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Short, yet moving

Overview:
I have always been one to find myself drawn to games that have a sort of unique quality. I don’t enjoy run of the mill RPGs. I like a game with heart. I like a game that after you play it, you feel a little something in your chest. That feeling may not last very long, but for the time you play it, and for the briefest of moments afterwards (and sometimes a lot longer than a “brief” moment) that game has touched you and connected with you. I feel that this game, Monochrome, has done that for me.

In this review, you can expect a breakdown of the gameplay, the story, the atmosphere, and then an overall rating. No worries; this review will be spoiler free.

Gameplay:
Monochrome’s main gameplay mechanism is a process of finding items, solving math-y/number problems, and using some logical reasoning, coupled with patience. About halfway through the game, I got stumped and had to get something to eat before continuing. I needed some time to digest the problem being presented.

Personally, I love a game that provides a little thinking challenge, and I can say that Monochrome did indeed force me to think. However, if numbers aren’t your thing and you want a quick fix to solve your game-playing needs, this game would probably not be suited for you.

That said, one small thing did affect my overall appreciation of the gameplay: Until the game’s climax, you seem to just repeatedly do the same sort of general thing, which does get monotonous. Being as the game is a small game, and the setting of the game. I can’t really say that this bring that game down too much, because it all aligns with the story in a concise manner. I only wish that there was a little more variety to the puzzles, however I understand why it was done the way it was done, and I still feel it was great. So like I said, only a miniscule detail.

Gameplay rating: 4.5/5

Story:
Ah, the story. I thoroughly enjoyed the story. I won’t give away anything to ruin it for anyone who wishes to check it out, but the story does not disappoint. Starting at the beginning of the game, foreshadowing of something horrible that happened on “that day” lingers throughout the game, a sort of heaviness that is magnified by the atmosphere (more on that below).

As the story progressed, I began to come up with ideas for what had happened, until you are given a big visual clue. The story almost felt a little cliché, but it was just enough non-cliché, that it was good and satisfied my need for a good ending, instead of falling short with predictability.

At the end of the game, the credits roll before it shows the final scene of the game that ties everything together and really hits home. I almost made the mistake of closing out the game, which would have definitely not satisfied my need for resolution, but I patiently waited just in case there was a final scene. Playing this game is well worth the ending provided, so definitely check it out.

Story rating: 4.5/5

Atmosphere:
Now in this section, I’m going to discuss both the music and the graphics.
Let’s talk graphics first. The unique graphics of this game are what originally turned me onto the game. I saw the screenshot in the most recent shots on the homepage of this site, and thought to myself, now here is a game that has piqued my visual interest, what is it all about? And as I played the game, I loved the graphics more. There’s just something about the main character in this game that just tickles my fancy. What’s more, they perfectly accented the game.

Now, onto the music... Now this game didn’t have any songs that you’ll be humming to yourself or anything like that, but it didn’t have songs that were annoying that you had to mute the game. The music and sounds went well and added to the overall feel of the game in a very beneficial and subtle way. As a fellow musician, I found this very appeasing and would like to say hats off to the sound designer.

Atmosphere rating: 5/5

So to sum it all up, I really enjoyed this game a lot. For a small game, it definitely impacted me in a way I wouldn’t expect, and if you like puzzles and numbers, as well as a good story, then you should definitely check out Monochrome.

Overall rating: 4.5/5 (but really 4.75 imo)