Twilight Monk Review
Twilight Monk is a beautifully hand-drawn, highly polished 2D metroidvania with echoes of Zelda II.
Twilight Monk. Credit: Aquatic Moon Studio / Gravity Game Arise
Aquatic Moon Studio’s Twilight Monk, published by Gravity Game Arise, is a fantasy metroidvania set in the world previously created by the studio in a series of comics and illustrated novels. The game pleasantly reminded me of NES classic Zelda II: The Adventure of Link, an often maligned sequel ahead of its time as an action RPG (ARPG).
In the game, the player is Raziel Tenza, one of the few remaining Moonken and a Twilight Monk descendant, who must bring peace to the land of Speria. He races to find a set of rings before Nox, a traitor to the Moonken Monks, can use them to release a world-ending evil. I liked the game’s Kung Fu fantasy world much more than the story itself. The game is light on narrative, but its setting is a rich canvas for the gameplay.
Twilight Monk. Credit: Aquatic Moon Studio / Gravity Game Arise
The game is structured similarly to Zelda II. A sectioned overworld map, which the player explores from a top-down perspective, serves to connect the game’s various dungeons and villages. Dungeons play in sidescrolling 2D, with the added metroidvania touch of having some sections gated until you find items or abilities later. Like in Zelda II, the overworld features wandering monsters that pull you into sidescrolling combat encounters that you must escape. The game also features RPG progression that boosts the player’s power and collectible items that increase the player’s HP.
Raziel Tenza’s weapon is the Phantom Pillar, a versatile blunt weapon as big as he is that he carries on his back. He can fling it a short range at enemies and yank it back with its attached chain, or drop it to use as a shield or a platform. My favorite attack, where he kicks the Pillar after placing it on the ground, is locked behind a talisman obtained early in the game; this should have been a default combat ability to which I shouldn’t need to devote a talisman slot. Another late-game ability that lets you yo-yo the Pillar by kicking it repeatedly is also too much fun to have gated this way. Combat generally feels great; smacking dudes with the giant Pillar never gets old. Raziel also has access to a range of secondary weapons that he obtains over the course of the game. These weapons, requiring energy to use, are handy for fighting enemies at range, which can be crucial because healing items are rare.
Movement and traversal are fun, and get better as you open up new abilities. Early ones are a double jump and an air dash, which I wish also worked as a dodge. Later abilities include hanging on to wall hooks, using the Pillar as a grapple, and something similar to Samus’ Speed Boost from Super Metroid, where running for a short time lets you gain super speeds that plow through enemies and certain obstacles. None of the abilities are novel, but they’re all excellently tuned and satisfying to use.
My only major disappointment with Twilight Monk was its map system. Your map of each area is filled in as you explore, but it includes nearly no useful detail. Save points, fast travel portals, and a specific door type that comes into play late in the game appear on the map. Nothing else does. It makes it difficult to track progress. At minimum, rooms should be marked if you have discovered everything there is to find. I would have also liked to see obstacles that I couldn’t pass until I collected the necessary upgrades to be marked.
Twilight Monk. Credit: Aquatic Moon Studio / Gravity Game Arise
Twilight Monk features stunning hand-drawn graphics. Everything from the deep, richly detailed sidescrolling environments to the overworld map is full of color and personality. Dark areas never feel dingy. Raziel, NPCs, and enemies are all distinctively designed and beautifully animated. I particularly liked all the character portraits used alongside the text-based dialogue. Even though I wasn’t invested in the game’s story, I wanted to spend more time in its world thanks to how gorgeously rendered it is. Aquatic Moon is primarily an art house, providing art to other studios, and they’re really showing off their skills here.
Twilight Monk. Credit: Aquatic Moon Studio / Gravity Game Arise
It took me around 13 hours to finish the game. I could have probably done it more quickly, but I spent extra time—perhaps too much of it running in circles thanks to the barebones maps—searching for all the upgrades and collectibles. Still, I never grew tired of the combat because of how good the game felt to play. Twilight Monk’s high degree of polish and nearly perfect execution of the formula established by Zelda II and various metroidvanias make it a must-play.
Twilight Monk is available on PC (Steam) and Nintendo Switch.
Overall Score: 9/10
Played on: Steam Deck
