The development studio known as FuRyu Corporation is responsible for some very solid experiences. The Caligula Effect and its sequel both came from this studio, and now it seems they are adding to their prestigious line of RPGs. Monark is their latest game, and it presents some very tough questions about morality, the things we do for those we love, and even whether the greater good is worth sacrificing ones’ dignity and morality for.

I should also mention that while Monark deals with concepts related to the Seven Deadly Sins, they are more presented as psychological concepts as opposed to religious concepts. The world in which Monark takes place in a world full of characters who are more than they seem. There are also several endings, though I must admit that I am more than 40 hours in, and I’m unsure if I have seen all of the game mechanics. For the sake of time, and for the sake of getting this review out, I’m just going to give my thoughts as they stand here.

Monark puts you in the control of a protagonist of your own choosing/naming, who is a student of Shin Mikado Academy. However, you have amnesia and discover that your younger sister Chiyo is trapped in the academy with you. The academy has been surrounded by a barrier, and a mist has begun to fill the barrier. The mist drives people mad and is created from Pactbearers, people who have bonded with daemons in the otherworld.

You bond with a daemon of your own out of a desire to protect your sister, and hopefully, free everyone from the barrier. Much like with the Persona franchise, what you think is going on, is so much different from the truth. The story is full of twists, turns, and characters that have unexpected motives. Your main character has the power to manifest Fiends representing whatever sins he has the most affinity with.

Your affinity is measured by questions you are asked by characters, as well as psychological tests which ask you a question and choose your dominant sins by your answers. There are many psych tests you can take over the course of the game, and it is difficult to “game the system” to try and get the right sin that you want to raise. Sometimes answering in a way you think belongs to one sin, will actually raise a different one, for a reason you might not have considered.

As you explore Shin Mikado Academy, you will encounter other students, some of which have “Alter Ego” crystals related to their deepest desires. These crystals require you to have a certain threshold score for a specific sin, but if you qualify to pick them up, they will increase a stat for your entire party by a fixed amount. One Alter Ego might give everyone an attack increase of four, while another might raise everyone’s agility.

While we’re on the subject of exploration, exploring mist environments is very dangerous. Mist environments are connected to the Abyss, an area in the otherworld with high-powered enemies. To avoid being sucked into a “Death Call” which will send you to a fight way above your level, you will need to fight a battle to destroy a singularity crystal in each area. I recommend you do this first when you go to a new area because otherwise, you are at risk of team-wiping due to an overpowered fight.

The mist environments are full of puzzles, some of which will require you to read and understand documents, look at student or faculty profiles, and even find items outside of the academy. The longer you spend in a mist environment, the higher your MAD gauge gets. If your MAD gauge fills outside of battle you will get an automatic game over. We’ll get into more about the MAD gauge when we talk about combat in a bit.

You can also uncover special phone numbers which allow you to fight enemies and get Vessels, which are essentially armor for your fiends. Thus far I have only been able to carry one human party member at a time, so the fiends are necessary to fill out the rest of your party. Each fiend or party member has a skill tree, which uses SPIRIT, a currency like EXP. However, your characters level each time you purchase a skill (or upgrade one) on your skill tree.

To complicate matters further, you’ll need to also use SPIRIT to synthesize healing items. At first, I thought this was incredibly imbalanced and made the game exceptionally difficult. However, about 10 hours in, I realized that the game hadn’t explained that I could repeat these battles and grind a little bit, so had I known that sooner I might have had an easier time progressing.

The mini-map when exploring areas is helpful. However, you can’t enlarge it or mark things on it for later. So, I would suggest keeping a notepad nearby to write down relevant puzzle information, alter ego locations, and points of interest for later.

Combat plays out in a strategy-esque playing field, similar to The Caligula Effect. However, instead of being able to manipulate time and see what enemies will do, you have to position your characters to attack and deal optimal damage. If you hit an enemy from behind, they can’t counterattack. However, if you hit enemies from the front, or from a range they can reach you, they can counter.

Additionally, if you attack an enemy and multiple allies are in range, they can do assist attacks to increase your damage. Enemies can do this too though, so careful strategy and placement are key. You also have access to two different types of abilities. Arts are regular abilities that can cost HP or can be just standard attacks and buffs.

Authorities increase your MAD gauge, and if your MAD Gauge fills in battle, you reach a Madness state, where you will attack enemies and allies alike. This character becomes uncontrollable unless you can either heal the Madness status or put them in an Enlightened state. Enlightening comes from increasing your Awake gauge. If you take damage, the Awakening gauge increases, ultimately giving you an Awakened status which nullifies your madness and strengthens your stats.

However, if you are in Madness and reach an Awakened state, you combine the buffs from Awakening and Madness becoming Enlightened. Certain skills and abilities are available in this state that can turn the tide of battle, even though it can be risky. Monark’s combat is centered around risk vs reward. On top of the Madness mechanic, you can “Defer” a character’s turn to give another character another turn. Doing so increases the MAD gauge of the person who gets another turn though, so be careful.

Aside from Spirit being difficult to generate in the early game, and some tutorials not being entirely clear, I really like Monark. The storyline is really interesting, and I’m curious to see how the story plays out. The gothic, minimalistic sort of visuals (full of gray, red, black, etc) is a little off-putting, but it sets a darker atmosphere for the world.

On top of that, the few splashes of other colors that are used from time to time have a punchy sort of effect, becoming more vibrant in the process. I am curious as to whether the ending will be as satisfying as I hope it will be. The story is dark, and I worry that I’m on a path toward a bitter ending. Though I suppose that is the joy of replayability and New Game Plus right?

Overall Monark is a great RPG for people who like The Caligula Effect, Persona, or other RPGs that examine human nature and behavior. It definitely will make you think about your own personality traits and will ask you to make difficult decisions along the way. Can you handle making those decisions and follow your Ego to the game’s conclusion?

A Nintendo Switch review copy of Monark was provided by NIS America for this review.

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Monark

$59.99 USD

6.5

Score

6.5/10

Pros

• Great Characters
• Interesting and Complex Gameplay
• Multiple Endings
• Engaging Storyline
• Lots of Replay Value

Cons

• Some Concepts Aren't Explained Enough
• Early Game is Difficult to Level
• Minimap Can't be Expanded
• Some areas are Visually Bland