Dawn Of The Monsters
Before we begin, I’d like to give a special thanks to WayForward for giving us the chance to review Dawn Of The Monsters in lieu of the latest DLC patch for the game. Patch 1.2 includes a new Arcade Mode as well as a new kaiju to fight the Nephilim with. Meteor Temujin is essentially a homage to almost every Japanese mecha and tokusatsu genre action show from the 1980s to the 2000s. What’s unique about this giant mech is that it can change weapons on the fly, offering a versatile experience and many ways to serve the limbs of many giant monsters and other threats.
Released last year, Dawn Of The Monsters is a 2D action beat-em-up brawler that has elements of traditional gems like Streets Of Rage and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Due to the nature of controlling giant mecha and monsters to do battle with other larger-than-life, entire cities are lowered in scale by comparison. One of the game’s first areas takes place in a ruined Toronto, in which decayed buildings that would tower over humans under normal circumstances can be picked up by the player and used as a makeshift weapon.
In a sense, the game feels like Rampage in which destroying the city is not only expected but encouraged. Attacking enemies with the environment will increase a player’s rage meter. Rage is treated as a cost for a monster’s skills as well as the ability to execute enemies that are in low health. Spending rage on skills will increase a player’s “Cataclysm” meter, which is a unique ultimate attack every kaijuu has access to.
Meteor Temujin’s Cataclysm attack gives her a cool beam sword that allows her to attack enemies from a distance, evaporating them into dust. Another kaiju that’s based on long-range gun attacks can summon a giant laser cannon aptly titled Proton Cannon. A clear homage to War Machine and Iron Man in their Marvel vs Capcom iterations, there are tons of other references to anime and video games within Dawn of the Monsters. Some are subtle, like Eiji’s personality being similar to Spike from Cowboy Bebop.
The art style is perhaps the best example and Dawn of the Monsters’ biggest draw as it uses a “2.5 dimensional” approach with a hand-drawn style art direction. Each level felt as if I was playing through an interactive comic strip, not unlike the classics like Sega’s Comix Zone. When a player’s “cataclysm” meter is full, the meter turns into an ominous purple with various menacing kanji symbols straight out of Jojo’s Bizzare Adventure. The cut-ins for executions are grandiose for larger monsters, straight out of an action scene.
One of the biggest challenges in developing a game like Dawn of the Monsters is feeling like an unstoppable monster while combating worse threats. In Destroy All Humans, for example, you play as the “bad guy” who is larger than life than other humans yet they face off against worse threats. You are feared among humans so you’re able to get away with many things as an alien. Being a 100-foot kaijuu is no different, especially when being controlled by humans. It’s a subtle sense of immersion, but it’s enough to invest the player in destroying cities as much as they are saving them.
There are also customization options that behave similarly to other roguelikes in which players can randomly earn perks that will buff each kaiju. One perk will increase rage gain upon being hit, while others will grant a full cataclysm meter upon reaching low health. With enough creativity, players can create many innovative builds including a glass cannon one I had going.
I’d purposefully get my health low so I could enjoy the bonus buffs I’d earn from being in critical health and simply “not get hit.” It's easier said than done, especially with the volume of enemies in later stages, but plowing through waves and earning S ranks makes it all the sweeter.
Dawn of the Monsters surprised me outside of its beautiful exterior, like buying a fresh hardcover comic from a bookstore. I was enthralled with the art and comic influences, but the gameplay was what made me stick around and enjoy this rather short, yet satisfying beat-em-up.
There are tons of replay value with the inclusion of several “New Game+” modes. The newly added “Arcade Mode” lets players run a gauntlet from beginning to end with a set number of lives. Unlocking all of the skins and finding out more perks to use to create the most broken build are all reasons to keep coming back.
Dawn of the Monsters is available on Steam, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5