tower defence mechanics could be the foundation for future titles to propel themselves to stardom, and the progression menu will at least keep players unlocking new elements as they battle through a flawed yet enjoyable experience.
Important Links
Monsters are Coming! – A New Day One Game Pass Drop Now On Xbox And Play Anywhere – https://www.thexboxhub.com/monsters-are-coming-rock-road-a-new-day-one-game-pass-drop/
Download from the Xbox Store, via Game Pass if you like – https://www.xbox.com/en-gb/games/store/monsters-are-coming-rock-road/9pjbkf27c16m
There’s a Corrupt Edition too – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/monsters-are-coming-corrupt-edition/9ph447qv4f4s
And a Deluxe Edition – https://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/store/monsters-are-coming-deluxe-edition/9nbkgv5nz7sl
