Dawn of the Monstersis like a spiritual sequel to a past game from the developer. In 2002, WayForward madeGodzilla: Dominationfor theGame Boy Advance. It was an arena brawler where up to four players could fight each other as classic monsters in theGodzillafranchise.
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Godzilla: Dominationmight still be the bestGodzillagame that has ever been made.Dawn of the Monstersshares many similarities uses with it but it goes beyonda fighting game. This is instead a co-op brawler. There haven’t been many reviews collected to aggregate a complete score yet, but feedback so far has been mostly positive. In what ways has it succeeded and in what ways has it failed?
6Best: Co-Op
There is nothing better in a brawler than playing with a friend, family member, or significant other. It is the reason why the genre has remained as popular as it has since the 80s and 90s which was the genre’s height. There usually isn’t much to a brawler. They can become repetitive fast.
That’s why playing with someone in co-op can be crucial to a game’s enjoyment. It makes the monotony less strenuous.Dawn of the Monstersis another fine modern brawler with a twist. It doesn’t reinvent any wheel but it will surely be a good time either alone or witha co-op buddy. It’s a shame that it is local only and only has two slots for co-op despite there being four heroes.
5Worst: Moves Slow
The idea ofDawn of the Monstersbeing a brawler but with Kaijus is a nice twist. There simply aren’t enough Kaiju-like games out there where players get to control the creature. Most games with towering beasts have players fight them as enemies. There areplenty of boss-focused gameslike this.
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As neat of an idea as this game is, there is a downside. All four heroes move incredibly slow. There are ways to improve the speed stat on characters but it won’t help much. There also isn’t a jump button. Thankfully there is a dodge so that is something. As fun as it is to pummel enemies as a giant mech or monster, the game can feel clunky.
4Best: Comic Book Art Style
Dawn of the Monstersis a combination of Japanese storytelling with Western art. The style of the game is probably influenced by comic books. The dark heavy lines look like they came out of aHellboycomic. It is striking. The idea of mechs and monsters fighting Kaiju is completely Japanese though.
The two aesthetics combine well for one of themost unique-looking brawlersin quite some time. The design of the mechs and monsters should be applauded specifically. If players decide to play the Switch version, it might look best on the OLED screen.
3Worst: Not Enough Level And Monster Variety
There is a downside to some design choices inDawn of the Monsters. While the colors and functions may differ, there are a lot of reused enemies players will fight throughout theentire brawling adventure. This is not that shocking as brawlers tend to reuse enemies. However, this game may have a new low.
The two monsters in the party, Megadon and Ganira, are even enemy archetypes. The environments are also not that striking to look at. There are several cities players will visit. Each city has a few stages in it before a big boss character arrives. These individual stages may change the lighting but they are mostly the same ones over and over again. It is a shame since, again, the style ofDawn of the Monstersis great.
2Best: Sharable Upgrades
There aresome RPG elementsinDawn of the Monsters. Players will pick up gear after every stage. These pieces of gear can be equipped on the heroes to boost their stats and grant them passive boosts like becoming more powerful when health is low.
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The best part about this system is that gear can be shared among all four heroes. Usually, games of any genre force players to equip different gear on every character. It makes sense to individualize gear in this way. So, while it doesn’t make logical sense, it is one plot hole inDawn of the Monstersthat should be ignored because it favors the player.
1Worst: Limited Options And Features
Dawn of the Monstersis missing a vast amount of options found in most other games. For example, there are no difficulty optionsor assist featuresin the menu. Most of the options in the game are just for sound which is extremely odd.
There is one save slot in the entire game. To create a new one players would have to mess with the internal memory by going into the Switch’s home screen. They could also use a different account which is clunky. Also, while having the story be fully voiced is great, these cutscenes don’t feature an autoplay button for dialogue. The things the game left out are baffling. Players can always cross their fingers and hope these things, and more will get fixed in a future patch.
Dawn of the Monsterswas released on July 29, 2025, and is available onPC,PS4,PS5,Switch,Xbox One, andXbox Series X.
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