Monark (video game)

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Monark
Monark video game cover.jpg
Developer(s)Lancarse
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Fuyuki Hayashi
Mitsuhiro Hoshino
Composer(s)Tsukasa Masuko
Platform(s)
ReleasePlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch
  • JP: October 14, 2021
  • NA: February 22, 2022
  • EU: February 25, 2022[1]
Microsoft Windows
  • WW: February 22, 2022
Genre(s)Tactical role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Monark[a] is a 2021 Japanese role-playing game developed by Lancarse for the Playstation 4, PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch. It was localized and ported to Microsoft Windows by NIS America in February 2022.[1]

Gameplay[]

Monark is a tactical role-playing game with combat similar to Lost Dimension. Gameplay is split between the character evolving their own desires by exploring the school campus, and fighting monsters called "daemons" in the Otherworld.[2]

Story[]

Monark takes place inside Shin Mikado Academy, a high school sealed from the outside world by a barrier and enveloped in a mysterious mist that drives the students mad. The player is part of a group of students who gained the ability to enter an Otherworld, where the demons empowering the mist must be defeated.[3]

Development[]

The game is developed by Lancarse and published by FuRyu. Some members of the staff from the Shin Megami Tensei series were involved in the game's development.[4] Fuyuki Hayashi wrote the scenario and dialogue for all of the major characters, while Ryutaro Ito wrote for the NPC characters. Kazunari Suzuki provided supervision and feedback on all parts of the scenario.

Reception[]

Monark received "mixed or average" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[5][6][7]

IGN lauded the game's personalness, combat systems, and abilities, and cited the unengaging story, characters, party member system, enemies, repetition, and puzzles as its drawbacks.[12] Destructoid severely criticized the game's repetitive nature and concluded, "There are some novel ideas here, and if you’re looking for something outside the RPG status quo and with a darker vibe, Monark could fit the bill. Just go in knowing that it can get arduous, and you’ll need to overlook those faults to find what Monark does that’s really different."[8] Nintendo Life gave the game seven stars out of ten and praised the high-risk, high-reward combat system, creepy aesthetics, interesting story, and replay value, while criticizing the lackluster graphics, repetitive environments, and lack of enemy variety.[14] Push Square reviewed the game much more negatively, giving it four stars out of ten, and cited the use of the horror genre, boss designs, and music, as positives, while calling the repetitive, grindy combat the game's biggest downfall.[16] RPGFan liked the vocal tracks, opening cinematic, characters, themes and combat, and said that the game's bad pacing, subpar graphics and the transphobic treatment of the character of Perrine held it back.[18] Nintendo World Report thought that the story was interesting and that the stat progression system was unique but disliked the lack of environments, character-locking progression system, and puzzle design.[15]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Monark (モナーク, Monāku)

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Monark Worldwide Release Date Set for February 2022". Silicon Era. October 12, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  2. ^ "Monark, the School RPG from Ex-Shin Megami Tensei Devs, Comes West in February". IGN. October 12, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  3. ^ "New Monark Trailer Reveals More of Its Story and Characters". Siliconera. September 10, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  4. ^ "'New school RPG' Monark launches October 14 in Japan for PS5, PS4, and Switch; developed by Lancarse". Gematsu. June 9, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  5. ^ a b "Monark for Switch Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Monark for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Monark for PlayStation 5 Reviews". Metacritic. Red Ventures. Retrieved March 9, 2022.
  8. ^ a b Van Allen, Eric (February 22, 2022). "Review: Monark". Destructoid. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  9. ^ Brian, NE (October 6, 2021). "Famitsu review scores – October 6, 2021". Famitsu. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  10. ^ Shive, Chris (February 16, 2022). "Review: Monark". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  11. ^ Muñoz, José David (February 16, 2022). "Análisis Monark para Switch, PS4, Ps5 y PC; cuando el colegio SÍ que es una pesadilla" [Monark review for Switch, PS4, PS5, and PC; when schools IS a nightmare]. HobbyConsolas (in Spanish). Axel Springer SE. Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  12. ^ a b Hawkins, Cameron (February 18, 2022). "Monark Review". IGN. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  13. ^ Midnailah (February 16, 2022). "Test Monark : Une version revisitée de Persona 5 par des anciens de Shin Megami Tensei" [Monark Review : A revisited version of Persona 5 by former Shin Megami Tensei]. Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  14. ^ a b Vogel, Mitch (February 16, 2022). "Monark Review (Switch)". Nintendo Life. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  15. ^ a b Theriault, Donald (February 16, 2022). "Monark (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  16. ^ a b Cal McCormick, John (February 16, 2022). "Monark Review (PS5)". Push Square. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  17. ^ Mauricio, Luis (February 25, 2022). "Monark Review". RPGamer. Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  18. ^ a b Parsons, Izzy (February 16, 2022). "Monark". RPGFan. Retrieved February 23, 2022.
  19. ^ Saba, Gian Filippo (February 16, 2022). "Moanrk – Recensione" [Monark – Review]. The Games Machine (in Italian). Retrieved February 24, 2022.
  20. ^ Musgrave, Shaun (February 22, 2022). "SwitchArcade Round-Up: Reviews Featuring 'Sol Cresta' and Monark, Plus the Latest Releases and Sales". TouchArcade. Retrieved March 2, 2022.

External links[]

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