PAX EAST 2020 | "Sometimes Always Monsters"
Well this is a first! In all of my years at PAX East — even ever since its beginning back in 2010 when it was held at the Hynes Convention Center — I’ve never demoed the end of a game. Vagabond Dog offered the opportunity to check out the finale to its upcoming release Sometimes Always Monsters, the sequel to Always Sometimes Monsters. And yet, despite it being the ending, it left me with more questions than I could’ve ever thought!
The ending I experienced involved Sam finding their wife Belle tied to a chair, surrounded by books and a massive printing press. Upon untying her, Rival pops up with gun in hand. She puts Belle back, and tells Sam to finish the story. And this is where it gets interesting.
Looking at the typewriter, the words “Rival _______” appear. The object of this task is to list a past tense verb to continue the story, one that will satisfy Rival’s needs. She could kill Sam and Belle, Sam and herself, just herself, or all three can die. That’s where you’ll need to figure out the best ending possible, one that leaves the least amount of death.
Thus, the creative juices flowed through my brain. I tried to have some fun Mad Libs-styled, typing in every command I could think of. Danced, ate, farted, burped, and even pissed all were typed, with some not working and others...let’s just say surprisingly worked. Running through the ending multiple times, I witnessed loads of death occur in the bloodiest of ways. But with one command that I won’t say here, I managed to find a way for everyone to survive.
What Vagabond Dog have done here with this demo is the proper way to drag newcomers to both Always Sometimes Monsters and the Sometimes Always Monsters follow-up. Even as I witnessed the ending, it made me want to wonder how all of this came to be. Afterwards, I was informed that the ending I got may not be the one I witness when I experience the full game, as the possibilities as to how the tale can come to be are very much akin to Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books. Plus, even during this convention, they’re still tinkering with the game with some of the suggestions that are coming down the line from con goers.
We won’t have to wait too long to see what the final product of Sometimes Always Monsters will be like, as it’s due to be released on PC on April 2nd. The best part is that those who’ve played the first game can transfer their save file to the new title to continue their story. With this much dedication, Sometimes Always Monsters should be on every indie game lover’s radar!
