LifeisXbox’s A Monster’s Expedition review | Almost a year after its original release on PC and mobile, Draknek & Friends’ game A Monster’s Expedition has finally arrived on the Nintendo Switch. In this puzzle game, you help a monster travel through a world made up out of small islands. On this exciting adventure, our little monster bumps into many human objects, which helps him learn more about the human lifestyle in a humorous way. Can you solve all the puzzles it encounters while visiting all the islands?
ℹ️ | We played A Monster’s Expedition for 5 hours on the Nintendo Switch. This game is also available on Apple Arcade, PC, Mac & Linux.
What we liked!
- Simple but charming mechanics | The idea behind A Monster’s Expedition is acutally really simple. It’s your goal to travel between small islands by taking down trees and pushing them in the water. When thrown in the water the trees form a bridge or a raft which let you safely cross the sea and explore more islands. In this simplicity lies a certain charm that you just cannot deny. I really enjoy games with simple mechanics and controls, and A Monster’s Expedition is definitely one of the best ones in the genre. From the minute you start playing this game, the fun and lovely envirmonts really pull you in. And they don’t let go!
- But challenging puzzles | Compared to the simplicity of the mechanics, the knocking down of trees isn’t as easy as it sounds. Solving the puzzle of pushing trees down and in the water has to be done in a specific order or else you have to reset the island and try to do it again. Luckily, the resetting is very easy and only takes a second. This way, you’ll barely get frustrated and can start over an island whenever you want. The puzzles require a lot of trial and error and make this game a real brain teaser. Again, the combination of simple mechanics and challenging excecution of the gameplay make one amazing game!
- Graphics & sound | Where said combination of the charming mechanics and the challenging puzzles are already making A Monster’s Expedition a lovely game, the graphics and sound are there to make it even better. First of all the game looks really cute and for the ones that have been playing the games of Draknek & Friends already the monster should look familiar. Secondly there is a relaxing and dreamy soundtrack that ties it al together. The graphics and sound really tie together and create a perfect harmony for an adorable looking and sounding game.
- Humor | A Monster’s Expedition is packed with humor. The game is all about a monster who is exploring Human Englandland, where he visits human objects which sometimes have a very funny and original explanation. For example a merry-go-round is called a horse prison and the explanation is as follows: Condemned to a lifetime of running in circles while a hellish melody plays, we can only assume that these wooden horses must have commited truly horrible crimes against the humans who imprisoned them. I really enjoyed the monster’s interpretation of certain objects and I’m sure this game will put a smile on your face as well.
- Open world | The best feature of this game is the open world play. The game isn’t linear and most of the time you can choose for yourself if you want to go north, east, south or west. There are many islands to visit and a lot of options to get there. This isn’t a typical feature in puzzle games, so I really appreciated this non-linear approach to the gameplay.
Somewhere between
- Nothing | Sorry, got nothing here.
What we disliked
- Not today | I couldn’t right about anything I disliked while playing A Monster’s Expedition because there was nothing I disliked about the game.
How long to beat the story | Around 10 hours
How long to achieve 1000G | The Nintendo Switch doesn’t have achievements
Similar with | Stephen’s Sausage Roll
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