Devolver unveils Always Sometimes Monsters

An old school looking title with some very heavy social elements.

Always Sometimes Monsters is an RPG (though you probably figures that one out) “about life, love and the lengths that we will go to find happiness in both”. Sound deep? It’s basically a game about reality and the world that we live in. There are no monsters in this one- other than your fellow man, who can be much worse than any skeleton or orc.

Players will assume the role of a character out of luck, out of money and on the verge of collapse after learning their beloved is set to marry someone else. Choose from characters of different gender, race, and sexual orientation and set out on the open road to overcome everything and everyone that life throws at you on your way to redemption. Start and end relationships with a colorful cast of characters, make an honest buck or lie for a few more dollars more and deal with friendship and prejudice as you make your way through the modern grind.

Much like a good deal of RPG’s from every sub-genre these days, Always Sometimes Monsters focuses on the idea of ‘choice’ and how it affects your character and his/her life. Where this one differs from all those other games thug, is that choice is the centerpiece of the game experience in ASM.

“Developing Always Sometimes Monsters has been a continual process of evaluating our game mechanics and it has also been an evolution of how we regard ethics and morality,” said Justin Amirkhani from developer Vagabond Dog. “Concepts of right and wrong can easily whittle away within the game, so we are looking forward to seeing what choices players make during their unique journeys.”

I’m big time interested in ASM as it really does represent something very different than most games. It’ll be interesting to see if the narrative lives up to the premise and if developer Vagabond Dog can deliver something that’s as genre re-defining as it looks. Always Sometimes Monsters launches on the PC in Spring of next year and will be on display at PAX next month in demo form.