Over 50 lovingly crafted sprites and descriptions of monsters from a nonexistent RPG, inspired by the author/illustrator's childhood love of reading strategy guides for games they never played.
A delightful and charming art book inspired by game manuals of old, this collection features a bestiary of monsters from the fictional videogame setting of Pommeland. Each monster has its own bio, and there's a great amount of love and care poured into each page. There's even a sense of progression and climax toward the end of the book which surprised me and made me smile.
3.5 stars. This is a review of Apple Quest Monsters DX (which is in the itch.io Bundle for Racial Justice and Equality, FYI!).
A mostly-bestiary with a touch of game manual for a video game that doesn't exist. It's a phenomenal premise, so captivating and imaginative. This is a light and breezy take on it, lots of self-aware humor and a dash of gotcha-style plot in the final entries. I'd've preferred something more serious--more gameplay elements, a better understanding of how the player moves through the biomes, and less humor although that last is definitely a me-problem. So, no, this didn't fill the hole in my life left by Tunic, which is what's gotten me into reading fictional and retro game manuals. But light and breezy is its own delight, and this has a good length and a fun style--the bestiary is in the "game"'s pixel art, and there are adorable, lively clay figure macros on the cover and endpages.
I actually read this a bit ago! I actually have the physical "DX" copy, but you can buy a digital version from Splendidland's itch.io store for like $2.50. It's worth it!!
I love this sort of thing. I loved reading game guides, and looking at the art. This little book is so perfect for the same types of feelings. It manages to sneak a clever narrative in there as well! It's very nice. Go read it! I only wish it were another 200 pages!!