Dawn of the Monsters

Letting players live out the dream of fighting gigantic Kaiju, Dawn of the Monsters does enough to make it an enjoyable beat ‘em up without necessarily standing out.

90%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

music, replayability

92% User Score Based on 176 reviews

Critic Score 81%Based on 2 reviews

Platforms

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About

Dawn of the Monsters is a single player and multiplayer arcade shooter game with fantasy and science fiction themes. It was developed by 13AM Games and was released on March 15, 2022. It received positive reviews from critics and very positive reviews from players.

In "Dawn of the Monsters," gigantic Nephilim creatures invade Earth, and it's up to DAWN's colossal combatants, Megadon, Aegis Prime, Tempest Galahad, and Ganira, to defend the planet. Smash through destructible environments in over 35 missions, utilizing distinct abilities, DNA augments, and Rage moves. Play alone or with a friend in 2-player co-op to save mankind from the monstrous threats.

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92%

Audience ScoreBased on 176 reviews

story24 positive mentions

replayability4 negative mentions

Dawn of the Monsters features a vibrant art style and satisfying combat mechanics, making it a fun experience for kaiju and beat 'em up fans.
The game offers a variety of characters with unique abilities, allowing players to customize their playstyle and enjoy diverse gameplay.
The voice acting and story, while somewhat predictable, add charm and depth to the game, enhancing the overall experience.

The controls can be unresponsive and awkward, particularly for keyboard users, which detracts from the overall gameplay experience.
The game lacks replayability and additional modes, such as an arcade or survival mode, which limits long-term engagement.
Some players have noted that the soundtrack is dull and repetitive, failing to enhance the excitement of the kaiju battles.

