Scary-Sweet Monster Doughnuts debut in three varieties: Drake: A raspberry filled doughnut dipped in light purple icing, and decorated like a classic monster with icing and sugar piece eyes. Frank: An Original Kreme-filled doughnut dipped in green icing, and decorated like a classic monster with icing, sprinkles, and pretzel piece bolts. Finally done TwT I know I should upload it yesterday but my phone was lagging as hell so I couldn’t finish editing fast. I hope you enjoyed this mini!
- Platforms: PC |
- Developer: ebi-hime
- Publisher:Sekai Project
- Release: February 06, 2017
When it comes to visual novels, you’ll find a vast array of genres available on Steam. Many fail to see this, however, and instead only notice the most common of games with their slice of life high school romantic comedies. There’s nothing wrong with that, but after a while, it starts to grow stale. Thank goodness for developers like Ebi-hime. Despite being rather prolific, each of their releases manages to offer something different from the norm. The latest title from Ebi-hime is Sweetest Monster. This tale forgoes comedy as well as the generally taken for granted teenage-ish aged protagonist. It might seem weird on the outset, but it doesn’t take long to become wrapped up in the narrative.
Sweetest Monster instead focuses on a tale of marital disillusionment. Players follow in the footsteps of Robin, an unhappily married 42 year old elementary school music teacher. Despite — or perhaps because of — living with his wife Sally for over fifteen years, their relationship has degraded into petty, daily arguments. The latest battle revolves around Sally’s unfounded belief that her husband is cheating on her with one of his student’s mothers. The notion is entirely nonsensical to Robin. After all, he knows that this single mother is in absolutely no way alluring to him. Still, the fight rages and immediately illustrate the problems in their relationship to the reader.
It’s not as if Sally is the only one bringing trouble into their marriage. As is the case with many real couples, both parties contribute in their own way to the dissipation of their relationship. Since we’re seeing the game through Robin’s filter we just get his warped take on Sally initially. Another issue is Robin’s insistence on focusing on work as opposed to trying to improve family life. Instead of spending time with his own teenage daughter Melody, he drowns extra hours into work and meetings. With this father daughter relationship so tenuous, he ops to avoid it entirely rather than try to rebuild anything. You don’t need to have experience in a similar relationship to both feel bad for Robin and be utterly annoyed by him. After all, he’s in his 40s – shouldn’t he know better? This of course helps it feel like a fairly realistic dramatic depiction.
That is, until one late night when Robin comes upon a young woman named Bell with piercing green eyes. He has no clue as to who she is and can’t help but be transfixed by her unusual eyes. What really sets off his personal alarm bells, however, is when she not only knows his name but plainly states that she is in love with him. Sally’s initial hunch may have been wrong, but it seems that Robin may still fall for another woman after all. Sweetest Monster is not a particularly long visual novel so this introductory description is as much as anyone should really know before jumping into the game for themselves.
The true excitement and horror of playing Sweetest Monster is watching the story unfold. The name itself implies that there’s something bad lurking underneath, and it works well as a mystery to give hints to the player. As you go along in your one to four hour journey, there’s ample time to consider the nature of what’s going on and form a hypothesis. Whether you’re right or completely off, the ending proves eye-opening. This isn’t a visual novel with a twist that comes out of nowhere or a lull in the beginning or middle. Due to the short playtime, most story beats are important and supports its eventual conclusion.
Sweetest Monster features some gorgeous visuals to accompany its mostly typo-free text. The sprites have a few facial expressions and help keep the game feeling dynamic. CG sequences are surprisingly common – and surprisingly sensual. It’s incredibly interesting to see a visual novel use titillation in a way that doesn’t feel completely tawdry (see any Sakura game ever). There are some fitting songs included as well, but unfortunately there are not many tracks in the soundtrack.
A short gameplay length mostly serves the game well. With that said, it feels that the very ending – post climax – seems a bit rushed. There were also a handful of typos in the dialogue (though a patch has since been released to address most of them). These complaints are incredibly minor. After all, hearing the same song again hardly detracts from the tight atmosphere weaved by the narrative. A rare typo does not ruin a player’s emotional reaction to revelations.
