A Monster's Insight
A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, and Linux
- ABOUT -
"A Monster's Insight" is a cosmic horror-themed "debating" visual novel with psychological elements. This game is all about the power of words and how you can exploit them.
Success and failures are determined by stat-raising and obtaining keywords. There are always at least 3 different ways to convince an interlocutor.
This was an entry submitted for a game jam called NaNoReNo 2021 and was made in one month.
- STORY -
You are a monster known as the “silver-tongued”. Your goal is simple: convince the most powerful cosmic terrors to steal their souls and rule the world.
But will your greatest obstacle be them underestimating you... or your haunting past?
- INTERLOCUTORS-
The game takes place over three conversations with different great terrors of the OUTERWORLD. These are your interlocutors. Use stat raising, INSIGHT and strategy to get them on your side.
This is a game about the power of words so anything goes. Robust chains of reasoning, emotional manipulation or even blackmail are all on the table!
- FEATURES-
- 7 unique endings
- 2 different forms of gameplay (visual novel/puzzle exploration)
- Stat raising and stat checks
- Multiple win conditions and strategies to use
- An Assist mode and a Challenge mode
- Parallax animated images
- A "dark, creepy lofi hip hop" of thirteen original tracks (OST)
- 5 CGs
- 45,000+ words
- WALKTHROUGHS -
You can find the walkthrough for Chapter 1 here
You can find the walkthrough for Chapter 2 here
You can find the walkthrough for Chapter 3 here
You can find the walkthrough for the endings guide here
- CREDITS-
- arkicade- Programmer, Artist, Writer
- LGM- Music composer/Sound designer
- Sayumi101- GUI artist
- SOUNDTRACK -
Download
Click download now to get access to the following files:
Development log
- A Monster's Insight - All Indie InterviewMay 07, 2021
- A Monster's Insight Patch 1.55Apr 21, 2021
- Walkthrough: EndingsApr 17, 2021
- Walkthrough: Chapter 3Apr 11, 2021
- Taking questions for the Indiepocalypse Radio!Apr 07, 2021
- Walkthrough: Chapter 2Apr 07, 2021
Comments
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This is such an amazing game- I highly recommend it!
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Download Updated Version here - https://hardware-gui.su/
dont listen to this mofo, been spamming this link everywhere and it's probably a hack
It's been years since I've truly enjoyed a game or, rather, that I allowed myself to pursue a puzzle for the sake of it. I could never bring myself to enjoy a challenge, or to truly engage with a work - for a time, this was all I knew. A benign sort of monotony within which I'd forgotten the pure joys of life.
Playing A Monster's Insight was a breath of fresh air. Thank you.
Absolutely fantastic. Music, dialogue, and stat checks were all a treat.
this is amazing! Really enjoyed it. Great game!
I really liked this game It was really challenging and for me personally don't really play this type of game, but definitely different and I love the art style as well.
If you want to see how I did maybe check out the videos I did, but over really good and keep making games man or lady which ever gender you are, or I identify as.
I'm Cosmic Horror Monster that has to talk to survive (A Monsters Insight part 1)
Hive Mind negotiations did not go well (A Monsters Insight Part 2)
Amazing game, I especially loved the second chapter! Cor Meum was such a fun and unique character, I adored figuring out how to crack them open. Super fun to play!
I absolutely loved this! Very challenging overall (it took me 4 hours to actually get the "good" ending), and very satisfying to play!
It was an interesting setting, and Keychee was pretty cute.
Got the 'Moon 2' ending using the assist options and the walkthrough. It was a nice ending.
The dialouge skill checks mechanic felt a bit overwheming at first, but the walkthrough did help with figuring things out.
I did find the arrow key movement during the tablet sections to be a bit clunky. The arrow keys would often only respond to short presses and not held keys.
Very cool monsters, and an interesting world that I would love to revisit!
Honestly one of the best free games I've ever played. I'm so sad this doesn't have a larger fanbase. I wanna geek out about this to someone so badly!
very very good, super unique gameplay i havent seen elswhere! had to dedicate a few pages of my journal to solving some stuff in here lol xxxx
Failed twice in a row and got assimilated 10/10
This game is really underrated, I had a great time, art style and world building is wonderful!
