My partner and I love to love things we deem awful. There is no shame in our game. This led to my partner sharing the game Monster Prom (2018) with me. A wild cringe-inducing spooky spell of young love that left me grinning from ear to ear.
Monster Prom is a visual novel dating simulator that is easily played with a large group or solo. Each person chooses a character, and during each turn, you try to woo an NPC of your choosing through the hurdles of unexpected events the game throws your way. The game is simple, you only have a few weeks until Monster Prom, and you are trying to build a relationship with the in-game characters of your choice. You choose your stats and, with each level, get stronger traits that will (hopefully) help you seduce your potential partner.
Your characters and the characters you are wooing are a group of angsty fantasy characters in high school, though because of the content of the plots in the game, they made all the characters over 18, a detail I appreciated, despite every other aspect of this game being completely unrealistic.
You have the option of being a straight-edge son of Satan or a cocaine-fuelled poltergeist. There is a lot of room to be whatever kind of character you want to be. There is no limit to what could happen in this game’s realm of existence.
From here, there will be some SPOILERS to the general plot and character arcs. And if you are unfamiliar with how we rate, check out the metric here.
What I Liked:
This game is so over-the-top. I was howling with delight over each plot twist. I loved the sinister characters and the ridiculous scenarios that progressed with each level of the story.
Let’s be real, I used to be a cliche emo kid (I'm sure I'm not alone), and this is a fun way to unleash my inner spooky bisexual self in a ridiculous and wholesome way as an adult and with my loved ones. Every inch of me felt nostalgic over this hilarious exaggeration of high school, but with demons and vampires and other supernatural quirks.
Each character is capable of pursuing any other character, with no regard to gender (or species). This makes it super competitive when my brother-in-law and I are competing for the same character! On a recent play-through, we both decided to spend our turns going to the forest in an attempt to sway Polly Geist to our respective sides. My brother-in-law's character was male, and mine was female, and we both stood a chance with Polly Geist.
Spoiler alert for a version you’ll never watch: I won and am still gloating.
Later, when I played with my partner, we decided to try to win the hearts of the fast-paced, no-bullshit-having Medusa character and the ditzy mermaid princess whose life of riches makes her blind to common decency. We both played female characters, and I got my snakey seductress. Unfortunately for my partner, he did not win his wily fish woman. Just like life, being bi does not actually double your chances for a date on a Friday night. Sometimes accurate representation hurts.
Because this game puts each player’s fate in their own hands, it creates room for countless possibilities. According to the Wiki, there are over 1,400 outcomes. And yes, I will spend each and every one of them trying to screw over my brother-in-law, so really, there’s only one outcome if you play with me. Now that we’ve fully established that I am a smug winner who is clearly wearing a cape while I play this game, we can discuss some other cool perks in the game.
There is a mini-adventure in the game, which always changes. It shakes up the routine of the average school day when your character gets kidnapped for a late-night DJing gig. You know, because that’s something we all can relate to from our high school days.
If you play your nonexistent cards right, you can unlock a secret ending. This is the ultimate spooky trophy for all your ghoulish deeds. There is one for each main NPC. Will you unveil the answers to what will happen with Vera and her life of crime? Will Damien stop his bloodlust and rule your heart over hell? Will the eels get put in their place or continue to unionize against Miranda? SO MANY POSSIBILITIES!
I keep playing this game, and I have professionally tested the bisexuality of it. It did not matter what gender my character was or what gender the character I was chasing was. I also got the person I was after. Luckily for me, I didn’t have to fight a glitch. They just built the game with the bisexual-likes of me in mind, so I didn’t have to overuse my game-tastic charm.
What I Didn't Like:
Nobody really cares about sexual orientation (because young adults can’t care AND be cool), so the game doesn’t necessarily mention it anywhere. There is no place where it comes up, but also, it’s a very fill-in-the-blank format, so the game just goes with whatever it feels you’re putting down, which is nice. It’s also an interactive story about hipster ghouls, so we’re not expecting it to educate its audience.
The Rating:
I give this game a solid four unicorns. Every character is bi. This world of monsters does not care one bit about genitals or gender identity. They only care if you are able to be as cool as they are. And in the end, isn’t that what really matters?
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