9 Monkeys of Shaolin

 PC
Metascore
71

Mixed or average reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 12
  3. Negative: 0 out of 12
  1. PC Invasion
    Oct 15, 2020
    85
    9 Monkeys of Shaolin is a great beat-em-up with excellent combat and a strong presentation. It won't take you very long but it's a blast while it lasts.
  2. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Nov 18, 2020
    80
    Too bad that when you really get in gear, end credits will start rolling all too soon – but it’s a common thing for beat ‘em ‘ups. Also, when a game feels too short – it’s a sure sign that it’s good. [Issue#249,p.58]
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  3. Worth Playing
    Feb 22, 2021
    75
    9 Monkeys of Shaolin is a solid package. The story and characters are forgettable, but the action is excellent once you get over a few annoying fights and power up. The game comes in at a decent length, and the presentation is good with a few incentives thrown in to make you want to attempt another run at the campaign to unlock everything. Genre fans may be spoiled with the number of games that have come out over the past few years, and 9 Monkeys of Shaolin is another good title to add to the backlog.
  5. CD-Action
    Feb 8, 2021
    75
    There’s nothing surprising or novel in 9 Monkeys of Shaolin, but when I defeated the last boss, I thought “that was exactly what I needed”. It’s a simple, old-school beat ‘em up that got pretty much everything right – the combat system, the enemies, the difficulty. It is quite short (ca. 5-6 hours), but I see it as an advantage – the game ends before its simplicity and mild repetitiveness become real downsides. [13/2020, p.48]
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  6. Everyeye.it
    Oct 15, 2020
    75
    The result is all in all surprising, for what turns out to be a voyage of revenge without artistic, narrative or cultural pretensions, contenting itself with being a very enjoyable and fluid video game "to beat".

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 12 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 12
  3. Negative: 2 out of 12
  1. Kirill_Klimov
    Nov 7, 2020
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. [9 Monkeys of Shaolin: Wrong Time, Very Wrong Time...]

    9 Monkeys of Shaolin is an example of how an average but promising product can be completely overpowered by the better in each respect Hades, issued in the same time period. And it is not even a question of comparison - of course, each game should be considered separately, without keeping in mind oeuvres in the similar genre. However, the excellency of Hades draws attention to all the things “9 Monkeys” is bad at, namely story and non-user-friendly gaming interface.

    Let us start with the plot. First, setting. The game is set in Medieval China, whose main historical rival is, of course, Japan. The stereotypical atmosphere of the last century action movies. And feels like that too: solving problems exclusively with brawls, old monks fighting for good, all that stuff. However, while I might enjoy a little nostalgia trip, having grown up on such films, a lot of people might not appreciate this outdated concept. Do not get me wrong: it is possible to set the game in any historical time period and any country (Assassin’s Creed and, well, Hades are prime examples of that) but this old setting should evoke some new feelings, which is not the case of 9 Monkeys of Shaolin.

    Second story-wise problem is connected with the characters. To begin with, I do not see nine equally well-developed personalities (thus, I start questioning the game name). In fact, I do not care about any of them. I just. Do not. Care. The main guy lost his relative - I do not care. One of the monks was blinded - I do not care. The conclusive mission in the game is imminent - why, thank spirits, the game is not that long to bore me. With such an attitude, it is very hard to develop any kind of involvement in the unfolding of the story. Consequently, without this involvement, 9 Monkeys of Shaolin qualifies as a one-time game: played, completed, forgotten.

    Next, gaming interface does not help in creating a captivating atmosphere. Although the problems on that front are initially insignificant, their cumulative number contributes greatly to spoiling the impression of the game. Namely, starting from unskippable logo demonstration and cutscenes to graphics no higher than 1280x800 (in a 2020 game!), it is like the game is sort of telling the player: “I am outdated. I would be still very decent in 2010 and would certainly be a hit in 2005, but now I am old. Let me rest in peace. Shoot me with a bullet you deflect so many times in the game; bullet, shot by a platformer-like soldiers, that just stand there and shoot, thus you cannot pass until you spin and deflect that bullet.” What I am also getting at is - why are there annoying platformer elements in a beat-’em up game?

    To conclude, 9 Monkeys of Shaolin is… okay. For one playthrough. It is fun, not extremely undemanding in terms of skill, and fight choreography is pretty cinematic. Nonetheless, “the true rebirth of the iconic beat 'em up genre?” Yes, the reincarnation happened. But with a different game title and 3 weeks later after the release of the “Monkeys”. Nice try, though.

    7 out of 10    … Full Review »
  2. Ordnik
    Apr 12, 2021
    10
    A great fighting game! I enjoyed it to the end.

    -Story is simple and short but good for a fighting game. -Never boring unique fighting    A great fighting game! I enjoyed it to the end.

    -Story is simple and short but good for a fighting game.
    -Never boring unique fighting style and powers.
    -Enemies are not so though to beat and not so easy either. Both their combat and apparel styles are really good.
    -Beautiful map designs.
    -Characters arent perfect but they are good enough.
    -Musics are very good.
    -Animations are fluent and realistic in somekind.

    Final note: Game needs more gameplay or background features. More enemy, weapon and armor would be much better.    … Full Review »
  3. broken777
    Dec 18, 2020
    0
    way to overrate something! There's so much missing in this game, not recommending this.
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