Review: 'Monster Mind', the sexy Pokémon puzzle game
Monster Mind is a puzzle-solving, Pokémon-themed, Flash game created by Argon Vile. It's available to play for free through Inkbunny or Fur Affinity [Edit: Now on Itch.io in faster HTML5 and Windows versions.]
One might be tempted to immediately dismiss it as just another pornographic game, however not only is it very well-executed but it also contains deeper questions about sex and sexuality than you might expect.
A puzzling start
The main puzzles—as well as the title—are based on the board game Master Mind. In the classic version, you have to guess the colour and position of each peg in a row of four, usually with six colours to choose from for each slot. After each guess, you are told how many pegs have the correct colour and how many are in the correct position. Over multiple guesses, you can determine the correct pattern.
Monster Mind is slightly different. While you are still required to find the pattern, several guesses are already provided as clues. You must use those clues to determine the correct sequence; although in the most difficult puzzles it might be necessary to make assumptions about more than one peg at a time. You can choose between various difficulties starting from a pattern of just three pegs (although in this game they are adorable bugs instead of pegs) and going up to five pegs. There is also a secret 7-peg puzzle with some extra rules!
As you complete the puzzles, you'll be rewarded with treasure chests. Usually these contain gems which can be exchanged for various items. Items range from aesthetic additions through various game enhancements to sex toys for the sexual scenes. A chest might also contain a bonus coin, giving you the option of playing one of Monster Mind's minigames.
I want to play a minigame
There are three minigames available; balancing scales, tug-of-war and a stair-climbing game. These are played against the Pokémon characters, with each of them having different skill levels in the various games.
The balancing scales minigame requires some quick mental maths. You have a scale with platforms at different distances from the centre along each of the arms, each corresponding to a certain value. You will need to divide the bugs you are given onto these platforms in such a way that each side adds up to the same total. There are usually two other Pokémon competing against you, so speed is of the essence.
The tug-of-war game seems simple at first. You divide up your bugs among three to five concurrent games of tug-of-war with each game earning you a different number of gems. All you need to do is win the most gems. What makes this trickier is that both you and your NPC opponent are able to change how your bugs are allocated in real time. Furthermore, as time passes, your bugs will move forward to be concealed in a tent. At that point they can neither be seen nor moved, meaning you need to keep track of the total value of each competition as well as how many bugs you and your opponent have set down for each one.
The final, and my favourite, of the minigames involves you and an NPC rolling dice to move up a flight of stairs, collect a chest and bring it back down. Movement is determined by rolling two 'dice' with the possible totals of zero, one or two. The reason 'dice' is in quotes is that it's more like rock-paper-scissors, where you pick a value based on what you think your opponent will pick for their 'roll'. Because of this, both players roll at the same time, no matter whose turn it is, and the player whose turn it is moves the sum of all the dice. You might think that then you will just roll zero for your opponent but if both players roll a zero then the person whose turn it is can move four places and take their turn again! In addition, if your bug lands on the same step as your opponent's bug you will knock them off for bonus gems! Experience and learning how the different Pokémon characters play the game is very important.
Now back to the good part
The main reward for the completing the puzzles is the sex scenes. Now, that can be disabled and you can freely play the puzzles all squeaky clean but you'd be missing out on a large part of the game. There are many Pokémon you can have sex with, including Abra, Grovyle, Sandslash and Lucario, to name a few. This is all done through fairly standard point and click interactions. There's even some fourth-wall breaking, as you only exist in their world as a glove which covers up the cursor!
I mentioned in the minigame section that the different Pokémon play the games in a slightly different way. The same happens in the sex scenes. You can't go to every Pokémon , treat them the same way and expect to get the same results. Like people, the Pokémon are all individuals with their own interests. Some want you to go slow, some faster, some have a hair trigger and so on. It can be nice just seeing how the different Pokémon respond.
If you do partake in the sex scenes, you can choose between male and female Pokémon, of which the game asks your preferences when you begin. Furthermore, its possible to purchase items that let you switch the sex of the Pokémon to suit your interests. Other items that can be purchased are for use during the sex scenes, but we will not go into any details here!
