Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom

 PC
Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom Image
Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 5 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 37 Ratings

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  • Summary: A legendary game series returns with an all-new adventure and in stunning HD!

    Monster Boy is a colorful side-scrolling action adventure created in cooperation with Ryuichi Nishizawa, the creator of the famous Wonder Boy in Monster World series. Monster Boy is being created to bring back    A legendary game series returns with an all-new adventure and in stunning HD!

    Monster Boy is a colorful side-scrolling action adventure created in cooperation with Ryuichi Nishizawa, the creator of the famous Wonder Boy in Monster World series.

    Monster Boy is being created to bring back the enjoyment of the classic games that shine by simplicity. Exciting gameplay, upbeat music and smooth graphics. You'll need to overcome huge bosses, find hidden passages, discover powerful equipment and use all your wits and skills to remove a powerful curse.

    Transform into 6 different creatures, each with their own skills and abilities. Take advantage of all the unique powers to open new paths and advance in an epic story.

    We put all our passion into Monster Boy to create a truly enjoyable love letter to gaming from the 80's and 90's - will you join us and celebrate together with us?

    Features:

    * Switch between up to 6 playable characters: Each character feels different and all of them keep the gameplay fresh and exciting.
    * Unlock new paths and secrets with special equipment: Look for magic weapons and equipment that gradually open up the world.
    * Over 15 hours of epic adventure: Explore the new 'Monster World' in a huge interconnected environment.
    * Soundtrack from Japanese superstar composers: Yuzo Koshiro, Motoi Sakuraba, Michiru Yamane, Keiki Kobayashi and Takeshi Yanagawa
    * Full HD graphics at 60 frames per second: The game supports 1080p/60fps (docked) and 720p/60fps (portable mode)
    * HD Rumble support: Feel the action with high performance HD Rumble support    … Expand

Trailer

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Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom - Official Trailer | E3 2018

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. 3DJuegos
    Sep 11, 2019
    90
    An excellent platformer and action game, with a smart metroidvania layer on the top. It looks to the Wonder Boy classics, but still maintains the focus on achieving a modern game, with a good gameplay variety and deep. A complete surprise.
  2. Ragequit.gr
    Aug 5, 2019
    87
    Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom is a great action/platform that ideally touches on both nostalgia and the modern way of creating a quality Metroidvania game.
  3. GameStar
    Jul 26, 2019
    85
    The free movement between the characters and the clever use of the skills is exciting and I am always motivated to find and use the next animal form.
  4. GameSpot
    Dec 10, 2018
    80
    Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom not only pays faithful homage to Wonder Boy, particularly The Dragon's Trap, but by refining the solid foundations of its spiritual predecessors with modern affordances, it becomes a rich platforming adventure in its own right.
  5. PC Invasion
    Jul 29, 2019
    70
    Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom has a lot going for it, but its frustrations and pacing issues are a detriment to the overall experience.

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. SNESFanForever
    Jul 31, 2019
    10
    Played it until the 100% on Switch before. This game is so fantastic I had to buy it day-1 on PC to 100% it again. Monster Boy is one of myPlayed it until the 100% on Switch before. This game is so fantastic I had to buy it day-1 on PC to 100% it again. Monster Boy is one of my favorite Metroidvanias of all time so don't miss this adventure-filled pure gem!… Expand
  2. MarkusCreed
    Jun 20, 2020
    9
    Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom è una delle tante riproposizioni di vecchie glorie, eppure arriva a noi non solo con un nuovo nome, maMonster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom è una delle tante riproposizioni di vecchie glorie, eppure arriva a noi non solo con un nuovo nome, ma anche con qualche idea diversa dall’originale e figlia del periodo in cui è nato. Di conseguenza il risultato è sorprendente sia a livello ludico che estetico, diviso tra citazionismo e modernità. Insomma una formula vecchia e nuova, la quale non si pone alcun problema nell’offrire un’esperienza lenta, strutturata e difficile. Tirando le somme, sicuramente un prodotto genuino e interessante, del quale non mi dispiacerebbe per nulla vedere un seguito. Altamente promosso.… Expand
  4. Jezzreal
    Aug 3, 2021
    9
    This is quite possibly one of the best games I have played in the last few years! the artwork, the music, the game play! it is all flawless.This is quite possibly one of the best games I have played in the last few years! the artwork, the music, the game play! it is all flawless.
    I cannot recommend this game enough and cant wait to see what else this studio produce!    … Expand
  5. Fuz
    Aug 21, 2019
    8
    So. I completed the game, here's a quick review.

