A new game with 100% positive ratings is now absolutely free to keep forever on Steam. As the most popular PC gaming storefront, and with all sorts of easily accessible publishing tools for developers of all sizes, Steam is absolutely loaded with weird and wild games. If you watch your homepage carefully, you can even score the occasional freebie.
Even among Steam indies, though, this one stands out. Marking its developer’s debut on Steam, Monophobia offers up a short but memorable experience with an entirely unique aesthetic. And the best part is, it’s absolutely free to download and play today.
Monophobia was developed in RPGMaker, but it’s described on its Steam page as a visual novel entirely made out of scanned watercolor paintings, hand-painted by the developer, Z-xian. It’s an incredibly short game — about 15 to 20 minutes of gameplay, Z-xian estimates — but then again, it’s totally free.
Monophobia follows a girl who believes herself to be the only living thing left on Earth as she recounts her life of solitude and attempts to cope with the challenges of her daily life. It deals with some dark themes and can be genuinely frightening, but it comes from a place of genuine feeling, portraying its lead character’s struggles with a sensitive, deft hand. It’s also an artistic feat, with strange, evocative watercolors for its only visuals, all underscored by atmospheric music.
Prior to Monophobia, Z-xian developed four games, which they released on Itch.io: Feed The Fish, a “short horror game about feeding your pet fish”; Barnicle, a visual novel about a depressed student struggling to get to class on time; I will blow up THE EARTH MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, another RPGMaker game with art partially drawn on torn-out notebook paper; and Cat Named Spirit, in which you hold a brief philosophical conversation with a talking cat.
Monophobia is Z-xian’s Steam debut, and, at the time of writing, every single review on the platform is positive. “You really have the potential to make something really really special and popular,” comments keibetsuu, “Never stop making games and trying to improve.” Exguren adds, “The dedication of making a game entirely out of watercolor art is so inspiring. This game is lovely for what it is.”
Reviewer Monlers notes, “This is more of an art piece than it is a game,” and I’m inclined to agree (although I’d add, why not both?). If you’re looking for something truly different to play this weekend, check out Monophobia. It’ll stick with you long after its sub-30-minute runtime, and it’s absolutely free to add to your Steam library.
- Brand
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Valve
- Original Release Date
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September 12, 2003