Sometimes Always Monsters

Sometimes Always Monsters is an unconventional narrative RPG that treats ordinary adult life, relationships, personal ambition, and reputation as the foundations of its role-playing. Developed and published by Vagabond Dog, it follows a newly married author embarking on a cross-country promotional tour for an upcoming novel. What initially appears to be a promising step forward in the protagonist's career becomes considerably more complicated when accusations of plagiarism begin circulating. Instead of fighting monsters or exploring dangerous dungeons, the player must deal with rumors, friendships, marriage, professional pressures, and the consequences of their own behavior. The journey takes place across five cities, with the protagonist meeting fans, critics, fellow travelers, and numerous other personalities along the way. Conversations are the game's primary form of interaction, but there is considerable freedom behind them. You can approach life as a dedicated professional determined to accomplish every objective, behave like an irresponsible slacker, or fall somewhere between those extremes. Countless dialogue choices help establish your personality, while everyday decisions…

There might not be something as a 'perfect sequel', but I think this comes pretty close. Firstly, there are SO many different viewpoints you get to explore depending on the people you choose to come with you. I love how they talk about writing and all explore separate issues regarding their personal experience. I also love that they all have their own relationships with each other, and you get to see how much they either like or dislike being around one another on the tour. Personally, I felt DeMarcus hit especially close to home in some cases because I grew up with the wrong people going free the ones who did their best to be good people seemed to always get caught for something meaningless. Or, they would take the fall for someone, and now they have a permanent record. As a woman, Ruth also hit pretty close to home, but she can also come off as pretentious (not a bad thing at all, I think it fits her character well and speaks to how we can sometimes push people away from our cause when it's the only thing we care about). Like, she didn't care about women, individually, but rather cared about the movement, itself, which is where it can lose people. (That's not to say she doesn't…

PEAK

Probably one of the most memorable games. I played ASM on PS4 and I fell in love with the down-to-earth, slice-of-life mixed with chaotic elements theme that went on. I was unable to import my save file but i was very surprised to see a continuity questionnaire that helped big time. I love the endless possibilities and little easter eggs scattered throughout, i can tell a great amount of love was put into this game. Great continuation of story.

[b]Sometimes Always Monsters[/b] is one of those sequels that becomes impossible to judge without the weight of its predecessor attached to it. If this game existed entirely on its own, detached from the expectations created by Always Sometimes Monsters, it would probably be seen as a decent narrative-driven indie RPG with strong writing and some interesting ideas. Unfortunately for the game, that is not the reality it exists in. The original game left a lasting impression on many people because of its masterful storytelling, memorable choices, and unique atmosphere, so expectations for the sequel were naturally very high. The fact that you can even import your save file from the first game only reinforces that emotional continuity. Seeing your previous decisions carry over into a new story is genuinely one of the coolest aspects of the entire experience and immediately makes longtime fans more invested in what happens next. And to be fair, there are still flashes of brilliance here. Whenever the game shifts away from its repetitive gameplay loop and focuses entirely on dialogue, character interactions, and cutscenes, the writing quality shines through once again. The developers …

Always Sometimes Monsters is a story-driven adventure about everyday choices and their consequences. You work odd jobs, travel from city to city and try to rebuild your life after a breakup. The gameplay is simple, but the decisions are not — friendships, loyalty, money and survival all pull in different directions. What stood out to me was how human the characters felt: nobody is perfect, and the game never forces a “right” answer. It kept me playing to see where my version of the story would lead.