Sweetest Monster is probably the most disturbing game I've ever played. It's fairly light on nudity and despite what its Steam store page says, there's also not a lot of actual "fan service" here. It's more of a deconstruction of Visual Novel tropes, but it's also very much concerned with the way men often view women. Because of that, what might be considered fan service in other VNs just made me really uncomfortable here, and I'm fairly certain that's precisely what the author intended.

It's a fairly short game (2-3 hours depending on how fast you read) and I believe that discussions of the plot would only stray into spoiler territory, something a lot of other reviews here and on Steam seem to do. It's a compelling story that quickly pulled me in and it's best experienced blind, although I recommend to perhaps check trigger warnings since this game certainly requires a lot of them. There are no decisions to make in this one, but I didn't miss them at all and think the game is better off without them.

If I had to criticize anything, it'd be that some of the characters sound a bit unnatural when talking. I especially noticed this with the protagonist's wife, whose dialogue is just to sophisticated to pass as everyday speech. This gets noticeably better after the first 10-15 minutes, so I'm not deducting to much from the score. Overall, I'd definitely recommend this for fans of darker and more mature Visual Novels.

Edit: In the days following this review I have also completed the game's sequel, Sweetest Monster Refrain. Refrain is probably the most niche game I've ever played, with not a single walkthrough on YouTube, no discussions on it anywhere, and not even a page on backloggd (which is why I'm writing about it here).

Refrain starts out almost painfully slow, but picks up after the first third. From there on the game gets better and better, building up to a single brutal decision. Due to the initial slow pacing I'd rate it around 4 stars, so slightly lower than the first one. Nevertheless, everyone who liked Sweetest Monster (and can stomach more of the game's heavy subjects) should check out Refrain.

Before I start my review fully I want to offer some little more content warnings, the game talks a lot about depression and suicide, so it's good to know if you don't deal with those topics all that well. There is also some other disturbing content, but mentioning it here would be considered a spoiler and I want to keep the review spoiler free. Continue with discretion.

A middle-aged man has an encounter with a cute catgirl in the dead of night. That sounds like the start of a good adult novel. I would agree with that, if not for the actual huge plot twist at the end. I'm not going to say what it was, but I didn't really like it. I would have been fine with it if I had known the game had such content, but there was no mention of it or trigger warnings for it on the store page.

The art is pretty and the story is pretty great otherwise, but the end is not good and it's quite disturbing. I can't recommend this purely for the fact that my brain was not ready for that surprise.

“I want to tell you something. Something really important.”

Sweetest Monster is a kinetic novel (a visual novel without choices). Although it doesn't have choices, which some might be looking for in a game, it does have a very intricately designed/tightly-knit story that more than made up for the lack of interactivity, in my opinion. I can't bring myself to tell you anything about the story because it is very hard to put to words without spoiling anything, much like Ebi-Hime's other works, but I will say that it leans more toward the horror genre than romance (though it arguably pulls bits from both) and that the story itself is very bold. Beyond that, the best I can offer story-wise, is pointing you toward the author's description of the game.

The artwork is beautiful, yet carries an air of creepiness to it. Meanwhile, the music is both vibrant and classical, a perfect compliment to the art (especially some of the objects that appear washed-out/antique by intended design). I also found the sound effects to be on point and fitting with the somewhat eerie theme. There isn't any voice acting, but I'm glad because I feel that it might have worked against the dark feel that the artwork and score provided, not to mention how it might have cut over the excellent soundtrack.

There are also quite a few extras: Art Gallery, Music Box, and Author's Notes. As with the other Ebi-Hime titles I have played, I found the Author's Notes to be very informative, well written, and interesting. I really like what the author set out to do, and accomplished, with Sweetest Monster. The game does indeed have uncensored nudity (I've seen questions posted about this, but couldn't figure out where to place mention of it in my review, so I chose to post it in the most ironic spot I could think of). I'd say that the VN is a bit short as it took me around 4 hours to finish, but I am a somewhat quick reader.

In closing, I found Sweetest Monster to be a more than worthwhile and thought provoking read. I would definitely recommend it at its normal price. If you are still unsure, then maybe wait for it to go on sale or pick it up as part of the Ebi-Hime Bundle when that goes on sale.

This is an indie kinetic (i.e. no gameplay, no choices, only reading) adult visual novel that I got as part of a bundle and decided to give it a go based on its relatively short duration (took me about 3 hours to complete).

Reviewing visual novels and narrative-driven games without providing spoilers is always hard, but I'll do my best. The story in this game is interesting and deals with the midlife crisis of a music teacher (main protagonist). The plot and story turn into a very disturbing tale that has strong and sensitive subjects such as depression, and anxiety, among other disturbing themes. Unfortunately, the plot is somewhat easy to figure out and that is a con in any visual novel that relies entirely in its story.

With all that being said, the writing is impressive considering its one-man/indie nature. I feel the game could have used more art pieces/stills since the same ones keep being resued for the most part but it's hard to demand more from an indie visual novel.