Always Sometimes Monsters tests player ethics in a modern world

The upcoming Always Sometimes Monsters puts players in the role of a character on the verge of complete despair, setting out to win back the love of his/her life. What happens from there is up to you.

Ozzie Mejia

August 29, 2013 6:00 AM

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"Choice is an evaluation of cost and benefit."

These words open the first teaser for Always Sometimes Monsters, the debut title from indie developer Vagabond Dog. This RPG tells the story about a character, broken both financially and spiritually, setting out to win back the love of his or her life. Whether his story ends happily will ultimately be determined by player choice.

Consequence is heavily emphasized in Always Sometimes Monsters, as players can begin and develop relationships with a colorful cast of characters, make money through honest or unsavory means, and choose their own way to deal with the challenges of the modern world. Players will also have the freedom to choose the main character's gender, race, and sexual orientation.

"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 Vagabond Dog's Justin Amirkhani in a press release. "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."

Devolver Digital will publish Always Sometimes Monsters and bring a playable version to PAX Prime's Indie Megabooth this weekend. The game is expected to release on PC in 2014.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?