Always Sometimes Monsters

 PC
Metascore
73

Mixed or average reviews - based on 26 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 11 out of 26
  3. Negative: 1 out of 26
  1. Eurogamer Spain
    Jul 29, 2014
    70
    The best thing about Always Sometimes Monsters is that it shows that videogames can tell everyday stories with an astounding proximity.
  2. Kill Screen
    Jun 4, 2014
    70
    It manages to provide an intimate journey for each player despite the breadth of human diversity.
  3. COGconnected
    Jun 2, 2014
    70
    Even though this game did a good job at focusing on choices, relationships, and the outcomes of the decisions you make, the simple controls and monotonous tasks really ruined it for me in the end. Overall this game will find an audience, but to tell you the truth it’s going to be a hit and miss affair if you will be the one that the game is meant for.
  5. Hooked Gamers
    Jun 26, 2014
    65
    If you're a gamer who likes action, then you'll probably want to skip the game, but if you want a game with a story that explores the human psyche, then Always Sometimes Monsters may be right up your alley.
  6. Gamer.nl
    Jun 12, 2014
    65
    Always Sometimes Monsters is an intellectual RPG-like variant in the Choose Your Own Adventure genre. Unfortunately, the game is not as clever as it wants to be. The ethical choices seem to have a big impact, but afterwards you find out you have only chosen from a limited number of flavors. Moreover, the annoying RPG Maker engine causes the real potential of the game to be absent.
  7. CalmDownTom
    Aug 21, 2014
    60
    A strange curio that offers something different, and what it gets right should be applauded.
  8. RPGamer
    Jun 27, 2014
    60
    Always Sometimes Monsters falls short of its potential.
  9. games(TM)
    Jun 23, 2014
    60
    Always Sometimes Monsters again shows up that ‘game’ is a word whose time is done. There is nothing playful about this experience – it’s a mixture of repetitive tasks that riddle your fingers with despair and increasingly-depressing plots. This then is a ‘life failure’ simulator, like Cliff Harris’s sandbox Kudos 2. Like that, it’s compelling, enlightening and moving – but hard to call ‘fun’.
  10. Hardcore Gamer
    May 29, 2014
    60
    Always Sometimes Monsters is a unique and distinctly powerful experience, but it is also deeply and undeniably flawed.
  11. GameSpot
    Jun 16, 2014
    50
    The camera's viewpoint, an otherwise awkward mash-up of overhead and axonometric shots, reveals all the pixelated squalor, all the detritus and homelessness and violence that so often goes ignored by the upper crust. The RPG feels at home here, among the dregs of society, like it did back in the Midgar slums of Final Fantasy VII. The genre's old mainstays--fetching, bartering, and grinding--are much more suited to a blue collar than they are to plate armor.
  12. NZGamer
    May 29, 2014
    50
    Poor pacing, clumsy scriptwriting, and an overall lack of polish (even by indie standards) make it all to easy to bow out before this monster can sink its claws into you.

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 82 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 46 out of 82
  2. Mixed: 21 out of 82
  3. Negative: 15 out of 82
  1. kman1
    May 23, 2014
    10
    Didn't expect this much fun when I bought this. made me take a good look at myself.
    Playing it over again with a totally different attitude.    Didn't expect this much fun when I bought this. made me take a good look at myself.
    Playing it over again with a totally different attitude.
    I highly recommend it.    … Full Review »
  2. FolkenVIII
    May 27, 2014
    10
    This game is an experience.
    First, let's be clear :
    DON'T buy this game if : - You don"t speack English - You don't like to read (there is    This game is an experience.
    First, let's be clear :
    DON'T buy this game if :
    - You don"t speack English
    - You don't like to read (there is a LOT of dialog)
    - You are not an open-mind person
    - You are alergic to the old school graphics

    So, Always Sometimes Monster will show you basically what type of person you are :
    Are you ready to work hard to get a few legit money to eat a sandwish, but not enought to sleep into a confortable bed, or are you ready to take the money of an old lady for your own confort ?
    If someone is bad at you, will you injure him or will you investigate to find something that could make him jobless ?
    Do you want to live in the past and try to find the lost love of your life, or do you want to live to the futur, without her/him ?    … Full Review »
  3. GeekAssassins
    May 27, 2014
    10
    Always Sometimes Monsters is a unique RPG made by Vagabond Dog with publishing services by Devolver Digital. The price is $9.99, with salesAlways Sometimes Monsters is a unique RPG made by Vagabond Dog with publishing services by Devolver Digital. The price is $9.99, with sales available on Steam, and is available on PC. The aim of the game is to tell a story of choice and consequence that reverberates the human experience. The question is, does it succeed?

    Story and Dialogue

    The story follows your choice of character on a mission to get from east coast to west to see the ex of your choice. You’re flat broke, making the trip an almost epic adventure. This is the true beauty of this game. The story is a very real telling of what it is like to have an obstacle in front of you without having the luxury of being able to throw money at the problem. Finding a couch to sleep on feels like a blessing after having to sleep outside a few nights. As it should. The dialogue between characters comes off naturally and smooth compared to some other RPGs out there, and the colorful cast of characters never tend to filter too much. Playing the story of ASM felt very much like playing through an indie film, or a gritty show from FX or HBO, and the experience is an awesome one.

    Control

    The game plays as well as any other game made with RPG Maker. Everything is solid in the fact that pushing buttons makes things happen. There is no reinvention of the wheel here as it is not needed. If you’ve played any RPG since the SNES you probably know how the controls feel.

    Art

    The character portraits are nice to look at and the in game sprites are reminiscent of old school RPGs. The towns are a perfect size and layout being big enough to explore but small enough to remember where you’re going. Small details set off the overall feel of the game, whether it’s a stray piece of graffiti or campaign posters plastered around. The only problem I experienced was the floor looking like a curb once and I didn’t think I could walk any farther when I could.

    Sound

    Menu sound effects are a delicious 16bit variety, and the soundtrack absolutely shines here. It never got on my nerves and there are a few tracks on there that are solid arguments for buying the soundtrack.

    Fun

    This category is a tricky one. Always Sometimes Monsters is not necessarily a fun game. The mini games are a bit of social commentary or an in-joke. The game itself is not aiming to be fun or offering a new mechanic that could be manipulated for your own fun. The star of the show is the story and in that respect ASM is a blast. I have multiple replays planned for different actions and to see the different dialogues. The story wanted to share the human experience, and this is how I’ll judge the game in this category. ASM is the only game I can think of off the top of my head that made me reflect on my actual life. The final hour or so offered a story and series of choices that forced me to reflect on similar situations. I had my ending plotted out in my head before a few of the last elements played out, and once they did my game played out the opposite way. The game did not actively manipulate me into choosing something different, but the story put me into such a mindset that this happened anyway.

    Final Tally

    Always Sometimes Monsters is a beautiful experience. Beauty does not always mean pleasant or fun or joyful. ASM is a defining moment in the video games can be art argument. Not everyone will like it. Some typical gamers will flat out hate it. But if you’re not typical, and if story matters to you more than twitch reflex, then by all means buy this game.

    Score: 10 – Buy Now    … Full Review »
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