With limited releases, but cool hardware, the PlayStation Vita became a console for weird and unusually quirky games.
IguanaBee’s “MonsterBag” is definitely one of them.
Hard to describe, the game centers around a little monster that must get from one end of a stage to the other, without being seen by the people he’s jumping on. With plenty of thought and real-time button presses needed to advance, there’s a ton of retro appeal here.
Visually, “MonsterBag” looks like a combination of a Cartoon Network show (something like Uncle Grandpa meets Flapjack) and something from a Newgrounds cartoon short. Part of the game’s allure is due to the visuals. There will be times when the game is so difficult, but the visuals are so warm and colorful that’ll you’ll almost be hypnotized into continuing.
Oh yeah and then there’s the brutality.
“MonsterBag” is dark. Every time your character gets caught, he gets ripped apart, shredded, you name it, this poor soul gets it during gameplay. Add in the emotional plot-lines and “MonsterBag” has a weird, but delightful combination of smarts, noir and allure. While the gameplay engine is incredibly simple, requiring just the directional pad and some touches on the screen, there’s a ton of thought involved in every level. For an independent game, everything from the story, which does an uncanny job of getting you emotionally invested in all of the main characters, to the wonderful visuals and polished gameplay engine, reeks of depth and precision.
Bottom line, if you’re Vita is desperate need of a recharge and a cleaning cloth, get it ready and be prepared to plug it in again. Although the experience doesn’t last as long as you’d like and sometimes you’ll get frustrated at the sheer difficulty, “MonsterBag”
The Good:
Awesome Music: With timing playing such a huge role in “MonsterBag,” the tunes do a great job of creating a cool atmosphere.
Surprisingly Gruesome: You’re going to die a lot in “MonsterBag,” but at least it’s fun. If caught by your enemies, you’ll be shot, ripped apart, punched, kicked and creamed in a variety of ways. Although dying usually means restarting the level, the firs few times won’t be so bad because you’ll want to see what happens.
Old-School Difficulty: Games like this aren’t made anymore. Not only is “MonsterBag” hard, there will be times where you actually want to hurl your pretty little Vita across the room in sheer frustration. Most of the time the answers are right in front of your face, but one puzzle in particular is sure to cause plenty of people problems.
Reminds Us of Weird and Classic Games: At times, “MonsterBag” has a “Dragon’s Lair” or “Braindead 13” feel, as it’s all about proper timing and button presses. But with your monster’s love of Nia, his best friend, it easily will make you think of another PS Vita classic, “Murasaki Baby.”
Awesome Visuals: If you combine the colorful atmosphere and character models of “Castle Crashers” with the creepiness of a Tim Burton flick, you’d be pretty close to how visually appealing “MonsterBag” is. While the repetitiveness of the puzzles hurts the overall, appeal, waiting to see what the next level will look like, or the short video in-between levels, it’s a beautiful game with a unique visual flair.
The Bad:
May Be Too Hard For the Average Gamer: As stated earlier, there will be times when “MonsterBag” is so difficult that you’ll want to give up. There will be other times when you’ll know exactly what you need to do, but you’re just not fast enough. Eliciting that type of emotion and introspection from a video game is rare- so rare that many gamers won’t like that long hard look in the mirror.
Game’s Pacing Stalls Towards the End: The game gets “realer” towards the end and the difficult gets ramped up. As a result, the speedy levels from earlier in the game disappear, replaced by epic ones with various steps. While they play awesome, many gamers enthralled from the early parts of the game may find themselves drowned.
Takes About Two-Three Hours to Beat: What you get during the time you play is awesome, but many gamers may feel they need more. At the same time considering the difficulty and various ways to play each level, there’s a bit of replayability there.
Final Thoughts:
Charming, difficult and beautiful, “MonsterBag” is a one-of-a-kind game that tales great advantage of the Vita hardware. If you own a Vita and feel like there isn’t a game worth your time, “MonsterBag” will do the near impossible, get you excited about playing the console again.
The post ‘MonsterBag’ Retro Review’: Unusually Brilliant appeared first on Old School Gamer Magazine.
