Monstrum: Reborn

Monstrum: Reborn is a first-person roguelike horror game developed by Team Junkfish, serving as the remake and successor to the original Monstrum. It is set to release on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4 on May 20, 2025 to commemorate Monstrum's 10th anniversary.

In this game, the player finds themselves trapped in a derelict, procedurally-generated cargo ship stranded in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with little to no communication to the outside world, where they must attempt to discover a way to escape this wretched place through whatever means possible. While this might seem straightforward at first glance, the problem is that all the escape routes are missing components that make them functional. Although it appears that it had been abandoned not too long ago, you will eventually realize that you are not alone...

Gameplay[]

In Monstrum: Reborn, you play as a crewmember of a labyrinthine freight vessel known as the Hisa Maru, who wakes up in the passenger cabin without memories of the events happening before you ended up here. Three days ago, a dark and rainy thunderstorm struck the ship in the middle of its journey, damaging and flooding it heavily. In the process, a mysterious yet dangerous creature that they were transporting to their client quickly broke free from its containment before slaughtering almost all of the other crewmembers, leaving you and a few others as the only few remaining survivors of the ordeal. From this point onwards, you must scavenge for anything that would help you escape this place all while struggling to avoid the various traps, environmental hazards, and the monster itself.

Taking the traditional survival horror formula and essentially blending it with a unique roguelike twist, Monstrum: Reborn is randomly generated, meaning that not every item will be in the same location as the last playthrough and the layout will always be different with each subsequent playthrough. Compared to its predecessor, Monstrum: Reborn introduces a large variety of maps to explore and choose from, which include cruise ships, submarines, oil rigs, and underwater bases. These locations will also change with each playthrough and feature their unique objectives and methods of escaping. In addition, the game also features a permadeath system, meaning that if you die, you are forced to start all over again while losing all of your progress completely. During each single playthrough, the player may encounter one of the six different monsters that lurk within the ship's corridors, each with their unique behaviors, strengths, and weaknesses. Every monster plays out very differently from one another, meaning the player has to frequently change up their strategy depending on the monster to overcome and outsmart them at every opportunity. With randomization and unpredictable enemy behavior, no playthrough will truly feel the same. There are also lesser enemies including infected workers, dogs, and crows, which act as common obstacles that the player must deal with, either by killing, repelling, or avoiding them in various ways. There is also a traditional health system, where instead of being instantly killed by the monster when getting caught, the player will take damage from the monster itself. To heal themselves from taking damage, the player must use healing items including bandages, painkiller pills, syringes, and medical packs, all of which are scattered throughout the ship.

Unlike its predecessor, Monstrum: Reborn introduces the option for the player to fight back against the monsters, more specifically through the use of equipable weapons and throwable items such as craftable pipe bombs, flashbangs, gas grenades, and Molotov cocktails to slow them down temporarily, but the ammunition for firearms always be limited to the extent that it is never possible to just blast every problem in the face, meaning that the player must scavenge across the ship for more along with other available supplies scattered throughout. Melee combat would intentionally be clunky and awkward as all of the melee weapons would be tools first and foremost. For example, a construction hammer is used to remove nails in wooden barricades, a crowbar is used to break open door locks and pry boxes, and a pipe wrench is used to loosen screws and repair broken machinery. Grenades can also be used to open passages that were previously blocked off, but their explosion is loud enough to draw the attention of the monster. While a firearm would be sufficient for picking off lesser enemies including the infected workers and dogs, it would be less effective against the monster as a gunshot won’t do much but slow them down/drive them off so the player has enough time to run and hide.

The player can also upgrade the weapon to inflict more damage, but this increased damage really only stuns the monster even longer, so let's say you have 5 damage, the stun would be 3 seconds, then if it's 10 the stun would be 7 seconds. You cannot upgrade the weapon another time once you do, so you have to choose carefully because one wrong upgrade will hurt your survival chances. While you can remove these upgrades, there is a chance to break the weapon as well. Breaking the weapon causes noises, and also removes your ability to use it too. To repair it you need to find items, some easy to find, others not. There are three different types of upgrades, which include increased damage (More stun time), increased reload speed, and silencer (which decreases the amount of noise created). Each upgrades also have the following negative side effects:

If you do more damage, you get less reload speed and more noise.
If you do more reload speed you get less damage.
If you do sound, you get significantly less damage GREATLY. It will go down to a 2-second stun.

