Monsters Are Coming Rock and Road Review – A big innovation

Innovation is tough, especially in a genre so constrained like the one Monsters Are Coming Rock and Road has to deal with. Today I bring to you a Monsters Are Coming Rock and Road Review, and it is safe to say that this game right here managed to do the impossible. From the success of titles such as Vampire Survivors, a game that took over the world thanks to not only being quite cheap in the market, but also very addictive, there has been an endless barrage of games that just decide to copy and paste what worked without providing anything original to the mix.

This was becoming a big issue in the indie side of the gaming industry, and there’s still people perpetrating this. Thankfully, the developers behind Monsters Are Coming Rock and Road decided to put a stop to the trend of indie copy-pasters. It is safe to say that this is one of the most imaginative indie titles when it comes to mechanics, and it really got me hooked into wanting to play more of it. Classics like this are rare to find in the indie market, and I would have hoped this one came a tad bit earlier. The mixing of genres done for this game is pristine.

Primarily, Monsters Are Coming Rock and Road is a game that combines Vampire Survivors elements with the Tower Defense genre. While it might sound like a no-brainer to some, this game implemented the idea in such a way that feels truly innovative. We traverse maps that are given to us in a random way, these maps are long corridors where we have to guide our town center towards an specific objective. This town center would be the tower we have to defend, while our hero character is rather unimportant, it can die but the run won’t end, since it will be replaced as soon as it does, with a penalty on top of course.

What we must focus on is trying to make the best fortifications for the moving town that always advances forward, by collecting enough experience from killing monsters that try to siege it. Upon each level up, we can choose what structures to build, and all of these are important to ensure the long term survival of our town. Before entering a level, we are given the choice of which town to use, more will get unlocked as we progress, along with the areas we can traverse and even the difficulty of the game itself.

Each town has their own effect, the second town you unlock, being the Mirror Town, allows you to duplicate the structures we build as if it was a mirror in each side. The implementation of buffs and effects is rather innovative, because trying to build your town grid is limited to the amount of slots available, and it does not even there. There’s structures that are your main sources of damage, and there’s also those that try to give you passive gains in resources such as gold and experience for the town. The town isn’t the only thing that can get better however.

You can also improve your stats, you start with a puny axe or even a boomerang that barely does enough damage, but you can get upgrades to your attack speed and damage, along with other bonuses like harvesting speed. Harvesting is key in the game, as it allows you to get useful resources from the land to improve the town’s passives, not to mention that depending on the material, you can even heal up the town if it sustained any damage. Strategy in Monsters Are Coming Rock and Road is crucial if you wanna ensure the town survives the onslaught of monsters that attempt destroying it.

As the title implies, Monsters Are Coming Rock and Road is clearly a pun on Rock & Roll, and the music really tries to give off a vibe of an epic rock track you would hear in a concert. Although, I will admit the audio control was very weak, and the mixing feels like it needs more time in the oven, while the melodies and progressions are rather well made, sometimes it can get chaotic when the same tune mixes with chiptune during the final parts of a stage. The idea is appreciated, I’m a chiptune lover myself, but the execution needs more work behind to feel truly good.

The art style looks pretty good, the 3D is minimalist but the shading is what carries the game together. Despite there not being a lot of focus on the monster design, being mainly shadow blobs of what they look like spiders and other abominations, I will admit I grew fond of some of the boss designs in the game such as the tree monster that hurdles roots at you as it walks. Encounters can get very tough, especially during the last areas, I would even say that Monsters Are Coming Rock and Road is definitely a hard game, which goes hand in hand with the marketing behind it.

Do not let difficult deter you however, progression is also a thing in Monsters Are Coming Rock and Road and it allows to make runs easier each time you keep playing the game further. Each time you finish a run you get some points you can spend on permanent boosts such as town defenses and attack speed for the town, which greatly increases you chances of finishing a run in the next run you do. It does feel balanced, and the game also punishes you for being too greedy with resource gathering.

Monsters Are Coming Rock and Road is an engaging game, and it always got me wondering if I can just get in one run more before I have to do other things, this is the mark of success that a game of this genre should aim for. If you really like tough games, Monsters Are Coming Rock and Road is the game for you, if you like dark fantasy, this game is also for you but it isn’t the main draw. There’s tons of replay value in this game, since its primarily a roguelite experience that gives you infinite possibilities to play it. Of course, once you have everything unlocked the fun might end for some.

Monsters Are Coming Rock and Road Review – Verdict

[Editor’s Note: Monsters Are Coming! Rock & Road was reviewed on PC and a copy was provided to us for review purposes.]