Monster Prom 3: Monster Roadtrip

[h1][b] TLDR: Ditching dating for road trip chaos and clearer stat goals makes this the most approachable entry yet, though shallow endings and a lack of any real narrative keep it from feeling truly rewarding. [/b] [/h1] [h1]PROS: [/h1] ➕FINALLY MP has a save feature…. ➕Great cast of returning characters ➕New stat gain/loss and win criteria makes game more interesting ➕Humor ➕Tons of endings ➕Art style [h1]CONS: [/h1] ➖No dialogue history ➖Starts to get repetitive after a few runs with repeat events ➖Endings kind of feel meaningless ➖Only two characters (Polly and Scott) are consistent My previous reviews for Monster Proms: [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/Synikx/recommended/743450?snr=1_5_9__402]Monster Prom (MP)[/url] [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/Synikx/recommended/1140270?snr=1_5_9__402]Monster Prom 2: Monster Camp (MP2)[/url] [h1] [b] Content (Game world/Narrative) – [6/10] [/b] [/h1] The game world is similar to previous MP games, but this time it’s set on a desert road with the choices rotating between various random attractions. I like the variety available within each destination. In past MP games, thing like the lake area was always the Fun stat or whatever, but here each attraction has multiple possible stat values, encouraging exploration through each attraction and each choice in each attraction. Otherwise, the world is largely on rails - besides the two choices each time to pick, there doesn’t seem to be any point to the world. There isn’t a cohesive story. The entire narrative revolves around having a fun road trip and pulling pranks on each other. Even the ending(s) seem to be about just arriving at a unique destination without any real character development or goals. [h1][b] Gameplay (Mechanics/Difficulty) – [7/10] [/b] [/h1] The gameplay loop consists of picking a character, just like the previous MP, then choosing between two destinations, then choosing between three paths, then choosing between two negative outcomes, with some variation as that’s a high-level overview. Repeat this 4-5 times then you do a rest stop choice with about five options, each impacting your next week in different ways. The goal here that is different in previous MP is to simply get a stat to 25+ while avoiding a stat dropping to 0. There is no focus on dating a monster (optionally: you can only choose Scott or Polly). The difficulty is relatively low. There doesn’t seem to be any points of failure, other than getting a score to 0, it’s simply a game about choice and every choice has a positive and a negative, without any looming consequences. [h1] [b] Graphics (Quality/Technical) – [6/10] [/b] [/h1] I didn’t notice that much difference graphically from MP2, maybe slightly better variety in the amount of artwork, characters, and assets, but still mostly the same PS4-era fidelity. Technical side is the same. I didn’t notice any different features and noticed no bugs. 1440p @ 240hz | installed on SSD [h1] [b] Audio – [6/10] [/b] [/h1] Similar to previous MP with a few repetitive songs and the voice acting only being a few words at at time. +1 points for PANCAKE PANCAKE PANCAKE SONG! [h1] [b] Replay Factor (Longevity) – [6/10] [/b] [/h1] Within my 7 hours playtime, I played through three games. I started to see repeat content on my 2nd playthrough, as there isn’t that many attractions, but the three different events within help. I would say there is good replay value here due to the amount of content/endings, and co-op as well. [h1] [b] Final Verdict – [6/10] [/b] [/h1] Monster Prom 3: Monster Roadtrip (MP3) continues the crazy antics of the Monster Prom characters in the same visual novel style format as the previous ones with some nice changes to shake up the formula. Gone is the tribulations that come with trying to score a date and enter the simple fun of a road trip filled with pranks. In a way, this almost feels like a fan service entry with so many returning MP characters and references, that I’m starting to think MP as a series is building up some solid lore, at least from a character perspective. It still definitely lacks a narrative. The gameplay has been completely revamped from MP1 and 2 to focus on gathering stats rather than ambiguous hidden dating criteria. I like the clearer goals and the decisions the players have to make. And while I do feel like the mechanics are implemented better here, I do also want to point out the step back in the feeling of accomplishment. Your reward for obtaining the stat required goal is just simply….another attraction with a specific ending. There are something like 40 endings, and I don’t even think I obtained any that were “Good”, but I did do three endings, and they didn’t feel as meaningful as scoring a date. But it was fun. Being a gameplay snob, I would have to say that MP3 edges out MP2 slightly and MP1 by a lot, in my opinion. As such, I do recommend MP3 and consider it my favorite entry of the three games, but I can definitely understand how people wouldn’t like this somewhat drastic change in the formula and instead want to actually date monsters. [h1] [b] Recommend? (Price) [Y/N] [/b] [/h1] [h1]Yes[/h1] $12 is a fair price considering the amount of content. If wanting to play co-op with 4 others though, I’d probably suggest a sale price with the historical low being sub $5. You can find my curator page here: https://steamcommunity.com/groups/Synik_GR

this game does run into a few- uh, potholes- namely, i think the multiplayer gameplay is fairly weaker in this entry compared to the rest of the series (though i find the solo gameplay to be somewhat stronger). however, the writing is great as always, and this title contains what is perhaps my favorite segment in any of these games. generally speaking, if you largely tend to play games solo, i'd consider picking up this game over the others- its mechanics, namely the resource management, lend themselves a lot better to single-player gameplay than the other entries. however, if you're playing this series with others, i'd recommend mainly focusing on the previous two titles, as well as the title afterwards.

My absolute favorite of the Monster Prom series, it's a crime I haven't written a review for it before now. Like the other sequels, you will get more out of it if you've played the previous games in the series, but honestly I think Roadtrip stands on its own too. I set up a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ spreadsheet for this game to try to 100% it, that's how obsessed with it I got. One day I actually will complete that spreadsheet.