Developer: Aquatic Moon Games
Publisher: GRAVITY GAME ARISE Co., Ltd.
Platform: PC, Switch
Tested on: Switch
Twilight Monk – Review
Twilight Monk is an action-adventure Metroidvania with RPG elements based on a series of books and comic books. In the game, you’ll play as Raziel to try and save Speria from an evil threat called Nox. Twilight Monk boasts numerous interesting elements that set it apart in the genre, including Raziel’s weapon, the Phantom Pillar, the RPG elements woven into this platformer, and the beautifully hand-drawn visuals. So, Twilight Monk is a solid adventure game that stands on its own and is worth playing whether you’re familiar with the source material or not.
Story
As mentioned in the introduction, you play as Raziel, the descendant of the last Twilight Monk. It’s now his responsibility to take up his weapon, the Phantom Pillar, and try to bring peace to the world of Speria, which is threatened by Nox. Nox is an exile of the Moonken order and has made it his mission to summon the World Eater using the three rings of the Triskelion scattered across Speria. In order to prevent this from happening, Raziel has to journey across the world to get to the rings before Nox does.
The story may seem like a classic “the good guy needs to save the world before the bad guy destroys it” kind of story, but Twilight Monk does it cleverly by adding memorable moments and humorous conversations. The humor, in particular, gives the story a fun and light-hearted side, which is nice since most of the places you travel through are rather dark. Some of the humor may feel a little forced at times, but it doesn’t get annoying. The NPCs Raziel meets during his journey are fun to interact with, but don’t add much to the story. But honestly, the story isn’t really the main focus of this game, it’s the visuals and gameplay that take the spotlight.
Graphics
One of the best parts of the game is its hand-drawn art style. It basically looks like a comic book that has come to life! Even though the characters Raziel meets throughout his journey don’t add much to the story, their expressive designs are amazing. The environments, too, are beautifully detailed, and the play of light adds a great deal to the atmosphere. The world of Speria might be rather dark, but its design certainly makes up for it. Once again, whether you’re a fan of the comics or not, the game’s stunning visuals stand on their own.
Sound
Combine the stunning visuals mentioned in the previous section with the game’s well-rounded soundtrack, and you have yourself a magnificent audio-visual experience. The music will have you hooked right from the start. Twilight Monk offers both calm melodies and thrilling numbers, which is the best of both worlds, right? All of the music fits the situations Raziel finds himself in throughout the game, which is another big plus in the game.
Gameplay
Twilight Monk is a 2D action-adventure Metroidvania in which you play as Raziel, who has to find the three rings of the Triskelion before Nox does. To do this, Raziel ventures into the world of Speria and makes his way through different dungeons. At first, Twilight Monk may feel like a traditional 2D action-adventure game, but it soon becomes clear it’s different from other titles in the genre. Rather than a single interconnected world, the game’s levels are segmented and connected by a top-down overworld map.
Twilight Monk delivers a great Metroidvania experience. You start with a basic attack and single jump, but as you make your way through the game, you’ll unlock new attacks, helpers, and badges to customize your experience. And typical to the genre, you’ll get access to new techniques like double jumping to unlock paths to places in previously visited areas you weren’t able to go before. These techniques are unlocked at a satisfying pace to make sure to keep things fresh and not overwhelm the player.
Let’s lean into the RPG elements mentioned before. Twilight Monk combines the traditional Metroidvania aspects with an overworld you can explore. The overworld is cleverly built, and the map always clearly shows where the next objective lies, which prevents unnecessary backtracking. However, when you encounter an enemy in the overworld, the game will send you into a limited area full of monsters for you to fight or flee from. Even though combat is necessary to level up your character, this gets annoying after a while. The dungeons can also be difficult at times, especially for casual players, which can be frustrating. It’s safe to say that patience is key in this case.
Next, Twilight Monk uses a hunting system that rewards players for defeating a certain number of a particular monster. The rewards you get for defeating enemies are a great motivator to actually engage in battles and not skip them to move to the next objective faster. This system is quite clever as battles get quite tedious after a while, but they are the way to level up your character, which means they remain important throughout the game.
Talking about combat, Raziel’s weapon is called the Phantom Pillar and is one of the game’s most interesting features. It’s a large pillar-like structure attached to a chain and is not only used to attack enemies, but can also be used to defend, to aid in platforming, and to solve puzzles. The weapon may look clunky, but it’s surprisingly easy to use. Additionally, Raziel can also use other weapons, but they’re not the main focus here.
Conclusion
Twilight Monk is a great adventure game with a beautifully built world, rewarding exploration, and a unique combat system. It doesn’t matter if you’re familiar with the source material or not because it’s an enjoyable game on its own. The game’s mix of 2D platforming, RPG elements, and exploration makes it stand out from others in the genre. Combat feels fresh, thanks to the interesting weapon Raziel wields, and the leveling system encourages engagement. However, there are some cons here and there, and the difficulty fluctuates throughout the game, but besides that, there shouldn’t be anything stopping you from trying it out.
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