Monark
Repetitive horror tale struggles to break past "just fine."
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Monark
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this game.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Monark is a Horror RPG (role-playing game) available for Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, and Windows. When a mysterious mist begins seeping into the halls of a school, there are strange occurrences of students going insane. Players are tasked with taking back the Shin Mikado campus building by building. The horror and suspense elements of this game may be disturbing for younger players, and there's mild violence, blood, and language throughout the game as well. Explicit gore is kept to a minimum, but some interactions between characters are negative and focus on the dark effects of traumatic experiences, such as characters suffering from intense guilt and self-harm. While this makes sense in the context of a horror game and isn't glorified, families should make note of this as they evaluate whether this is an appropriate choice for their teens.
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What’s It About?
Nothing has been normal at MONARK’s Shin Mikado Academy since the arrival of the Mist, which has infiltrated many of the school buildings and caused students to go insane. None of the students or faculty members know what to do about it until the unnamed protagonist recovers from the effects of the Mist by making a pact with a low-tier daemon named Vanitas, who represents the sin of Vanity. Vanitas explains that there are seven Pactbearers -- humans who have made promises to the seven deadly sins -- who are controlling the Mist by allowing it to leak in from the Otherworld, a realm where evil rules all. The protagonist joins his classmates, Chiyo and Nozomi, and escapes to the school infirmary, where he's able to share the discovery of Vanitas and help plan to defeat the Pactbearers and return the school to normal.
Is It Any Good?
The setup of this horror game is compelling, but the repetitive action keeps it from becoming truly enjoyable. Monark takes classic turn-based RPG (role-playing game) elements and weaves them in with horror elements usually reserved for more action-based games. In addition, this title manages to capture the horror and drama that can come along with an adolescent high school experience. Though the threat of the Mist is as serious as it could be, characters also face obstacles in their friendships and relationships, as well in competitions such as student government positions. The stakes of losing a friend and the challenges of developing one’s identity feel just as important as fighting Pactbearers, and this is really effective for storytelling.
In addition, the turn-based battle system is solid, and exploring the school -- especially on floors with Mist -- is suspenseful and tactical. But the gameplay of Monark begins to feel repetitive a bit too quickly to support the storytelling, and this can lead players to lose interest rather quickly. Firstly, the exploration element of Mist-infected areas contains short puzzles which involve speaking to students and delivering the correct dialogue choices to convince them to stop blocking a door or manipulating the player. These puzzles are, unfortunately, very similar to one another, and there are so many characters with side stories that it's difficult to feel compassion for anyone outside of the main cast. It's not that any of these problems are severe enough on their own to interrupt the game's pacing, but altogether, there's just nothing remarkable enough about Monark to keep players hooked through the repetitive moments.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about behaviors or emotions being labeled as a "sin." Where did this idea come from, and how does your family make decisions about which actions are "right" and "wrong?"
In Monark, many characters decide to make pacts with daemons as a way to deal with their pasts, but is there another way these characters could have chosen to heal from their experiences? What does this look like in real life?
Game Details
- Platforms: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: NIS America
- Release date: February 22, 2022
- Genre: Role-Playing
- Topics: Friendship, High School
- ESRB rating: T for Violence, Blood, Language, Suggestive Themes
- Last updated: February 16, 2022
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