You will have to choose wisely. Remember, removing these upgrades might break the gun rendering it useless for a time.

Additionally, Monstrum: Reborn introduces new game modes such as Abandon Ship, where 3 of the original monsters (The Brute, The Hunter, and The Fiend) spawn at the same time with their AIs being at their absolute best and will show more monster-like behavior from the Terror difficulty mode, and Custom Mode, which allows you to select whichever monster you wish to go up against.

Monsters[]

So far, Monstrum: Reborn features six different monsters at launch, with the first three returning from the original Monstrum while the fourth one is a revamped version of a scrapped monster concept. Every monster has its levels of strength, speed, and intelligence, as well as different behaviors, special abilities, movement patterns, and warning signs for the player to be alerted of their presence. Each time the game is loaded, one of the monsters from this list will be randomly selected to spawn for that playthrough, although this can be changed if you're playing in the Custom Mode.

In addition to the monster stalking the player throughout the ship, they also must contend with minor enemies, all of which aren't nearly as much of a threat compared to the monsters but are far more numerous.

Primary Monsters[]

See main article: The Brute

The Brute is a large, muscular creature with a burnt appearance and a glowing, orange face. The Brute is the fastest and strongest of the monsters but is also the least intelligent of them, being easily tricked by distraction items. Despite this, The Brute does seem to show some levels of intelligence as it utilizes shortcuts during a chase, something it does better than the other two monsters due to its speed and disregard for doors.

See main article: The Hunter

The Hunter is a thin, emaciated-looking humanoid with gelatinous skin that reveals its bones and organs. The Hunter also has a split jaw that contain sharp teeth, with two jaws on the sides of its face and one on the bottom of its face. The Hunter seems to be the most balanced monster in the game, with moderate speed, strength, and intelligence. The Hunter is also the only monster that can use the vents and can come out of said vents at will and create egg sacs that it may pop out of, giving the player very little time to flee or hide if a distraction item or security alarm goes off.

See main article: The Fiend

The Fiend is a demonic creature that is surrounded by a purple aura. The Fiend is a highly intelligent but also a very slow monster who, unlike the Brute who hunts the player out of pure hostility and The Hunter who appears to feed on the player, The Fiend appears to hunt the player down out of sadistic pleasure, seeming to toy with the player and instill fear into them. In addition, The Fiend has telekinetic powers that takes form as a purple aura, which it uses for a variety of purposes (locomotion due to its lack of feet, killing the player, opening/closing doors, etc.). Strangely, The Fiend's presence also seems to affect electricity around it, as the lights begin to heavily flicker when The Fiend is near, before going out completely in The Fiend's presence. It is currently unknown if The Fiend does this on purpose.

To be added...

Secondary Monsters[]

The Infected Workers are the remnants of Hisa Maru's crew whose bodies are twisted and corrupted by some mysterious force. Many of the workers are horribly mutilated with missing limbs and eyes but are still cognitive enough to wield melee weapons, while others carry firearms and are sane but extremely hostile to the player. Aggravating the workers enough might lead to dynamic encounters like them setting traps in certain areas, laying an ambush or even sieging a safe area. While shooting the workers may seem like a solution at first, leaving the bodies intact would be a risk. If the player bodies lying around for too long or in an area where the Hunter is active, the creature may lay eggs in the corpse which would mutate the body into a Stalker, essentially a weaker version of a Hunter which is unable to infect other corpses but still difficult to dispatch.

To be added...

Items[]

See main article: Monstrum: Reborn Items

Maps[]


Image	Name	Description
	Hisa Maru (The Cargo Ship)	The Hisa Maru is a large freight vessel stranded in the middle of the ocean at night. The entire ship consists of four different floor decks that can be accessed by using stairs. Although it appears to have been abandoned not too long ago, you will quickly realize very soon that you are not alone on this cargo ship...
	Sparrow Lock (The Sea Fort)	Sparrow Lock is a heavily-guarded sea fortress built by the hugely successful Hongsha-Miller pharmaceutical company in 1972. Formally registered as a research station to study marine life, it became a black site for the company to test their products and develop new ones using human trials.

