Reviews:
-
Well damn, who knew that within a two week span I’d play two very different titles on Switch that have the beat-em-up genre deep within their DNA but are so completely different and are also both fantastic for their own reasons. Dawn of the Monsters, which could have easily grabbed attention and a solid player base by simply being a giant kaiju and robot-filled brawler, instead checks off the easy boxes and then immediately goes and reaches for much more. No only is it satisfying to the kid in me who simply enjoys actively participating in battles between epic beasts amidst the ruin of cities, it also satisfies the more seasoned gamer in me who is looking to explore the nuances and possibilities of each character you have to work with (2 kaiju, and 2 robots, each with pretty distinctive moves, strengths, and weaknesses) while toying with cards you can use to compliment your preferred style of play. While the first campaign may be on the lighter side as you get the feel for the pretty deep set of moves, combos, and rage powers available to you as you keep going the game really demands that you have a cohesive plan and then are able to execute it well to do more than simply skirt by. Going back to previous levels to up your rating is well-rewarded with a more diverse and powerful set of cards to work with, and switching out sets when you’re dealing with the normal mobs or the powerful bosses is sometimes essential depending on your style. This is so much more than monsters wrecking stuff and looking cool, it’s also a deep and satisfying representation of how to use new concepts to strengthen the somewhat stagnant beat-em-up genre.
Justin Nation, Score:Nindie Choice! [9.0]