Bought and read this mainly on the basis that the author interview was cool and that I like Paul Wang as an author. Suffice to say that I’ve enjoyed the three playthroughs I’ve done so far.
Overall the tone is extremely different from the Dragoon Saga and Mecha Warrior books, but it really fits well with the premise and perspective of the character - a much more irreverent, casual tone worked really well in my opinion.
The only “issues” I’ve had with it are the fact that during one of the later interludes you can only buy one tool even if you have the money to buy multiple, and if you die at the end you’re forced to do a full restart rather than having the option to load a checkpoint.
Overall a really well-written and enjoyable story with a couple of characters that hit quite hard for me (which I find quite unusual for any book), although I’m sure there’s a lot more to explore in it than I’ve managed to see in a handful of playthroughs.
Sidenote: The gloves were off with the sociopolitical commentary in this book, even compared to the Dragoon Saga, goddamn. That being said, there was enough nuance and choice to it that it didn’t feel like reading Ayn Rand.
I’m guessing some of these people aren’t savvy enough to pick up on the political overtones of history/fantasy stories, and/or they’re very good at compartmentalizing. A Time of Monsters is pretty darn in-your-face about issues that matter in the real world in 2025, and that’s a heck of a lot harder to gloss over as pure escapism.
I think a large part of it is, as you said, the separation from the lived experience makes it a lot easier to disregard the commentary of societal injustices and political issues in gaslamp fantasy settings - or, indeed, any historical, fantasy, or sci-fi setting. Conversely, the issues in A Time of Monsters (I suppose the acronym is AToM, unless a better one already exists?) are far closer to home for the vast majority of the readership, and as such the commentary thereupon will seem far more unabashed.
I also think that in the Dragoon Saga you are generally a beneficiary of the very injustices being commented upon - literal hereditary nobility-, and as such it is far easier to ignore or even support them, whereas in AToM you are very much not a beneficiary of the systems, attitudes, and issues being commented upon. As such, they are ohgodfuckimgoingtodiewhyisthishappeningtome rather than “your natural place in society”.
A game well worth trying! Packed with humorous sentences, thoughtful dialogue, and the freedom to roleplay any character I want. I’ll play it again soon!
Really enjoyed A Time of Monsters! How did I know someone was going to get mad at that Gramsci quote lol
I think I came across an unfortunate bug though? Maybe it’s just me but
I’ve played through twice now and both times at the end before the final battle when you can talk to your companions both the romance & >75 relationship options for Fleur-de-lys are blurred out despite being in a relationship & having high enough relationship. Both qualifiers also seemed to work fine earlier on but just during that final convo aren’t available
Other than that hiccup though it’s been very enjoyable! Great work Paul!
Finished my first playthrough a few hours ago and can say I thoroughly enjoyed it. The tone was definitely a lot more casual than Lords, though it still managed to be plenty serious when it mattered.
I think my favorite scene was the meeting with Roderick at Sun Yat-sen Garden - its the only time that a character has made such a seemingly genuine attempt to convince me of his righteousness where it just fell completely flat. He clearly believes that he is just, that the PC has everything to gain from siding with him, and he doesn’t condescend to you by lying that he cares about the humans he preys on, because he doesn’t think you should care about them either. It’s superficially very charming, and completely horrifying as soon as you see past it.
My next favorite would probably be Jangles appointing the PC as his successor, just for how directly he breaks down the situation, and how he refuses to take no for an answer, because the alternative is just catastrophic. It’s a very strong end for the character, and really drives home how precarious life is there, even for the man supposedly at the top.
I will echo that I also wish there were some options to personally relate to some of our fellow hunters. In my case, I did feel the absence of an option to tell Fleur that I was also a trans woman. It’s not a big deal, and I understand your hesitation, though I don’t personally think you would do a bad job at it. I myself am currently content with the knowledge that when my PC makes out sloppy style with her, it is t4t.
when you find the thin bloods and there meeting is interrupted when getting chased by the vampire I got to the subway door and chose the option to open the door where the choice to force the door with a crowbar was grayed out but I had bought a crowbar in the shop.
Romancing Wil includes the only instance of the words “fuck it, we ball” to appear in the story.
Did you have 4 Physical and the Martial Creed? You need those too?
I’ve got quite a few bugs fixed, and I’m probably going to submit a new version this morning - and then keep submitting new updates on a near daily basis for the next week or so.
The references in these achievements are inspired.
I just earned Let Me Solo Her and The Power of Incredible Violence in quick succession and started laughing my ass off.
Next playthrough I’ll be a good little puppy for Lydia. I’d like to get the skinny on what exactly her role is in the local court. I initially had the impression she’s the Sheriff, but it’s starting to look like she’s just another lick trying to climb the greasy pole.
I suspect that she’s a Hound, looking for a big win to position herself as a Sheriff candidate in the future. This tracks with her position and resource access, and would explain some of her… word choice.
Honestly, of the people we’re presented with, she’s genuinely not the worst option. At the very least she’s better than the Thinnies, and honestly she’s probably about equally as bad as the Feds, as long as you’re alright with a bit of blood-letting.
I just finished my second run where I served her faithfully (but not as a ghoul) and I think you’re correct. I love the epilogue there, where she sends you off to confront a survivor of the Bloodlines 2 events (possibly the Nomad herself?)
Yeah that Lydia romance scene in act 4 … Damn good stuff, that. This line:
Summary
“For a long time, the two of you seem to float there in a mutual embrace, she perched over you like a predator, and you underneath her half-supine, as the willing, blissful prey.”
You know what, humanity might be a little overrated. Mistress’s world view sounds like a load of hot bullshit but on the other hand she’s hot.
Every main hunter besides Zheng and both main vampires are romancable.
Actually @Cataphrak speaking of red flag ROs wheres our Steve Gold-Digger route. Give me the fortune of Saint George.
I don’t think the game needs DLC, and it’s not like something like Parliament of Knives where you can add some new clans and a new mission and call it a day, but if we get more content with Certain ROs I am absolutely not complaining.
Had an issue where a deceased character later chimed in with a line of dialouge and was replied to a few pages ahead. Hopefully, this can be fixed and others have also reported the bug.
[spoiler]This was , who died in my Act 1 to the intruder and spoke when talking about tourists in Gas town[/spoiler]
