There’s a vibe that some games had in the late 90s and early 2000s that’s hard to define, exactly. It was at the same time rebellious, whimsical and carefree, with bright colors and a sense of what would then have been called “attitude." Think Crash Bandicoot, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, or Jet Set Radio.
It’s that same feeling that seeps out of every pore of Monomals, and I couldn’t think of a better way for such an unusual game to present itself.
Monomals is a game where you play as a series of characters that hope to become the greatest musician by fishing. The fishing, which makes up the meat of the game, takes the form of a semi-aquatic puzzle platformer in which you control a fishing lure that’s also a headphone jack, trying to catch fish that are also music. Okay, let me start over. Maybe it?ll make sense this time.

In the world of Monomals, there are special musical fish called “Monomals." These fish, when captured, give DJs new sound samples that they can use to create music.
To capture these fish, the player must navigate a sort of fishing lure/auxiliary cable hybrid called through a stage full of obstacles, puzzles and enemies, until you face off with your sought-after Monomal in an arena. Beat it, and it?s yours to make beautiful music with.
To make this music, you use the honest-to-god fully-fledged musical synthesizer that’s built into the game. The entire game is, in fact, centered around this synt...