Monomyth is said to be inspired by the likes of old-school dungeon-crawler RPGs like FromSoftware's King's Field, along with classic immersive sims such as Arx Fatalis. Those games are a bit before my time, but if they invoke the same feelings of exploration and mystery as Monomyth, I have a couple more items to add to the gaming backlog.
Who Will You Be in Monomyth?
Indeed, if there ever was a game that captured the spirit of exploring an unknown, unfathomable dungeon, Monomyth is a crowning example. If I had to draw an even closer comparison, Monomyth feels like one giant Elder Scrolls dungeon, though this game is much more robust and open-ended.
This is precisely the reason why I'm excited to see how Monomyth develops throughout its Early Access duration. Strange obelisks, forgotten ruins, and decrepit crypts are the tip of the iceberg in Monomyth, and you'll explore all of these areas with your very own classless character.
I emphasize classless, as the main character is not necessarily bound to a single archetype. You'll start this adventure by crafting your character, and this is primarily through the allocation of stats. You have RPG standards like strength, dexterity, and intelligence as attributes, but also a selection of skill points to further enhance your build.
Attributes are generally useful all around, but to fine-tune your character as you create them and after each level up, you'll want to allocate points into skill points such as athletics, stealth, speech, archery, types of magic, and more. It's almost a bit overwhelming since you're not entirely sure how effective said points are, but for the sake of the playthrough, I went for a more stealthy character.
Diving into the Dungeon of Monomyth
After a brief tutorial segment -- which sees our character get captured, thrown in jail, and escape from said jail in Elder Scrolls fashion-- we're thrown headfirst into Monomyth's world. So far, at least, it's entirely underground, though this cave system comprises various fortresses, settlements, temples, and more.
There's a plot and objective that propels the player forward, but there's no urgency, and exploration is what Monomyth is all about. Since this is an immersive sim, many elements are interactable. It behooves the player to thoroughly search the area for items. Since I'm the stealthy type, I also specialized in lock picking, allowing me to find even more treasure.
Other immersive sim elements come into play as well; for example, wooden doors can be set on fire with a torch. Even if it's locked, you don't have to waste a lockpick. Just set fire to the door, and it'll fall apart (or just bash it with a weapon). Weapons, however, dull over time, so you'd then have to heat it up at a forge and use a hammer to hone its edge.
Certain areas have hidden entrances that are accessible through player ingenuity, so it benefits the player to use a bit of observation and thinking to find various ways into buildings and areas that may seem otherwise inaccessible.
Adding even more to the immersive sim elements, you can even cook your own food. Eating food raw makes you sick, so any fish or raw meat needs to be placed near a fire. I found a bakery in a fortress with raw pies and dough, and seeing them actually cook over time was satisfying.
Fighting For My Life
This cave is not without peril, however, as enemies and traps wait as I path my way through uncharted territory. Giant rats, Wastelanders (which are these orc-like enemies), and even human thugs are among the enemies you'll fight.
Combat is where Monomyth could use a lot of work. Combat is dull, plain and simple. It amounts to swinging your weapon and dodging and blocking attacks. Since I went for a stealthy build, I had hoped for a stealth attack bonus or something. Getting one free attack unnoticed is all well and good, but some of these enemies are quite tanky and deal an insane amount of damage.
Things worked out a bit better once I found a rapier to replace my dagger, but as a game that advertises itself as classless, it should feel like any build is viable. Had I gone for a more magic-focused build, perhaps I would have found more success. By the time I found offensive magic, I was pretty deep into my melee build and it wasn't really viable to restart.
God forbid you come across multiple enemies. You might be lucky and find an explosive on the ground or something, but there's not much a player can do when you're hounded by a bunch of bandits. You could quite easily sneak past tougher enemies with a build like mine, but then there's less experience to be gained since I'm not slaying said enemies.
Monomyth Preview | Final Thoughts
I eventually found my way into a bigger area in what seemed like Monomyth's first town. There doesn't seem to be a great deal to do here, and interacting with NPCs mostly leads nowhere. I can't help but think the developer, being a one-man operation, bit off more than they can chew in some areas. But when Monomyth works, like in its overall dungeon design, solving various puzzles and finding a powerful piece of loot, it's fantastic.
Throughout its Early Access period, it's my hope that combat is refined to be a bit more exciting and intricate, and that there's more life to its various NPCs and the towns they inhabit. There's already the foundation for a super intriguing, fun adventure with the various hidden areas and puzzles, so if the rest of the game is just as good, I'll be back for more Monomyth soon enough.
Monomyth was previewed over approximately 5 hours of gameplay on PC with a key provided by developers. All screenshots were taken during the preview process.
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