1 player
Available on PC, Stadia, Switch, Apple Arcade
If video games are above all a way to escape and dream in fanciful worlds, that is not necessarily incompatible with a bit of brain training!
A Monster’s Expedition offers precisely a mix of all this. It is a quiet, easy-to-pick-up game. You control a little character – the “monster” of the title – who is visiting a museum dedicated to humans. The particularity of this museum is that it takes the form of a hundred or so small islands, separated from each other. Admittedly, we have seen more practical ways to visit.
Trees are scattered here and there. When you approach one, it is automatically felled in the direction opposite the character. The ecological message may need a rethink, but a tree trunk nonetheless makes a perfect bridge to the next island. You simply have to push it so that it floats to the right place.
While the first situations are fairly obvious and let you understand the game mechanics, progress makes things trickier. You will discover trees of different sizes, or ones that must be combined to build a raft, for example. Each island thus represents a little puzzle to solve.
As in any self-respecting puzzle game, there comes a point when you get it wrong. No worries: a simple press of a button undoes your last actions. Gradually, you discover the everyday objects on display in the museum, accompanied by humorous and gently critical descriptions of our over-consuming society.
Among its advantages, I would gladly also mention its relaxed atmosphere and colourful graphics. What is more, A Monster’s Expedition can be interrupted at any time and picked up again later ; once the brain is rested.
A few themed questions and recommendations to use when talking with your child :
- When you get stuck on a puzzle, it is time for a break. Coming back to it the next day often means you can solve it first time.
- Do you feel the same playing this type of game as another ? (For example, is the excitement/nervousness the same, and if not, why ?)
- Do you feel you are learning something while playing? (The principle here being to step back and consider each island as a whole in order to solve the problem)
- Which object did you like discovering most on an island?
