Monstrum

About Monstrum

Monstrum was made by Team Junkfish and released on Steam for Windows, Mac and Linux on 20 May 2015. Soedesco published it on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch on 22 May 2020, and the Steam version also supports Oculus VR headsets. It mixes hide-and-run horror with roguelike rules: the ship's interior and its items change on every run, and dying means starting over.

You wake alone on a rusting cargo ship and must find a way off. There are three escape routes, a submarine, a helicopter and an inflatable life raft, and each needs parts and tools scattered through the cabins, cargo holds and engine rooms. Only the decks that hold the escape routes stay the same between runs, and your inventory is small, so you have to choose what to carry.

On each run one monster is aboard, and each has its own sounds, music and way of hunting. The Brute is loud, with heavy footsteps and a face that glows orange. The Hunter waits in egg sacs and moves through the vents. The Fiend makes no footsteps, but the ship's lights and your flashlight flicker as it gets closer. Whichever one you face grows more aggressive as you near an escape.

The tension comes from sound and from not knowing. Waves and creaking metal fill the quiet, and running draws the monster to you. You hide in lockers, under beds or in cupboards, though hiding too often gets you found, and you throw objects to lure the monster away. Security cameras on the upper decks raise an alarm if they spot you, and steam vents and other traps punish careless movement. Notes and logs left around the ship tell a light story.

Rely on Horror found that the scares fade as you learn the monsters, and noted framerate drops on Xbox One. It suits players who liked hiding from the creature in Alien: Isolation and want something replayable and unpredictable rather than a fixed story.

How to play Monstrum

1. Wake in a cabin and explore carefully; the ship's layout and items are new on every run.
2. Find the escape routes, a submarine, a helicopter and a life raft, and learn what each needs.
3. Search rooms for tools and parts; your inventory is small, so choose what to carry.
4. Listen for the monster and hide in a locker, under a bed or in a cupboard when it comes near.
5. Throw objects to draw it away, then move on quietly.
6. Repair one escape route and leave the ship. If you die, you start again on a different ship.

Tips

• Learn each monster's signs: the Brute's loud footsteps, the Hunter's egg sacs and the Fiend's flickering lights.
• Do not rely on hiding too often; the monster will find you if you overuse it.
• Avoid running when you do not have to; noise brings the monster.
• Stay out of sight of the security cameras on the upper decks, which raise an alarm.
• Turn off the steam vents in the cargo holds with their valve before you cross.
• The life raft needs a chain spool, duct tape and an air pump.
• Glow sticks, the lighter and the flashlight matter in the dark lower decks.

Questions