The Monster Within

About

"The Monster Within" is a deck-building card game inspired by 1950's horror comics, where you play as a monster among monsters fighting for dominance. With over 200 cards to unlock and six monsters to choose from, each with their own unique strategy, you must craft your deck carefully to balance between staying human and unleashing your inner beast. Battle sinister creatures while trying to avoid turning into one yourself, and discover new cards and characters along the way.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

82%

Audience ScoreBased on 78 reviews

gameplay18 positive mentions

stability5 negative mentions

The game features a unique deck-building mechanic where players build their deck during fights, making each encounter dynamic and engaging.
The 50's horror comic aesthetic, along with the humor and music, creates a charming atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.
There is a good variety of characters and playstyles, allowing for different strategies and replayability.

The game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches, including crashes and issues with card visibility, which can disrupt gameplay.
The user interface is unpolished and can be confusing, leading to frustrating experiences when trying to navigate or select options.
The early game can feel repetitive and lacks depth, as players often find themselves playing the same cards without much strategy until they unlock more powerful options.

gameplay
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
50%
7%
The gameplay is a mix of engaging mechanics and creative deck-building elements, though it suffers from some unpolished aspects and a lack of clarity in certain mechanics. Players appreciate the fun and addictive nature of the card-buying system, as well as the unique transformations and character-specific strategies, but some find the overall experience to be bland or confusing at times. While the game offers a refreshing take on the genre, it could benefit from further refinement and clearer explanations of its mechanics.
- “The mechanics can be challenging but it also rewards players for exploiting the mechanics to their own advantage.”
- “What it lacks in animation it makes up for in charming sprites and gameplay that is a very creative and refreshing take on the deck-building genre.”
- “The gameplay loop is quite fun and I recommend it to anyone who is a fan of the deck builder genre.”
- “Most of the gameplay consists of playing resource points to buy cards to either get more resource points or build up your attack and defense.”
- “The gameplay is undeveloped, the animation is minimal (even for a card battler), and it's just not that fun.”
- “My one critique of the gameplay would be that it's pretty much only about optimizing your own turn.”
music
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
44%
17%
The music in the game is widely praised for its ability to set the mood, with many reviewers highlighting its charming, retro aesthetic that complements the 50s horror comic theme. The tunes are described as atmospheric and well-suited to the game's tone, enhancing the overall experience and immersing players in its unique setting. Overall, the combination of music and art style is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's appeal.
- “This music and art style are charming, as is the text.”
- “The art and music are excellent and do a great job of putting you in the setting.”
- “Thanks to the 50's horror comic theme, the well-selected music, and the great artwork, the atmosphere is just on point.”
- “To put it simply, it's tfcb in a wildly inappropriate engine that lags and hangs extremely frequently, plus bespoke art and jaunty music.”
- “However, what makes the game transcend is its 50s horror comic aesthetic, twee barbershop crooning soundtrack, and off-beat but weirdly incisive setting.”
- “Even just the intro splash screen with the cheerful old-timey music and still picture was so atmospheric I spent a minute listening to the music and looking at the picture before looking at the options.”
graphics
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
35%
18%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their charming 1950s horror comic aesthetic, which enhances the overall atmosphere and gameplay experience. Reviewers highlight the beautiful artwork, well-designed cards, and the effective integration of music, creating a visually appealing and immersive environment. While some minor graphical issues were noted, the overall aesthetic is considered one of the game's standout features.
- “The aesthetics are great, the sound is great, the game is fast and fun.”
- “Art work is beautiful and the cards are designed really well.”
- “Thanks to the 50's horror comic theme, the well-selected music, and the great artwork, the atmosphere is just on point.”
- “Visually, graphics drift when you move the mouse over certain scenes.”
- “The only upside is the art and aesthetic.”
- “Now, personally, I'd have preferred TFCB with this art style and just the same music.”
story
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
25%
38%
The story aspect of the game is generally viewed as superficial and simplistic, with a limited upgrade system that creates a separation from gameplay. While the premise of classic Hollywood monsters blending into suburbia offers some intriguing commentary, the narrative is primarily delivered through short comic strips that, while well-executed, do not provide a deeply engaging experience. Overall, the plot is considered light and easily skippable, making it suitable for the game's genre but lacking in depth.
