- Price: $29.99 USD for the base game (currently on sale for $14.99 until September 8th); DLC priced at $6.99
- Developer: 13AM Games
- Publisher: WayForward
- Release Date: March 15, 2022 (NA/EU)/March 16, 2023 (JP) for base game; August 24, 2023 (NA)/August 28, 2023 (EU) for DLC
A review code was kindly provided by WayForward on behalf of 13AM Games. We thank them for being able to cover something they’ve worked so hard on.
Last year I reviewed Dawn of the Monsters, a 2.5D side-scrolling “beat ‘em up” game with fantastic art, kaiju customization, and voice acting. I was really impressed by the effort and care put into the game. They even produced some neat merchandise such as figures and pins (via Seismic Toys; we’ve got no affiliation).
But they didn’t stop there – in November of last year, they posted a poll asking players which new kaiju we’d like to see in upcoming DLC. I was pretty stoked when Meteor Temujin won, since it’s a combination of 4 ATOMs and their pilots. (It reminded me of the Megazord from Power Rangers, so of course I voted for it!)
The DLC also includes a new Arcade Mode, new Gallery and Archive files, and a look at where Dawn of the Monsters is heading. And the most recent update added Trials, New Game+ mode (one of my favorite features in a game), and the ability to switch to Japanese text and voice acting. There are also a ton of new color palettes to choose from. Wow. That’s a lot of new content! I can’t wait to try everything out.
Paid DLC
It’s been a while since I played this, so I played through some of the stages in my “complete” save file to get used to the combat again. This time I controlled the new addition, Meteor Temujin.
Did you know? I’m always interested in the origin of words – their etymology – so I looked up the name out of curiosity on jisho.org, a Japanese dictionary site. Temujin/テムジン is apparently the birth name of Genghis Khan. As per this site, Temüjin (Тэмүжин in Mongolian Cyrillic) means “of iron” in Medieval Mongolian, and seems to originate from the Turkish word for “iron.”
I had some fun playing through stages again to earn enough money for the new color palettes. I particularly liked the one inspired by Optimus Prime! Having another controllable character works well for players with different play styles; personally, I still prefer to use Aegis Prime because I’m better at controlling him. 😅 Meteor Temujin does have a prettier – and in my opinion, a more effective – Cataclysm Attack though.
Arcade Edition
Arcade Mode has you battle through 11 stages; after each stage, you get to choose 1 of 3 offered upgrades. You score points as you fight, and you can earn extra lives once you’ve earned a certain amount of points. If you run out of lives, you have to start at the first stage again. But if you manage to beat all 11 stages in a row, you can make a name for yourself on the high score leaderboard.
There are 2 play style options in Arcade Mode: Classic Mode, which has predetermined upgrades after each stage, and Rogue Mode, which has randomly generated upgrades. Then there are also 2 difficulty levels: Normal and Nightmare.
I thought that Arcade was pretty challenging even at the Normal difficulty level; your health isn’t restored in between checkpoints or stages, so you’ll have to rely on Execution moves to get any HP back. Running out of time results in losing a life as well. I’m admittedly not amazing at this yet, but I’m having fun improving my score each time I play in Arcade Mode.
Free Update Content
New Game+ Modes
- Story Mode+: Replay at the base difficulty, creating a separate save file. Inventory & archives carry over.
- New Game+: Enemies deal 80% more damage & are sturdier with 40% more health. Seems like only your inventory carries over, but not the archives. NG+ overwrites the Story Mode+ save file.
- New Game++: Enemies deal 140% more damage and have 60% more health.
- New Game+++: 180% more damage & 80% more health.
- New Game++++: 230% more damage & 80% more health.
I adore New Game+ mode. I think it’s a very considerate feature to include to save players time when they eventually replay a game. There’s just something so satisfying about being a bit stronger than you “should” be at that point in a game. In DotM, there aren’t any levels to carry over, but your inventory with your augments stays with you.
Here they decided to include not one, not two, but FIVE different NG+ experiences!!! And just like the Arcade Mode in the DLC, New Game+ Mode and up are a lot harder. I had trouble completing stages in the next highest difficulty (NG+), so the modes above that will undoubtedly present a challenge for even the most skilled players.
My only “complaint” is that you can’t access the Chat section again in your original save after replaying individual stages, and you can’t access it at all in Story Mode+ or New Game+(+++). The update also doesn’t allow you to view story scenes again after the first viewing in a new save. It would have been nice to have an option to view story scenes again when replaying stages, with the option to turn them off if desired.
Trials
They warn you that these trials are intended to be played after you’ve finished the main game. One challenge known as “dodgeball”has you throw kaiju bombs back at the enemy that launched them, and if bombs explode near you/in your hands it instantly kills you. In other trials, the conditions may involve enemies or environmental hazards killing you with one blow, only allowing certain moves, etc.
Final Thoughts
I really love it when developers continue to add content to their games. The stages in the original main game got more and more difficult as I got closer to the end. If you want an even bigger challenge, though, both the free update and paid DLC were much harder in my opinion. The DLC is more than fairly priced, and I think it will add more play time to the experience for those who enjoy making their way up the leaderboards.
Finally, whether you’re an established or new fan of Dawn of the Monsters, you may want to check out their latest contest to win some cool kaiju collectibles related to the game:
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