Meg’s Monster review

“If she cries, the whole world dies”, Meg’s Monster warns. Likely, any tears shed will be your own.

2019’s Bear’s Restaurant helped establish Odencat’s ambitions for poignant storytelling. Players who peered past the game’s modest pixel art found a plotline about a restaurant run by a pair of animals. While Bear was responsible for the cooking, Cat’s duties were a bit more demanding. He was tasked with delving into the memories of the recently departed, inspecting their lives in the hopes of finding their favorite meal. The result was an anthology that offered a heartfelt rumination on loss, regret, and acceptance.

Following another moving expedition into the hereafter with Fishing Paradiso, the Minato-based studio has returned with a title that establishes a new waterline for expositional quality. Meg’s Monster’s six-hour journey delivers a whirlwind of emotion, shifting from quirky character-driven humor, suspense, and rich expressiveness with nearly unrivaled sinuousness. Just don’t head in expecting a traditional role-playing game. There are turn-based battles, but Monster’s emphasis is on the narrative rather than any kind of need for level grinding.

Storytelling Elevated by Consummate Localization

Meg’s Monster begins in an underworld that is equal parts cute and creepy. The game’s eponymous lead, a youngster dressed in overalls and sporting an ahoge, finds herself unceremoniously dropped onto a trash pile. Her arrival draws the attention of two monsters. Roy is a behemoth with his own patch of ‘foolish hair’, as well as a crab-arm and eyeball implanted in his shoulder. Golan, his perpetual sidekick, is more lean and angular, with a pair of pointing crimson ears jutting from his jade-colored complexation.

In the underworld, humans are routinely sold and eaten. While Roy maintains his impressive build through a mysterious (and apparently, revolting) resource called Magic Tar, Golan displays an interest in devouring the innocent girl. But any plans for a banquet are ruined when Meg begins crying in fear. Her anguish causes the atmosphere to turn bright red and agonizingly hot. The pair deduce that provoking the child could trigger the apocalypse, spending the bulk of Meg’s Monster keeping her pacified.

The Economy of a Taut, 87-minute Feature Film

In the hands of a less ambitious developer, that might result in a succession of tedious tasks. But unrelentingly, Meg’s Monster explores the quirks of this diminutive microcosm. In the underworld, there’s a strained relationship between its inhabitants and humans, with many citizens intent on gobbling up poor Meg as soon as they see her. Unsurprisingly, Roy and Golan lean into the new role of guardian, while simultaneously guarding her secret. You won’t meet too many characters along the way, but each is memorable, exhibiting the kind of peculiarities that make the game enthralling. Unlike many RPGs that deliver long bits of dialog without any payoff, there’s almost always some salient element across each conversation.

But that’s just one of the techniques that Odencat demonstrates. Seeing NPC swing from shit-talking adversaries to apologetic acquaintances hoping to forget their tantrums is the type of arc that’s uncommon in modestly sized efforts like this. There’s one scene where Roy and Golan are speaking with a shopkeeper while Meg slowly wanders away- which is a masterclass in building tension within a scene. Most outstandingly, Meg’s Monster maintains a taut balance between predictability and surprise. Sure, we know that Roy is going to gradually develop a Monsters Inc.-like bond with the girl. But we don’t quite know where the game will take us on its way to that destination. But the details that Odencat focuses on are almost always memorable.

Occasionally, this means Pokémon-style combat, as you trade blows with any adversaries. At first, this might seem like a certainty since the resilient Roy boosts a five-digit HP gauge. But the game depicts a close relational bond between Meg and her newfound surrogate guardian. As such, when Roy gets hit, he’ll absorb an infinitesimal amount of damage. But the pummeling causes Meg to worry. As such, you’ll want to keep an eye on Meg’s emotional meter whenever she accompanies Roy to a fight.

Fights Favor Creativity over Freedom

Meg’s Monster’s fights are far more scripted than most role-playing games. As such, success involves successfully exploiting each new gimmick the game mixes into fights. You’ll steadily amass a collection of toys. These are single-use items used to replenish Meg’s worry meter. One fight in a junkyard had Roy and his opponent pulling randomized weapons from a pile of salvage. I’m not sure if it was random, but when my rival picked up an item and couldn’t figure out how to use it, the game elicited a hearty laugh. Odencat’s writers instinctively understand your expectations and sporadically give them an indispensable tweaking.

But as good as the storytelling is, Meg’s Monster isn’t without minor mechanical blemishes. Hit detection is the main issue. Occasionally, Roy’s sprite can get stuck on objects. When you’re trying to initiate interaction with an NPC or object, finding just the right place to stand can be difficult. Occasionally, conversation options obscure speech windows in the background, which is mostly an aesthetic issue. But the game’s radiance helps to obscure any minor issues. Although the game’s spritework and background convey a wealth of charm, it’s Reo Uratani’s (Monster Hunter 3, Atelier Ryza 2, Hi-Fi Rush) soundtrack that’s the show stealer.  The 21 tracks here veer from Hisaishi-esque piano-driven melodies to jazzy numbers that intensify an already evocative storyline.

Conclusion

Much like Undertale, To the Moon, or The Last Birdling, Meg’s Monster offers some masterful storytelling. With deft characterizations that rival a Pixar film, a plot that can rouse a multitude of emotions, and one of the best scores in recent memory, tears will undoubtedly swell. Much like Bear’s Restaurant, Odencat demonstrates that can deliver a story with the kind of wit and tenderness that’s just a bit too rare in this industry.