story
87 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
67%
5%
The story of "Dawn of the Monsters" is a charming homage to kaiju films, featuring a mix of predictable yet enjoyable tropes, fully voiced characters, and engaging lore. While the narrative may not break new ground, it successfully integrates character arcs and comic-style storytelling, making it a fun experience for fans of the genre. However, some players noted that the pacing can feel padded with unskippable dialogue and a lack of variety in gameplay modes.
- “Each character has their own story and conclusion in the game, which I really do love!”
- “The story is just a giant kaiju love letter, and you just got all the tropes: telepathic children who are friends to monsters, an Ultraman expy, a giant mech, and a pretty good not-Godzilla monster and not-Ebirah monster who looks more like a rhinoceros beetle than a lobster, shady corporations, an Earth Defense Force, and ancient prophecies.”
- “The story is interesting and the gameplay is great.”
- “For an arcade game, Dawn of the Monsters tries far too hard to tell a story.”
- “The story isn't amazing, but then, if we're honest, giant monster movies are typically very contrived to start.”
- “The story is just a giant kaiju love letter and you just got all the tropes, telepathic children who are friends to monsters, an Ultraman expy, a giant mech, and a pretty good not-Godzilla monster and not-Ebirah monster who looks more like a rhinoceros beetle than a lobster, shady corporations, an Earth Defense Force, and ancient prophecies.”
gameplay
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
61%
31%
8%
The gameplay in "Dawn of the Monsters" is praised for its depth and dynamic mechanics, offering a satisfying experience for both novices and seasoned players. Combat features a variety of techniques such as juggling and special canceling, allowing for experimentation with combos. While the game is visually appealing and has a fun gameplay loop, some players noted issues with enemy super armor and the quality of the PC port.
- “The gameplay is top notch and the soundtrack is crazy and fast paced, which is strangely fitting for this game.”
- “Dawn of the Monsters is loaded with style and gameplay that's easy to approach but dynamic enough that you can master and grow with it in finding your style with the varied characters and the choice of augments.”
- “Combat features mechanics like juggling, wall bounce, special canceling, and even OTG, so you can always experiment with different combo routes.”
- “Pretty decent core gameplay—4 characters that play differently, satisfying combat but lots of super armor on enemies (helps with 'weightiness' but just not that fun).”
- “Moving on to the gameplay properly, it's okay.”
- “Combat and upgrade mechanics are decent.”
music
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
74%
13%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it dull and repetitive, particularly criticizing the drum and bass soundtrack for lacking variety. However, others appreciate its cinematic quality, noting that it enhances the gameplay experience and fits well within the action genre. Overall, while the soundtrack is deemed serviceable, it does not stand out as particularly memorable or impactful.
- “The gameplay is top notch and the soundtrack is crazy and fast paced, which is strangely fitting for this game.”
- “The cinematic drama of this soundtrack really adds to the feel of this game, making you feel one with your character and the action around you.”
- “At the game’s current price point of $29.99 you get over 35 missions with striking visuals, full voice acting, and an action-movie soundtrack.”
- “The only negative I can think of is the rather dull soundtrack.”
- “Music is pretty boring, typically just a buzzy drum and bass soundtrack that I'm sure is made to make you feel badass, but it's very, very repetitive.”
- “The music is all white noise and there's strangely very little in the way of sound effects; some good chunky sound effects would help make you feel you're controlling a heavy and powerful character.”
graphics
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
48%
39%
13%
The graphics of "Dawn of the Monsters" are widely praised for their vibrant comic book style, blending western anime influences with traditional manga aesthetics. Reviewers highlight the striking visuals, characterized by bright colors, deep shadows, and bold lines, which enhance the game's engaging gameplay and variety of characters. Overall, the art style contributes significantly to the game's appeal, making it visually captivating despite some mixed feelings about its specific artistic choices.
- “This art style gives the game a nice, clear contrast with bright colors, deep shadows, and bold lines.”
- “Dawn of the Monsters features a brilliant art style and gameplay that, while admittedly very tough for beat-em-up novices, is satisfying as hell.”
- “The visuals are very western 'anime' turned comic, something between Samurai Jack and a manga.”
- “When you’re not controlling a humongous kaiju destroying the city to save the world, the art style falls back to a more traditional manga/comic feel.”
- “I don't love this choice, but the actual aesthetics of the characters and monsters are fantastic.”
replayability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
30%
40%
Overall, the game suffers from a lack of replayability, with players expressing that it feels too long to replay from start to finish. While the existing characters are enjoyable and distinct, many reviewers hope for additional playable characters to enhance the experience and reduce repetitiveness.
- “We wish there were a few more playable creatures, but the ones on offer here are all very distinct and enormous fun to get to grips with.”
- “Hopefully more playable characters make their way in.”
- “But we need more playable kaiju/characters though!”
- “The only thing dragging this game down is the lack of replayability.”
- “It really lacks replayability and drags on way too long to replay the game from beginning to end.”
- “The animation is a little stiff and cheap-looking, stages can get repetitive at times, and a few more playable monsters would have been cool.”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by its quirky mechanics, such as the inability to jump, which adds a comedic element to the kaiju experience. Players appreciate the great voice acting and occasional witty writing, while also finding the fighting system amusing yet challenging. However, the game's broken controller support contributes to its overall ineptness, adding to the humor in a frustrating way.
- “The voice acting is great, and sometimes the writing is a little funny, too.”
- “I like the way the monsters and the screen are colored; the fighting is funny but hard sometimes, but it's not like Mortal Kombat where you have to push all of these buttons to fight.”
- “Hilariously broken controller support, and surprisingly inept in other ways.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
100%
Character development is presented in a straightforward manner, offering a refreshing contrast to the overly meta approaches seen in many contemporary games. However, it does not reach the depth found in titles like Hades.
- “The character development is refreshing and straightforward, offering a welcome departure from the overly meta and tongue-in-cheek approaches that many games adopt today.”
- “The game presents character development in a direct manner, which is a nice change from the self-referential styles seen in other titles within the genre.”
- “The character development feels shallow and lacks the depth needed to truly engage players.”
- “While the story is straightforward, the characters themselves don't evolve in a meaningful way, leaving them feeling one-dimensional.”
- “There are moments that hint at potential growth, but ultimately, the characters remain static and uninteresting.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users consistently express dissatisfaction with the game's optimization, indicating that it does not perform well and may require improvements.
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report that stability issues are relatively common, leading some to avoid troubleshooting altogether. This suggests a significant concern regarding the game's reliability.
- “I checked the Steam forums a bit and saw that the issue was relatively common, and decided that I wasn't interested in troubleshooting this.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features a rewarding monetization model that allows players to unlock new skins and upgrades through in-game progression without any microtransactions, encouraging continued play due to its engaging gameplay.
- “It's a richly rewarding game, with higher ranks unlocking new skins and upgrades from the in-game shop (don't worry, no microtransactions here) which offer an incentive to keep playing — though the real reason you'll stick with Dawn of the Monsters is that it is, quite simply, very good indeed.”

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81%Critics’ scoreBased on 2 critic reviews

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Frequently Asked Questions

Dawn of the Monsters is a arcade shooter game with fantasy and science fiction themes.

Dawn of the Monsters is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, iPhone and others.

Dawn of the Monsters was released on March 15, 2022.

Dawn of the Monsters was developed by 13AM Games.

Dawn of the Monsters has received positive reviews from players and positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its music.

Dawn of the Monsters is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include HARDCORE MECHA, Mayhem Brawler, The TakeOver, MARVEL Cosmic Invasion, War Tech Fighters and others.

Dawn of the Monsters

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