Closing Comments:
The best thing about Sweetest Monster is the story it presents. On the other hand, it’s likely the storyline which is sure to turn some readers completely away. If you’re coming to this game from something vapidly sweet like Nekopara then it may totally rock your world in a bad way. Others with a taste for dark, disturbing tales may love it — or find it doesn’t go far enough. With such a wide array of opinions, the only way to know if you’ll enjoy this one or not is to simply play Sweetest Monster yourself.
Version Reviewed: PC
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A downloadable game for Windows and Linux
'I love you for who you are. I've loved you from the moment I met you.'
Robin Hawkins is down on his luck. His relationship with his wife, Sally, is stagnating, and his daughter, Melody, no longer speaks to him.
Stuck in an unsatisfying and draining job, Robin's life is one long, monotonous slog...
Until he meets the mysterious girl of his dreams in the middle of the night, Bell.
However, there is far more to Bell than meets the eye - and Robin's 'dreams' are fast in danger of becoming 'nightmares'.
- This VN is kinetic. It has no choices/branches.
- It's around 40k in length.
- It contains fanservice, sexual content/nudity, and some psychological horror elements readers might find disturbing.
- Features entirely custom art and OST.
- Written by the author of The Way We All Go, Strawberry Vinegar, and Emmeline Burns.
- Available in English, Russian, Simplified Chinese, and French.
- Most importantly, contains a cute catgirl! ❤
| Status | Released |
| Platforms | Windows, Linux |
| Rating | |
| Author | ebi-hime |
| Genre | Visual Novel |
| Tags | Horror, Romance |
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Sweetest Monster Drink
Finally got around to reading this, and I think it's your most mature VN I've read yet - both in subject and quality of the writing. The artist did a great job making Bell luring in every picture she's in. And that ending!
I also had a 'rough patch' with my wife and was confronted with temptation, so I can very much relate to Robin. Thankfully, my wife and worked things out... but I also wasn't pursued by a cute cat-girl, so who knows how things might have turned out different.
Thank you very much for leaving a comment! I appreciate it! >_<
And yes, this story is pretty grim! I think it has the oldest protagonist of all my stories (and a married one, no less!) so that might be why it feels more mature? I don't write characters like this very often, so it was fun to step out of my comfort zone a bit.
Maybe I should try writing something else with a slightly older cast of characters...
And I'm glad to hear that things were resolved between you and your wife! Fortunately, not many people are pursued by cute cat girls, so it shouldn't be an issue haha ;;
Aside from this being one of the most well-written VNs I've ever read (if not *the* most well-written), I also had to comment to say thank you for including your author's notes. I'm a writer as well, and was over the moon to get a glimpse into where you were coming from with this story, what you wanted to accomplish, etc. It was deeply satisfying to have most of my writer-y curiosities answered up front.
I love this story. I love it so much. I appreciate it for so many different reasons I can't even articulate them all. It's the height of the medium for me. Thank you, Ebi. <3
Sweet Monster Ice Cream Menu
aah thank you that's really kind of you q_q
i'm glad you enjoyed the story! it means a lot to me!
there's a lot of vns out there i think are much better than mine though haha XD; fata morgana and umineko in particular are some of my all-time favourites!
I totally love this game, this and Ambre are amazing VNs, you are great dear dev, nice job :) :D
This is one of the most memorable visual novels i have ever played. Visual novels aren't really my type but im really glad i stopped by.
Pls give me a link to the rain bg sound it really helps with studying XD.
Thank you very much u///u
I don't think I can give a link to the rain effect individually, as I bought it in a pack of sound effects and I don't think the individual file can be distributed on its own... but there are a lot of ambient rain sound effects on youtube :>
Too Bad For Me That Most Of Your Novels Are Centered On Female POV's As I Am A Guy and really like self-inserting myself Heh cant help being drawn in. Are You Perhaps Familiar With The Anime 'My Romantic Comedy Is Wrong As I Expected'?
Thank you very much for your kind comments! I'm glad you liked the story this much! u///u
Yeah, I tend to write a lot of female protags, mostly because I feel more comfortable writing female characters... but I'm trying to branch out a bit more and try some different things >_> Hopefully it's working!
And no, I haven't seen that anime u_u
Well Whatever your writing if its you the story will come out fantastic your early works can attest to that!