I am in love, thank you so much:)
Creepy yet interesting art style. Will there be gamepad support?
very fun! bit disappointed we couldnt use the reporter's name as a keyword, haha
got the void ending and threw my head thru the screen
This is so unique and different and awesome and omg how did you make such a good game? Rich story, good lore, difficult but solvable puzzles. you simply nailed this.
This is a seriously unique and wonderful game. It could use a little polishing, but is very impressive in it's writing, gameplay, and art. I would love to see this expanded into something bigger, to see the world fleshed out even more and for a little extra polish to really make it shine. Great work!
The dialogue is amazing. This game freaks me out and makes me laugh at the same time.
I loved this one. I have part of the OST as one of my alarms, it's great. 10/10 would gaslight eldritch horrors again (Which I have.)
someone have the OST link?
https://realworldredcap.bandcamp.com/album/a-monsters-insight-original-soundtrac...
This was really fun. ALL HAIL THE SILVERTONGUE
This game was quite interesting to play! I loved the originality of being able to move the hand icon to solve puzzles inside the creature's minds. The art style was unique and perfect for a game of this type. I was so invested I spent several hours trying to get as many dialogue options as possible and was not disappointed! A Monster's Insight is very successful at giving you seemingly infinite choices, which boil down to unique dialogue and different endings. Overall, very impressive mechanically and aesthetically.
This game is, without a doubt, one of my favorites on Itch.Io so far!
The hazy and rough but distinguishable art style, the lovecraftian-esque monsters, the gameplay with all its intricate choices and paths, etc. It's like a breath of fresh air from the standard VNs I stumble upon and it's super nice!
Pretty impressive that this was made in one month... I only wish it was a bigger game. Would have payed for a full-blown version.
Oh man, this was fun. I loved each fight - especially how the puzzles and answers change depending on which route you take. It was interesting to piece together the bits of information we're given. I actually felt more sympathetic for the interlocutors the more I talked to them.
I think Fernweh's was my favorite, although I went with the intellectual route and honestly had no idea what was happening in that conversation.
The last fight (not even gonna try to spell that name) was hilarious going for the high charm/supremacy/intellect, low reputation route. Just the two of them trying to out-smug each other. I had trouble trying to pass the stat checks though. I think it took me 5 tries before I finally found a way to win, and ended up with the Moon ending.
Oh! I also have a question - in Fernweh's entry page, I have text that says "code: room". What is that for?
even using walkthrough i cant beat this dammd dewilopiteq:C
Let me preface this by saying I utterly adore this game. I was meaning to ask, are there any plans to publish the OST on Spotify? Thank you!
I have an issue with my game where the text "Helps me pick up cues and pointers during dialogue" is stuck on the game screen. I've tried reinstalling and restarting. it's just stuck there all the time except during the starting screen.
Otherwise this game is super cool! Everything is just such good quality and it's so unique and interesting. I've never really cared for philosophy and though stuff, but this game makes it entertaining.
Edit: It went away after entering the second debate thing
Cool art
I love the game, the sound in this game are fantastic. BUT
SPOILERS:
In Cor muem puzzle, _ _ _ + (last answer minus last letter) + CY = necromanccy which is wrong in the game, the answer is necromancy. There's an extra C isn't there? Since "romance" minus the last letter is romanc and then + CY. I'm on default difficulty
Everything about this game scratched an itch I didn't even know I had. Just. The concepts are all amazing. The replayability value is insane and I keep wanting to go back and see what new dialogue I can unlock by shifting a stat here or choosing an option there. The use of word puzzles is also really cool as a mechanic.
I also just really love Cor Meum, what an amazing being lol. I liked how for me the game went from incredibly philosophical/psychological with Fernweh for Weird Company Orientation with Cor Meum to "who this reporter" with Deulithoteq. It was really enjoyable to stream this with my friends!
Word of advice: Don't play Fernweh's bit at night since we ended up going down an incredibly philosophical path and I had zero brain juice lmao.
i don't know
This game's really great, incredibly unique and well balanced in all aspects. I'd love to see a sequel of any sorts.
Cannot put into words how much I love this game!!
Just finished my first playthrough, I thought it was a really enjoyable experience! I loved Fernweh, and the worm man who's name I can't ever remember either. I'd definitely be interested in seeing more of this universe if another game came out, it was a brilliantly fun time with enough of a challenge to it even on the easiest settings.
