I had been sick of saving the world, fighting zombies or shooting people in games. Always Sometimes Monsters featured a storyline where I was just an ordinary person trying to stay alive in this cruel world & to get back with my significant other. I definitely recomend.

Pre-emptive warning: I haven't spoiled any major plot points, but there are some tonal spoilers for one of the game's endings.

I err on the side of recommending this game, but I can't claim that it isn't very deeply flawed. Its main failing is that the story is about a lot of things, but the ending is 100% reliant on whether or not you "win back" your love interest. Personally, I thought it would be most satisfying to play a character initially very deeply set on reconnecting with his ex, but gradually coming to terms with the breakup and, in the end, letting the ceremony go uninterrupted. In this playthough, I had been successful in almost every aspect of my life: religiously keeping a journal, participating only in activities I believed in, and treating everyone with kindness. My character's future was promising. So, what ending did I get?

The one where I'm suicidal, nihilistic and alone because I couldn't bear the pain of losing my ex-girlfriend, who I'd had every intention of getting over on the way to her wedding. This is the only ending possible if you fail to "win her back", regardless of your other achievements or the way you've roleplayed your character. The game as a whole could be massively improved by the removal of the framing device at the beginning and end, as, for many endings, it fundamentally doesn't make sense and stands contrary to the story's themes. There's a fine post-credits scene, but it didn't negate my confusion at my character's hysterical response to making a perfectly fair, mature decision that, in my mind, caused him no great pain. It was a very "Huh?" moment for me.

As for the rest of the story, it's pretty good. Tonally uneven but not at all bad, and I genuinely enjoyed most of the campaign. The trip was gruelling but satisfying, with more than its share of close calls and poignant moments, and it felt like I was coming to the end of a long journey when I finally arrived at the ex's wedding location. It's not realistic, but there's a realness to it -- something humbling about the situations you're faced with, an earnestness in the way the game presents love, friendship, and hope. I guess that's why I felt degraded by the ending... I mean, how can my character be so nihilistic when the past month has probably been the most interesting in his life? He's learned so much, experienced so much, yet the game gives me a pitch-black failstate because I didn't adhere to the arbitrary goal. It's not only unsatisfying, but also troubling philosophically. I guess I would recommend this game with the cliche that you should focus on the journey, not the desitation... or play with the LI in mind. Either way.

Accidentally chose to become a poor lesbian, just like real life.

Always Sometimes Monsters is frequently tedious and rife with things that shatter any suspension of disbelief. I had high hopes for this game, but it really fails to deliver on its promise of an open story of moral ambiguity in favor of a tedious romp through a poorly explained plot that looks like it was written by a 15-year-old going through their "edgy" stage. There is a lot to do, but none of it feels especially worth doing, and a lot of it affects nothing so far as I can tell. Maybe there's a point to buying crab rather than chicken apart from wasting money. Also, ideas like "Sandwich Furtures" traded at a terminal in a sandwich shop, banks that require a security question to make a deposit, and day care providers willing to overlook an allegation of terrorism on a criminal background check are all sufficiently stupid (and not actually funny) that they do nothing but detract from the story.

The characters are too close to being parodies of archetypes to feel truly endearing, and some of them are introduced to disappear completely from the game moments later. I stayed at a girl's house for nine days and saw her exactly once, despite the fact that the she seemed like she could be an interesting and dramatic character. Meanwhile, I have to deal with the Kurt Cobain / Courtney Love analogues far more than I want. Too often, the choices I wanted to make I could not, and the questions I wanted answered were not.

Production-wise, the graphics are bland and inconsistent Some characters look completely different in their close-up versions and their walking versions. The imagery is often too cartoony for how dark the subject matter is trying to be (although a lot of that "darkness" comes off as a ham-fisted attempt at shock value), but not cartoony enough to feel like more than a bland vaguely anime look. The sound effects are ear-bleedingly jarring at times, with obnoxious beeps and sudden bursts of animal noise contrasted by the near complete silence of the game world apart from the music (of which I have generally few complaints). Even when the sound effects are appropriate, the lack of other appropriate sound effects make them feel out of place. If that was a design decision, it was a terrible one, but judging by the overall production value, I suspect they just couldn't be bothered to put any serious work into them.

I'm glad I got this as part of bundle, because I'd feel cheated if I paid for this by itself.

Wow, this game is good.