It is...it is working heck i wont likely forget 'Sweetest monster'Anytime soon and if you ever do write another story with a guys point of view i'll be robbing a bank just to read it Haha.
You should check it out,You should really check it out...You'll really like the MC you wont find anyone like him i guarantee and maybe...Just maybe you might find some inspiration there..
Now Thank you very much for taking time to reply to my comment sincerest gratitude to you dear Author-Tan.
I Have No Words To Say But Thank You,It Was Fantastic I Have Red A Lot Of Visual Novels But This...Now This Really Left Me With A Lasting Impression,A Scar If You May...
The Artstyle Was Hauntingly Beautiful Accompanied By The Music Was Quite Somber, Alien? Alluring? It Just Fits Perfectly Its As If I The Reader Am Helplessly Drowning In It
The Characters Felt Real...Too Real That It Achieved That Creepy Vibe As The Story Progressed,Poor Melody...Suffered Such A Tragic Fate.
Unlike The Others The Interactions Felt Natural,Everything Had A Reason,The Flirtation and uhm Well The Monologues And Such Weren't Painful To Read And Mostly No Matter How Short It Is(For Me Since Im A Very VERY Voracious Reader)It Didn't Feel Rushed It Felt Natural And Smooth.
Sweetest Monster Download
The Ending...Got Absolutely Mindfucked And Really Hated Myself After That But Hey! I Got Some Sense Of Foreboding But It Was Too Late For Me Too Even Realize It Was Really Refreshing Though Others Might Deem It Disturbing I Think Nothing Of The Sort Fiction Is Fiction If People Cant Understand That They Should Sod Off Somewhere Far Away Censoring Art Is A Crime This In Particular Is A Work Of Art Truly Refreshing And Groundbreaking I'd Put It In The Same Place As 'Katawa Shojou' And 'Yume Miru Kusuri'
And Lastly....I Really Like Hearing The Rain.
I Dont See Anything That Would Deduct Any Points So A Perfect 10 For me!
Please Do Continue Making Your Work And I Hope You Dont Change If not For The Better Shrimp Princess...Why Shrimps?
Created an account just to say that this is the first english-original novel I ever gave more than an 8 on vndb. And I gave it a 10. I've been reading VNs ever since the english translation scene was in its infancy, so I'm extremely well-versed in the many tropes and techniques of storytelling in this medium, but going blind into this story I was still completely blindsided by the last few chunks of the story.
The music and artwork flow perfectly with the story you have set up here. My main gripe with english-originals is that their low budget requirements lead them to looking lackluster and being stuck with the admittedly customizable but recognizably crude renpy engine, but this story averts that extremely effectively, even using it to its own advantage, to avoid spoiling things.
I really hope this game pans out for you and your group because I'm sure as hell going to keep an eye out for you in the future.
Ah, thank you so much u///u
I've been into VNs for 5 or 6 years I think, and I think there are a lot of repeated tropes even across JVNs - and a lot of EVNs like using some of the similar tropes, too. I thought it would be fun to try and write some stuff that is a little bit different u_u
The budget here is pretty low as well, but I tried to work it in the story's favour haha XD; Ren'py isn't too crude of an engine I think - there is actually quite a lot that can be done with it - but I'm not the best at coding. I try to make up for it with lots of panning of CGs and using transitions carefully.
I hope you like my other works! I experiment a lot with my writing style quite a bit, so my stories tend to appeal to different people >_>
I loved this Visual Novel.Even if I am not into the 'Visual Novel' genre(I have played only 3),this particular novel caught my attention.The drawings are beautiful and the color palette that was used helped to build the atmosphere to each of the game's scenes.Also,the music succeeds in matching and expressing the emotions of the current scene.Furthermore,the plot had no 'holes' in it and progressed neatly;I must admit though that the twist shocked me,even though I saw the signs.Last but not least,the writing was excellent;the characters were flawed and likeable at the same time.
Thank you very much! I'm glad you liked it!
The artists and composer also did a very good job! I'm happy with the whole project turned out u///u
'sweetest monster' was the first satisfying VN (though i haven't played much) i've played so far. couldn't stop to rest till the story ended! I'm not good at English(from Korea) but thank you anyway!