Sweetest Monster Refrain

Sweetest Monster Refrain is a sequel or a kind of reimagining of a previous game. I have to be honest, I am not sure you need to play that first game before playing this. What we have here is a lewd visual novel that is pretty dark, disturbing, and not the kind of game you want to play if you are looking for something that is going to cheer you up. It is the kind of game where it feels like no one really wins and if you like your games to be dark and very dramatic, you will probably get a great deal out of this.

A Cat Girl On A Bench

The story of Sweetest Monster Refrain is the main event here and I think that it is the kind of story that you will either love or not click with at all. This is pretty disturbing and it is not the kind of thing that is for those who are easily offended or for those who have trouble dealing with darker themes like suicide, abuse, and even incest. Our main character is a typical middle aged guy called Robin and Robin does not have the best home life, his wife is kind of distant and his daughter has issues of her own. However, Robin meets a cute cat girl sitting on a bench called Bell and he and Bell hit it off.

From Dream To Nightmare

The thing is, Sweetest Monster Refrain has a dark twist, it actually has a few dark twists! You see Bell is not the sweet, affectionate, and passionate partner that Robin initially thought she was and he realizes that he actually wants a life with his wife and daughter. This does not sit well with Bell and before long, we find out what she actually is and it is pretty damn messed up the way that she manages to get herself into the life of Robin. There is incest, there is abuse and there is even suicide in this story. It is one that is not for the faint of heart and from what I experienced, there is no real happy ending here.

Let Me Tell You One Time

While Sweetest Monster Refrain is a visual novel, there are not a whole bunch of choices that you will need to make. If you have played the original Sweetest Monster game, you will have an idea of the level of interactivity that you can expect here. The story unfolds before you, but you need to take it all in as you get to make what feels like the most important choice in the world at the end. It may only be one choice you are making, but at the time, the weight of this choice is immense. I legit had to think long and hard about the choice in terms of what could come from it. The thing is, neither choice probably goes the way you really want it to and while that is a downer, I appreciate that not all stories have a happy ending.

Telling A Story With Words And Pictures

The art style of Sweetest Monster Refrain fits the tone of the story perfectly. This has a very artsy kind of look to it and I think that the artist has truly done a wonderful job of bringing these characters to life. Little touches like the falling rain and so on give scenes more oomph if that makes sense. The characters are all well designed and the “lewd” content that is here is not just there to get you off, it actually makes sense as far as the story goes. It is all done very well and I could not imagine this game looking any other way.

Pros:

• This tells a very engrossing story
• I kind of dig that there is no true happy ending
• That final choice truly does make you think
• The art here is very impressive

Cons:

• The dark and disturbing story may be too much for some people
• You only get one choice to make in the game