I'm a sucker for any game with a good story and Alway Sometimes Monsters does not disappoint. Not only does this game feel real but it also makes you think. I really do enjoy the simple graphics and I just love games that let you chose your sexuality instead of forcing you to be straight.

I want more games like this.

Always Sometimes Monsters is far from perfect; there are glaring flaws to be seen. But for every misstep it makes there are moments that hit their intended mark so well it transcends any amount of mini-game drudgery that came before it. It oozes personality and that personality can often be found to be your own. It is at times absurd, mundane, funny, hopeless and mean, but always endearing. And sometimes it's brilliant.

I really wanted to like this game, but I haven't been able to immerse myself in this world for reasons that escape me. |

I LIKE pixel graphics.

I LIKE thought-provoking concepts.

I LIKE things that aren't based around world war whatever or aliens or zombies or goats.

Too many of the situations in the game come off as trite. However, maybe I will eventually come around to enjoy this, but as it stands the world is/was too bland and forced.

Good game, unlike other games in the market this will give a new experience taking decisions which will effect the story.
7/10 worth to try in a discounted price

✓ Interesting story
✓ Nice pixal graphics.
✓ Great sound track.

✖ Sometimes the story might get borring.

Well what to say about this game.... To be 100% honest the only reason I chose to play this was because it offered me cards and I got it as a side dish in one of my humble bundles, but that aside.... I enjoyed my time playing it.

I like the game. I like it because it has a charm about it, games don't always have to be some epic tale about how you slew the dragon or about what kind of kill-streak you're going to get, this game just tells life how it is for some people. I mean seriously, I never figured I would enjoy a game that literally let me watch my neighbor granny give a blow-job, or when I had to sell all my stocks of sandwiches in order to eat for the day, which by the way I had at least 8 bacon burgers that day... oh yeah also I got drugs for this one lady and then she gave me a key to her apartment, next day I walked in on her getting ♥♥♥♥ed by her boyfriend, "You just gonna stand there or join in?"

10/10

Either way, I guess the point I'm trying to make is that it's serious, but it's not too serious, the game is fun, and you make it with what choices you make, so the game really shows off well in a lot of aspects.


So yeah, get it play it etc. fun game, I'm glad I was forced to sit through a few hours playing.

• Story: 10/10 (Refreshing choose your own story and stuff, it's great.)
  
• Gameplay: 6/10 (Well, the game doesnt rate highly here but its good fun to sit down for a few hours to nonetheless.)
  
• Presentation: 8/10 (RPG Maker? maybe but at least its better than average.)
  
• Soundtrack: 9/10 (I liked it)
  
• Replayability: 8/10 (If you play through all the paths I guess it will run out)

Few games manage to tell such a breathtaking story with such admirable minimalism as Always Sometimes Monsters does. What’s even greater is you are in control of the story, and how the game will pan out. For me, calling this a game is an understatement of what it really is. Always Sometimes Monsters is a declaration about life, about how our choices are all we really have, and about how those choices, no matter how small, can reorient our life in ways that we can never predict. In life there is regrets, happiness, anger, wishfulness and countless other human feelings. Always Sometimes Monsters shows that while experiencing these feelings is inevitable, you will never be able to travel back and reshape your life with different choices, so you have to make the best of what you have and never sink into regret with the decisions you’ve made in life, or you will never be able to move forward in the unique journey that is your life. 10/10

Got tricked into playing as an asian lesbian
Received dirty pictures almost instatnly
Had a poo three times in a row
Was racially abused within 5 minutes
Robbed an old lady of her baseball cards
Killed pigs for half an hour to accquire dosh
Thrown into a homeless shelter because I didn't buy a bag and got beated to death by guards
Blew up someones car and left his 5 children to fend for themselves in the ♥♥♥♥-end of nowhere
Got my backstabbing ♥♥♥♥♥ of a best friend shot and had a panic attack
All this to get my girlfriend back
She dumped me again
Ended up as a suicidal hobo

10/10 accurate representation of my everyday life

I'm amazed this came out of RPG Maker.