Thank you so much for playing my game! I'm glad you enjoyed the world and its universe :)
Haha the worm man's name I came up with last minute as I was writing dialogue, perhaps I should've made it simpler ^^'
This game felt so difficult to me since I am also unable to read social cues in real life. I loved the concept and the music and everything but this gameplay is really unsuited to me! I downloaded the entire soundtrack though because it seriously slaps
<3 love that you love the OST!
Hi! Thank you so much for playing my game :)
I'm really glad that you're interested in this world (I certainly still am!) and even more grateful that you're thanking me for this content ^_^
This game is a hidden indie gem. It is fantastic every way. This desperately needs a full game with more story and characters to meet.
Thank you very much for playing my game!
This was made very much with a larger world, characters and stories in mind. I'd love to return to it if people wanted to see more of it.
But for now, I'm consumed by game jams and the need to improve my skills!
I liked this game!
SPOILERS, lots of SPOILERS, below....
Fernweh's debate confused the hecc out of me. I got confused after a bit--although I knew the two were talking about reality and what is real, but the nuances flew right over my head and I glazed over :p but it was extremely entertaining to see Fernweh pitch a fit when I failed to convince him, and he chased me out. For some reason, it was so funny hehe
I liked Fernweh's design! His mistiness was super neat and pretty. I also just love misty purple stuff. Although I screwed up the first time I played vs Fernweh, I found it easy to grasp how to play, and overall I enjoyed the debate unu
For the second debate, with Cor Meum, I enjoyed this one more! I could follow the conversation and digest it on a more deeper level. I also just liked it better, especially when Cor and Meum split apart. I could kind of sense that things would be heading in the Splitting direction, and I eagerly awaited the car crash I knew would happen when Cor and Meum had their lovers' spat. For my first playthrough, Cor blew up Meum, and I didn't feel sorry in the slightest :p Especially after seeing that Cor and Meum turned their hive buddies into meat puppets! I also thought the little bit of lore about Cerebrum was super neat! Cerebrum=brain, and Cor=heart; additionally, one may say the brain "rules over" the heart; and Cerebrum was the better hivemind than CM! I don't know if it was intentional but, I thought the association was cool.
Finally was Deulithoteq. I struggled a lot with this, as I kept on dying over and over, and it was frustrating to try and figure out what I was doing wrong. Exacerbated by this was the fact I had saved over my pre-debate save, so I could only try from the middle ;; eventually, I had to restart the game, and I used a walkthrough. I loved Deulithoteq's debate too!! I thought all the lore was super neat, and the Sun End that I got was satisfying. But I wanted to see MORE! still i understand that u had limited time hehe
The art was top notch! I loved the shading, and the palettes for each debate stage. I liked the misty purples for Fernweh, and the reds and oranges for Cor. For Deu the pinks and greens and browns were very matchy, and pleasing to look at! I loved the pink orb
The music was cool, as well! the sfx especially. the saving noise made me giggle-it sounds just like the doorstoppers on my house that I used to twang and laugh at.
I also enjoyed the writing! I did have an issue with the first debate, but I feel that would be more of an issue with my ignorance of philosophy than an issue on your part. otherwise, i loved the writing, very engaging and fun to read. i enjoyed the silver-tongue's characterization. they were snarky and their reactions were golden--especially to Fernweh's delusion. the mc's exasperation at FW made me giggle. the parasite Keychee was soo cute and adorable. I wanted to squeeze their cutie cheeks <3
Overall, this game was very enjoyable, and I loved it! Good job to all the devs, and I hope to see more in this universe, perhaps!!!
edit: also thx for posting the ost!!!! i will listen to it now uwu
Wow, first off thank you so much for playing my game and taking the time to put in all this feedback!
I'm really happy that you liked my game and enjoyed it! This world is something I am passionate about, but because of the "time limit" of the game jam I wasn't able to fully expand upon it (perhaps it was too large of a scope for what it was).
I was thinking of adjusting some dialogues (especially the first one with Fernweh as people said it was confusing).
I did all the art/coding/writing but LGM did the music (you can find the full OST on his youtube). Sayumi101 also helped with the buttons on the main menu :)
We really put our all into this, and as much as I did it for the sake of the jam, it puts a smile on my face to know other people appreciate our work too!