The Kaiju giant monster genre has seen a massive resurgence in recent years with movies like Pacific Rim and Legendary's MonsterVerse putting it back in the limelight.
But it's certainly been a while since we've had a great Kaiju game that can match the likes of classics such as Rampage or even SNK’s King of the Monsters.
Which made the announcement of 13AM Games' new Kaiju inspired beat ‘em up Dawn of the Monsters even more exciting.
Dawn of the Monsters’ plot is set in a near-future world where gigantic beasts known as Nephilim have invaded Earth.
A global task force known as Dawn (Defence Alliance Worldwide Network) is created to fight back against this threat.
After thirty years of failed tactics to defeat the Nephilim, Dawn has created monsters of their own to join the fight.
They are four guardians that include Megadon the living volcano, Ganira the colossal crustacean, Aegis Prime and Tempest Galahad.
These four are on a mission to vanquish the Nephilim while uncovering what brought them to Earth in the first place.
Whilst Dawn of the Monsters may not be hugely original, it has all the makings of a blockbuster movie that I would happily watch over and over.
The characters have been well crafted with each of them having motivations that are significant to their character developments.
Visually, Dawn of the Monsters has a cel-shaded comic book aesthetic that takes place in a 2.5D world.
With the game's simple but eye-popping cell-shaded graphics, while not exactly pushing the hardware ran at a smooth and constant frame rate on the PS5 keeping the game snappy and responsive.
It looks more akin to manga than western comics with some of its character designs looking like homages to major heroes like Ultraman.
The enemies can feel a bit repetitive with many of the same faces reappearing with different colour schemes. Bosses on the other are majestic behemoths that look fantastic in action.
The game features voice acting, which helps to elevate the comic style cutscenes. The game also adds a nice touch with characters popping in during levels to give you advice or funny witticism especially - mainly from Viktor.
Dawn of the Monsters is pretty straightforward, players will have to battle their way through hordes of monsters until they encounter the final boss.
Each level is very linear in design with a few extra environmental obstacles such as fast wind or rushing water to add that extra bit of challenge.
There are loads of interactive elements that can be used as weapons and health throughout each stage.
Levels have been nicely designed to replicate the destruction caused by monsters. They can be a tad repetitive at times but players probably won’t notice with all the mayhem going on.
Dawn of the Monsters combat mechanics has been finely tuned to bring the Kaiju experience to a beat 'em up.
From the outset, combat may feel like a button mash affair, but as players learn the controls, they will see that the game does a great job at emphasising and executing well-timed dodges, stringing together combos from bigger attacks and enemy prioritising.
It can all become rather complex forcing players to really adapt and think on their toes.
Monsters will come equipped with light and heavy attacks that can be chained into combos, with the heavy attacks being able to stun or launch enemies.
Dash attacks can also be mixed in, which are great for closing the distance on enemies trying to escape.
Each character also comes with a Rage attack, which is unique to and will often cause different ailments to your foe.
Rage attacks will drain the character's meter which can, in turn, be filled by inflicting and receiving damage.
The strongest attacks in the game are the Cataclysm attacks which can be performed after the corresponding meter is filled. Players will need to unleash rage attacks to fill this up.
Monsters will also have defensive options such as dodges, which if times correctly will allow players to pass through attacks.
The other option is a guard and if timed right, will allow the monster to parry the attack.
Combat really works effortlessly with each attack linking well together to form a cohesive unit.
The four monsters are so diverse it makes each playthrough very unique allowing for the player to devise different strategies.
Verdict
Dawn of the Monsters is the Kaiju beat 'em up we’ve been waiting for with the developers doing a grand job to create a unique experience whilst celebrating the genre.
I would love to see some new characters and levels in the form of DLC or even some online PVP worked in there to ensure its longevity.
Dawn of the Monsters is out for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Stadia, PC