Overall impression
Overall and assuming you are okay with the sexual content, it's an excellent game. The art is simple but very clear and doesn't detract from any of the content. Many of the characters, particularly the puzzle bugs, are adorable. There is a lot of depth to the Pokémon, each with well-written dialogue that makes you think. Thanks to this, the experience of going through these puzzles does not get repetitive. The puzzles and minigames require skill far more than luck and, although some puzzles are easier than others, luck does not play a role in the main puzzles. All of them function incredibly well with almost no unintentional bugs whatsoever that I came across.
If you're looking to satisfy a desire for logical puzzles, Pokémon or sex games, I can highly recommend Monster Mind.
Read more: Rakuen interviews Argon Vile, creator of Monster Mind
About the author
Rakuen Growlithe — read stories — contact (login required)a scientist and Growlithe from South Africa, interested in science, writing, pokemon and gaming
I'm a South African fur, originally from Cape Town. I'm interested in science, writing, gaming, all sorts of furry stuff, Pokemon and some naughtier things too! I've dabbled in art before but prefer writing. You can find my fiction on SoFurry and non-fiction on Flayrah.
Comments
By "deeper questions about sex" that you say this proposes, are you referring to different characters responding differently to different things in the sex scenes?
No, although that's interesting too. In the dialogue between puzzles, many of the pokemon ask relationship and sex questions as part of their backgrounds and storylines. For example, one of them talks about labels of gay and straight and whether they are good/useful or whether it would be better to be in a world without labels where people can just be who they are and not part of a label. Those conversations bring more thought into sex and sexuality.
They are brief, not deep philosophical essays but they can certainly stimulate a bit more thought than you would normally get in a sex game. Other conversations touch on a character who had sex with someone that was in a relationship but didn't know because the couple is often off and on and asked who was to blame.
"If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind."
~John Stuart Mill~
I didn't finish the game as of yet, but I will say that there was quite a bit of effort here.
I mean, particularly the "Bugs" that act as pegs in this game. They are crazy animated. Do the following, pick a peg up, move your cursor really fast and "throw" them away. When they hit the ground they roll along and tumble to a stop.
As far as the game goes to it rewards you whether you solve the puzzles fast or slow. If you solve them fast you'll rank up quicker, while if you take your time you will get random drops of gems in compensation for your time.
At this point I would consider nominating it for Furry games at this point...
That would probably be awkward if it ends up next the Switch pokemon games in the nominee list.
The bugs are definitely a highlight!
You should nominate it. I would think this sort of thing falls under the type of games that we should be encouraging. It will probably lose to some big commercial game like every furry film has but at least we should recognise when people within the community create something great.
"If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind."
~John Stuart Mill~
Pay attention, guys.
The last three years have gone to independents in the Video Games category, and in 2016, the winner was by a furry ... and everyone bitched about it (the guy ran a FYC campaign on Twitter, OH NOES!). Second place that everyone was complaining should have won was ... an actual made-by-Nintendo Pokemon game, by the way, which is kind of ironic, but anyway, there's the David-beating-Goliath Rakuen's complaining never happens literally happening not two years ago right in front of his face.
Also, also, is porn still winning all the literary categories (which are, by the way, so furry-by-furry that at least one has gone "can I just not do this anymore, please?")? Was Major/Minor porn?
How the fact that this is definitely a porn game will effect the vote is a way more, well, at least "interesting" question.
Major/Minor was not porn, you cannot have sexualized games on Steam. Adult visual novels that are on steam typically do not have the adult scenes in them, like Amorous. To access the adult scenes you'd have to download from the web in other places.
You are ominously quiet on the literary question.
You assume I've read a lot of furry fiction. I'm not Fred Patten, so I cannot say.
Okay, I can't be expected to remember everything.
"If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind."
~John Stuart Mill~
If you are going to pontificate about something, you kind of are expected to remember and/or research what you're pontificating about.
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