    Bottom line: I love it, it's amazing and it has great design for the most part. But it has    So. I completed the game, here's a quick review.

    Bottom line: I love it, it's amazing and it has great design for the most part. But it has problems, and it can be pointlessly irritating without never really being difficult.
    The art style is fantastic. It falls occasionally in the "flash vibe" that I find extremely offputting, but it's very limited and the wonderful art direction and amazing animations completely make up for it. It's really pleasant to the eye, with the detailed characters and vibrant colors that never go off-theme. Beautiful.
    The controls are pretty thight and responsive, you always feel completely in control of your character - except in a few certain particular situations that can lead to frustration (more of this later). Combat is pretty simple, you click and you thrust your sword, plus the various trasformations have puzzle-solving abilities that can also be used in combat. Old school, simple, effective. I like it, but it's probably a matter of taste: my friend found it too simplicistic and didn't like it at all. I put an accent on "thrust" and this is important: since you don't swing the sword (so you don't make an arc) but just hit right in front of you, combat against flying enemies can be pretty annoying. Especially when they decide to hit you going through walls. Quite annoying.
    The game starts like a classic platform-metroidvania... but this is somewhat deceiving. The more you progress, the more the accent is put on the puzzles and less on the platforming and exploration. After a certain point, every room is a puzzle room. The game changes A LOT after that certain point. And that point is the volcano. Man, **** the volcano and whoever designed that **** Anyway, this big change is the biggest downside in my eyes, since it makes the game kind of stressful and some "easy" connection room would have helped in relieving the stress of the constant puzzles. Let's add that the puzzles are often an exercise on frustration with no real difficulty, just plain "trial and error" that can get extremely annoying without really adding anything worthwile. Examples: as I said before, the controls are thight but not while jumping and "bouncing" on enemies, and there are a few puzzles where you are asked to do just that that quickly lead to frustration: jump, jump, you fall, you go back up, jump, jump, you fall et cetera. Both me and my friend found this really annoying and pointless. And let's not even talk about the puzzle where you have to freeze the fireballs. There's a puzzle where you follow some currents underwater, it's technically quite easy BUT if you are just a pixel too high or too low you get sucked in by another current and dragged all the way to the beginning. Irritating. Sometimes you really feel that the game is trying its best to just irritate you for no reason.
    Another little thing that annoyed me quite a lot: you find the last upgrade for the best gear at the very end of the room before the final boss' room. Really, what's the ****ing point? This leaves zero space to enjoy that hard-earned gear.
    I realize that, me being me, I talked way more about the downsides but overall the game is great fun, it's cheerful and light-hearted, it's most of the time a joy to play and explore and I liked it a lot... just be careful that can sometimes be an irritating chore.

    P.S.
    **** the volcano.
    Oh, by the way. My friend left the game at the mansion (the zone just after the volcano) because he were annoyed by the mirror puzzles: in his word that was pointless busywork and he just didn't care anymore.    … Expand
  6. MaxmilianKohler
    Sep 23, 2019
    6
    Would not recommend for most people.

    Keyboard/mouse controls are bugged and frequently don't register inputs. The game is probably better    Would not recommend for most people.

    Keyboard/mouse controls are bugged and frequently don't register inputs. The game is probably better with a controller.

    Other annoying bugs in the game.

    The bugs make it so that some solutions seem impossible until you see them solved and you realize you just have to keep trying to overcome the bug.

    The further I get in the game, the more I'm convinced the people who made this game are a** holes.

    They also waste your time with stupid stuff at some points.

    If you like doing things over and over and over and over and over and over again, this is the game for you.

    Frequently nondescript and often nonsensical. There is a useful instruction booklet that is not included inside the game menu. I discovered it after "completing" the game.

    I don't really like the aspect that you can be trying to "solve a puzzle" not knowing that it's not solvable till later in the game.

    If you just want to relax and have fun I wouldn't recommend this.

    If you're desperate for an extremely cryptic multidimensional puzzle game to challenge you, then you'd probably like this. If you think life isn't hard, frustrating, and stressful enough so you need games to make up for the missing hardship, then pick this one.

    I interpret this game as the developers making a personal attack on my well-being.    … Expand

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