You might be forgiven for thinking it’s crazy to challenge Streets of Rage 4 for best side-scrolling beat-em-up of 2020 but that’s exactly what 9 Monkeys of Shaolin has attempted. Oh and by the way, it succeeded. It is heavily inspired by the former but it improves on it in so many ways that it is now head and shoulders above it and all the others in the crowded genre that are beat-em-ups.
If beating up waves of increasingly difficult enemies across a huge variety of levels using epic martial arts as a badass monk sounds appealing to you (of course it does), read on.
Fishing for Trouble
9 Monkeys of Shaolin follows a fisherman named Wei Cheng living in a time of never-ending trouble for his village. Attacks have come from bandits, pirates and even demons on a consistent basis, all hoping to conquer the land as their own. As the player begins, it becomes one attack too many and the village finally falls. Saved by the Shaolin monks, Wei Cheng, along with the master’s support must rise up against all of these foes that have taken control, strategically progressing through the land to take everything back from those who destroyed his livelihood.
It’s fair to say that the story is usually an afterthought in beat-em-up titles. Not in 9 Monkeys of Shaolin. Every level has a story behind it with someone to save, avenge or kill. Each level feels like a secret mission that feels important to saving the land. It’s like playing through the better side-quests of Ghost of Tsushima in side-scrolling form.
A pleasant surprise is that despite having some dark themes in the game, there’s also some comic relief in the form of insults, profanities and sarcasm. There are many comical quips in the dialogue and it adds a lot to the personalities of the characters. If they were doom and gloom constantly it would feel a lot more simplistic and one-note but thankfully Wei Cheng and his teachers have a lot of heart and depth to them.
Oooh, How Meta
Everything is explained through solid dialogue interactions, with impressive voice acting throughout. The game even contextualises learning new moves. So rather than just levelling up and getting new moves just because, it’s all a part of Wei’s learning while living with the monks Guangli and Zongfei, the masters who show him what it takes to become a true warrior.
Wei’s Destiny
Once Wei becomes integrated into the Shaolin monks, the game has a “hub” area where you can look after your character. Here you can change settings, upgrade Wei, change his loadout, select missions (including those already completed) and even activate cheats that are unlocked. There are also 4 difficulty levels to choose from, allowing for players of any skill level to experience the game.
Despite the game being simple on novice; the easiest difficulty, there’s still a fairly significant difficulty spike when you hit chapter 3 that will catch people off guard. Enemies are tougher and environments more dangerous, which will frustrate some players but it’s not too drastic to make you want to rage quit.
Liu Kang Would be Jealous
Of course, this game depends heavily on its gameplay and it does not disappoint. The combat is free-flowing, and smooth, feeling less stiff and awkward than the games it is inspired by. There are lots of options when it comes to attacks, with more opening up as you progress through the game. There are standard attacks, kicks and thrusts, each stronger against certain enemies. Then there are Qi attacks and also Earth Seals that allow for magical powers. Wei Cheng has to master all of these if he is to claim back the land from the Wukou attackers.
What’s incredible about the combat in this game is that despite being incredibly simple, it feels epic. Developers Sobaka Studio have done a magnificent job of making the action feel intense and dramatic. Everything flows brilliantly, with animations that look authentic and smooth. In the middle of a combo, you can dodge away, parry an incoming poison dart, flying kick an enemy from distance and then unleash a magic spell, all without stops.
That type of combat you don’t usually get in beat-em-ups. Its usually much more measured and robotic. The flying kick especially is very fun. It’s silly and dramatic and should be used at every opportunity. It’s so Chinese in the most wonderful way, you even have to drink tea to gain health and power-ups.
Shaolin It Together
The best way to play 9 Monkeys of Shaolin is without doubt in co-op, whether that’s online or locally on a shared screen. In co-op the fun and the badass feeling is doubled, feeling absolutely amazing as the players clear out enemies in sync. Where this truly comes alive is in boss battles, where you can be either side of a big enemy and just unleash hell on them.
When the Earth Seals are unlocked, the co-op combinations become fantastic. While one of you use magic to draw enemies in, the other can use a power attack to hit all of them in a group. That’s just one of the many possible interactions the game allows you to do. This, along with being able to heal the partner will make co-op the best way to play. The game even provides a valid reason as to why there’s two of you, rather than just cloning Wei Cheng as some games do. The attention to detail is brilliant!
Martial Art
The level design in this game is also fantastic. The environments are beautiful and detailed, spanning various iconic bits of scenery, from once-peaceful villages, to giant temples and swampy grasslands, it all looks authentic and very pretty. As the player progresses, the levels become more difficult not just in enemy types and density but in paths themselves.
There are saw blades to dodge, broken bridges to jump across and much more. The environmental challenges are always appropriately placed in terms of their location so they never feel forced. The only exception to this would be a level where Wei can get struck by random jolts of lightning but it looks so cool that it can be forgiven.
Where the visuals are little bit disappointing is in the characters. They have this grainy effect on them that is very PS1 and stands out from the detailed environments. Which is bizarre really as the designs of the characters when their dialogue comes up are really good so it seems strange to deny the characters of that. If the player wants to hide it though they can do by equipping masks of the enemies they defeat as a power move because Wei Cheng is awesome.
To Be Noted
Now unfortunately there were a couple of pre-launch bugs that occurred whilst playing, one of them potentially game-breaking. Firstly, there were parts of the game where the playable character would get stuck on an edge and unable to move, meaning the level would have to be restarted. The more severe issue however was a crash that happened repeatedly after a level in chapter 3.
Once the level was completed, the game would not load back to the hub area, being instead stuck on the load screen. This happened multiple times but only on this one particular level that is part of the main story. It took 4 attempts for it to acknowledge that the level was completed but only again after it had crashed, thankfully it saved during the loading screen and when the game was rebooted it finally went on to the next story beat.
A Game For All
9 Monkeys of Shaolin is a game that will slip under many people’s radars, which is a massive shame as it deserves its place on your platform of choice. Not only are video games lacking co-operative experiences right now but they’re also just lacking that fun factor. This game brings both of those in one brilliant little package that can be played by players of all skill levels.
9MoS absolute mindless fun with some great bits of comedy and a story that is easily the most interesting there’s ever been in a beat-em-up game. It may not win game of the year but it’s definitely one of the biggest surprises of the year. With tons of upgrades, loadouts and cheats to try out, there is a lot of game here for your money and when you’re looking this badass while doing it, why wouldn’t you play it?
Get it bought when it comes out on October 16th. What a game.
Review code provided by PR