- “The story framework for the card game—everyone's a classic Hollywood monster trying to blend in in sleepy suburbia—might also be saying something interesting about how any attempt at 50s style cultural homogeneity is really just a rug thrown over the deep weirdness of people.”
- “It's very well done; the 'story' (short comic strips) is good enough considering the genre but nothing special.”
- “It's plot lite, and what plot there is is easy to skip.”
- “The story is given by short witty comic strips, which is enough for this type of game but don't go into it expecting to become engrossed by the plot.”
- “And the story framework for the card game—everyone's a classic Hollywood monster trying to blend in in sleepy suburbia—might also be saying something interesting about how any attempt at 50s style cultural homogeneity is really just a rug thrown over the deep weirdness of people.”
humor
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted as a standout feature, blending eerie comic aesthetics with a simple yet amusing narrative. Players appreciate the engaging mechanics and varied character options, often finding humor in the quirky dialogue and situations, including intentionally awkward moments that add to the overall comedic experience. The comic-book intro and class-specific humor further enhance the game's lighthearted tone, making it enjoyable for those who appreciate a mix of horror and comedy.
- “Finally, the weird tales/eerie horror comic aesthetic and humor is fantastic.”
- “The narrative is simple and funny, the art is nice, the mechanics are engaging and fun, and the character options are varied with some interesting gimmicks (even if some don't get used as much as I'd like in my games).”
- “Oh, did I forget to mention the funny comic-book intro to every match?”
atmosphere
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
33%
17%
The atmosphere of "The Monster Within" is highly praised, characterized by its 50's horror comic theme, fitting music, and impressive artwork, all of which create an immersive experience that stands out significantly in reviews.
- “The monster within is a deckbuilding game that oozes atmosphere.”
- “Thanks to the 50's horror comic theme, the well-selected music, and the great artwork, the atmosphere is just on point.”
- “The atmosphere is just astonishing; the music fits the theme very well and the comic style is great.”
- “The atmosphere is just astonishing, the music fits the theme very well and the comic style is great.”
stability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The stability of the game is significantly compromised by critical bugs, such as unplayable cards that disrupt gameplay and random card removals from decks. Users report frequent crashes, freezes, and an overall unpolished interface, which further detracts from the gaming experience.
- “Certain cards are unplayable because they mess up what cards are displayed (a very critical issue for a card game) and will sometimes randomly remove cards from my deck for no apparent reason, along with various other glitches. If the 'loading' yellow box screen right after the 'ready' yellow box gets stuck, you can click it a few times and it usually fixes it.”
- “The interface is terrible: unpolished, slightly buggy, and lacking basic features like card tooltips.”
- “Sometimes it crashes, or just straight up freezes.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
"Monster Within" offers decent replayability with unique classes and unlocks tied to its characters, but its current early access state limits variety in decision-making and playstyles. While ongoing development promises future improvements, players may find the replay value somewhat restricted at this time. Overall, it provides good value for the price, but more depth is needed for enhanced replayability.
- “Monster Within seems to be under ongoing development—more features look planned that haven't been added yet, so the game is likely to lose its bugs in an update or two—and there's already decent replayability, with a handful of unlocks gated behind each of the ten or so characters.”
- “The game has a good amount of replay value for what you pay for it, and each class feels unique and makes you want to experience all of them.”
- “The game is still a bit rough around the edges (it's early access after all) and for me personally, replayability is a bit limited because the decision making and variety of decks/playstyles is not quite there - yet, hopefully.”
- “That being said, in the game's current state there definitely isn't a lot of replay value.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players note that while the removal of the max hand size has improved gameplay for certain decks by reducing tedium, it has also led to some decks becoming excessively powerful, creating an imbalance in the grinding experience.
- “The grinding in this game feels endless and often tedious, making it hard to stay engaged.”
- “I find the repetitive nature of grinding to be a major drawback, as it detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game.”
- “The amount of time required to grind for resources is frustrating and feels like a chore rather than a fun challenge.”