I'm amazed that this game basically is The Adventures of Commander ♥♥♥♥up on Planet Anguish-Fueled Poverty. It even allows you to choose what race, gender, and sexual preference you want to be, adding little hints of flavor text that color the world around your character. I didn't notice this because I played a short-haired white male and therefore WHITE MALE PRIVILEGE MAKES THE BITTER MEDICINE EASIER TO SWALLOW, TRA LA LA LA LA

It does that thing where it turns the little mini-games that should be easter eggs and makes them a part of the game. Some of these are justified (and can even be fun), some really should have been flushed down the toilet. So you have to play Frogger in order to not ♥♥♥♥ up at a mission. Then you have to learn this confusing boxing mini-game in order to finish an objective on the straight and narrow. I hated these parts. Luckily, you can (mostly) skip these by being an unlikeable ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.

Can I love the storytelling some more? ♥♥♥♥ yes, I'm going to.

It's one of those games you have to play for the storytelling. The game is centered around emotional bonds and relationships and how easily you can make or break them. My playthrough took me down a horrid little path where I used a character's secret plushie porn as blackmail, ended up fixing a boxing match in the most horrid way possible, and journeyed my way to San Verano, burning bridges and narrowly avoiding one emotional, traumatic bullet only to get hit with another. On top of that, there's loads and loads of opportunities for the writing to shine here, and they are not wasted. It's the game where you can be a horrid ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ through actions and dialogue alone, like in real life! Like I did! Like I am doing right now!

So if you're looking for a reason to hate yourself over a video game, make it because of something you've experienced in Always Sometimes Monsters. Don't do it because you're bad at Dota or Halo or whatever trivial ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ is the flavor of the month, do it because you accidentally took a family's lost dog and sold it to some awful dog trainers. Like I did.

Sucked a guy's ♥♥♥♥ to have a place to sleep. Smoked meth to acquire cleaning supplies. 10/10.

The idea behind the game is good, but the title is ruined by money farming in order to proceed in the story. If you want achieve the best ending, you need an insane amount of money, and still the ending will be simply awful.
Also there is not a moral dilemma, since you can play as a bad or good guy, choices are always clear and you won't be forced to act badly to complete your goals.

Got this through the humble bundle when I had origonally bought it for Insurgency. I absolutely loved this game. Would buy again! :)

It's very difficult to recommend this game despite its rather lofty goals, which I respect. However, it fails to deliver on practically any of them, including an engaging premise. The consequence-driven gameplay is little more than a thinly-veiled illusion and the "adult choices" amount to little more than having tosubject yourself to menial, boring minigames in the semblance of menial, boring labor to earn a paycheck. There's little reality here, despite all its claims to be more mature and adult.

I respect what the devs tried to do, but ultimately, they failed.

I tried to steal money from Game Developer but then i died
10/10 Will play it again sometime

Damn! This game is funny as hell! The story is hilarious! And..(spoiler shizzle) investing in Sandviches? Rap-lyrics as password for your Happy Pills? I find this quite creative. If you want to be amazed, well just play it, and enjoy :3

Just how vital is writing, the actual crafting of words, when it comes to presenting a great story and motivating listeners to keep watching? That’s a question Always Sometimes Monsters distills back to its core, with a 16-bit era roleplaying game (RPG) seen through text boxes, no voice acting and a pace dictated by hundreds of conversations. It’s thanks to consistently interesting characters entering the stage and down to earth yet surreal moments that this adventure manages to captivate all the way to its end. Having a say in a lot of the direction in which the tale unfolds just makes it that much greater, even if it’s not ideal.

Full review: http://www.noobfeed.com/reviews/1074/always-sometimes-monsters

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c76EkBde2D4

Brief impressions/Terrible writing

I don't know if I like this game or not. In the very beginning you can get a bad end really fast by selecting a certain choice. Which I did choose even though I knew it was not the right one. Pretty much the basic set up is you chose a character by talking to someone during a particular party scene. It was pretty confusing at first who I was going to be playing as until I got the gist of what was happening. From what I understand the game simulates the struggle of being out of work and trying to make rent. It places a big emphasis the choices you make on how you're going to earn cash to pay rent. I don't believe there's a morality checker, so there are no right/wrong choices to make. I'm sure the player is supposed to meet some parts in the game where your moral stance on things is going to be questioned.

The biggest gripe I have with this game is the lack of an options menu allowing you to change the movement to WASD. Other than that it seems like a real slog to go through which is going to run my patience quite quickly. Perhaps once I get further into the game is when it will really click for me. Overall I would recommend this game if you like role playing a person going through a ♥♥♥♥♥♥ time in their life.