Monster Prom is ready to go on Nintendo Switch, bringing us the definitive XXL version. Learn more about this fun visual novel dating sim in our Monster Prom XXL review!
Spain-based indie studio Beautiful Glitch took dating sim Monster Prom to Kickstarter way back in 2016, asking for a modest €8,000 to fund the development of the project. By the end of the Kickstarter, Monster Prom had obtained four times that amount. It’s now 2020, and along with publisher Those Awesome Guys, Monster Prom has landed on Nintendo Switch as Monster Prom XXL, a revamped take on the game that is the definitive version. It includes the base game, the Second Term DLC, and all seasonal content that has been made available for the game since it’s Steam release. Now you can enjoy new events, unlock new endings, and meet new characters while playing at home or on the go!
As the name suggests, in Monster Prom, you’ll be selecting a monster to take on a journey over the last few weeks before the prom – that most peculiar of high school events – and there’s one big problem: you still have no date! It’s up to you to do whatever it takes to get a date for prom, but you’ll need to be careful because everyone else around you is trying to do the same thing! Pick your character, select its name and pronoun, and get ready for a fast-paced, fun – and funny! – competition. The game is rated M for Mature, so do expect this one to have some strong language and other elements that usually get a game that particular age rating.
Once you’re ready to start, you can select the number of players that will take part in the game (from one to four players in total), if you’re going to play the original game or the DLC campaign, and if you want to take on a short version of the experience, or on the full version of Monster prom, with the game letting you know that the short game is 30 minutes long, and the full game is 60 minutes long, give or take some minutes. And in case you’re wondering, the game length also applies to the Second Term DLC campaign. After you’re done with this, you’ll be ready for a new adventure at Spooky High School.
You’ll be trying to win the attention of six students. There’s Miranda Vanderbilt, a cute mermaid princess with a bit of a temper; Damien LaVey, a fire loving demon with a penchant for destruction; Scott Howl, a werewolf jock with a heart of gold; hipster vampire Liam de Lioncourt who is a bit of a dork – in a good way!; Polly Geist, a party ghost who is always up for a good time, and Vera Oberlin, a self-made gorgon who is always on top of things. Who will you try to get as your prom date?
Monster Prom XXL will throw a bizarre quiz at you that needs to be answered in order for the game to generate the stats for your character – stats that seem to do a good job at revealing your true self! The questions are truly bizarre and weird, but they do help to also set the overall tone of the game. I mean, when you have a question that asks the coolest reality show would be, and one of the potential answers is, “Twelve experts on the various arts of seduction live in a house where they must face a common challenge: seducing a potato into marriage… somehow,” then you certainly know what you’re getting yourself into!
You will need to make the most of your character’s smarts, boldness, creativity, charm, fun, and money stats – as well of the initial boost you get with one of the potential candidates from one particular question and its answer – to move around the school each week, trying to find what the best course of action is to woo your potential date. Every decision you make will have an impact on your character’s development, bringing you closer – or further away – from who you want to go to the prom with. Be careful, because failure and rejection can certainly be one of the outcomes of the game!
Under the Gallery menu, you can take a look at all of the endings you have unlocked, check out the polaroids that have been added to your collection, check out some bonus art, fanart, and even the monstersonas of the Kickstarter backers that pledged enough to have it included in the game. There are pages and pages of bonus content to unlock and check out under the Gallery section, so if you’re the type of gamer who likes to 100% a game, you’re going to be spending a while getting everything added here!
Monster Prom XXL is a fun ride that offers some good replay value thanks to its one to four-player mayhem, many different endings to unlock, a whole second DLC campaign to play, and two different game lengths so that you can dive into a half-hour experience or a full hour session depending on how much free time you have. Due to the game’s setup and overall nature, it’s not going to be for everyone, and this one does earn it rated M for Mature. Monster Prom XXL is out now on Nintendo Switch with a $15.99 asking price.
Disclaimer
This Monster Prom XXL review is based on a Nintendo Switch copy provided by Those Awesome Guys.