Hazards[]


Name	Description
Security Cameras	On Decks 5, 6, 7, and 8, there will appear a vast array of cameras throughout the hallways. When you enter a camera's line of sight, they will make a buzzing noise similar to that of a bomb going off. If the you remains in the camera's line of sight for too long, that camera will blare a loud alarm that will attract the monster to the camera. To avoid this, quickly get out of a camera's line of sight, then check on where the camera is looking by looking down the hall. These cameras are especially dangerous if your monster is The Hunter, because unlike The Brute and The Fiend who must travel to the source of the sound on foot, The Hunter can come out from a nearby egg sac or vent, giving the player little time to hide or flee the area. If you find duct tape, you can use it to permanently deactivate the cameras by left-clicking on them with the duct tape in hand.
Pit Traps	Pit traps are sections of the floor that have somehow corroded and have become unsafe to move on. You can walk on the pit traps safely without any consequences but if you run on them, you will trip and fall, having to press space to get up. This is especially inconvenient if you're in the middle of a chase as you will not be able to move until you get up, giving the monster some time to catch up. Once you activate a pit trap, you can no longer trip on it, so what you could do is purposefully activate a pit trap so that you won't have to worry about it again or you can keep the pit trap active for the monster to trip on during a chase (keep in mind that The Fiend is immune to pit traps due to the fact it levitates instead of walking).
Vents/Egg Sacks	Vents are hazards that can be found on the upper and lower decks. The Hunter can use these vents as a quick way around the ship. The Hunter will periodically emerge from these vents, followed by a loud shrieking noise. If any loud noise (i.e. a camera or a radio) is set off, The Hunter can quickly come out of a nearby vent, giving you a very limited amount of time to hide or escape without being seen. In addition, The Hunter can also create green, bulbous objects called egg sacs. When you see these sacs, it means that The Hunter is no longer roaming the ship on foot and has entered the vents. These egg sacs work very similarly to how to The Hunter uses the vents, except if the player gets too close to an egg sac, there is a chance that The Hunter can emerge from that sac and chase the player.
Steam	Steam is a hazard that can be found on the lower decks of the ship and on both sides of the Helicopter. If you step into steam three times in a row, you will get a game over. In addition, if you power the Engine Room and use the phone system to get the monster into the Master Valve Room (Junction #2), you can turn off the entire steam system throughout the ship (except for the steam pipes on both sides of the Helicopter).

To be added...

Escape Routes[]


Name	Description
The Life Raft	The Life Raft is a orange and black rubber raft that can be found hanging off a ledge on Deck 7. It is considered by many to be the easiest of the escape routes. To repair the Life Raft, you will first need to move the Life Raft away from the ledge by left-clicking on it. Next you will need to find the required items: duct tape to patch up the tears, an air pump to inflate the raft, and a chain spool to use the crane and get the raft into the water. The Life Raft is the only escape route in the game that cannot be sabotaged by the monster. This was made so that there is always a way off the ship. It is currently unknown why there is only one life raft on such a large ship.
The Helicopter	The Helicopter is a blue and yellow aerial vehicle that can be found on the Main Deck. To use the Helicopter, you must find the following items: Helicopter keys to unlock the helicopter doors, bolt cutters to remove the restraint cables and remove the chains on the nearby containers to find the fuel pump, the fuel pump to fill the Helicopter with fuel, and two gasoline canisters to fill the fuel pump with fuel. Finally, you must turn on the fuel pump. Once you turn on the fuel pump, a minigame will begin where you must prevent the monster from destroying the fuel pump until the Helicopter is full of fuel. If the monster destroys the fuel pump, the minigame will fail and you will no longer be able to escape using the Helicopter
The Submarine	The Submarine is a yellow exploration submersible that can be found on the lower decks at the bow of the ship. The Submarine is considered by many to be the hardest escape route in the game. To escape using the Submarine, you must acquire the following items: a fuse to power the Submarine Room, a new headlight as a replacement (although the Submarine is missing both headlights, you only need to find one headlight), a welding kit to fix the Submarine's left side, and a sub battery. Once you have found all items, you can begin the Submarine launch sequence. The sequence takes about two minutes and during that time, you must prevent the monster from entering the Submarine Room by using the cart to block the adjacent door. Once the Submarine charge sequence is complete, you can release the Submarine and escape. If the monster destroys the control panel, the launch sequence will be interrupted and the Submarine will be rendered completely useless. It is currently unknown why a cargo ship has its own exploration submarine.

To be added...

Achievements[]

See main article: Monstrum: Reborn Achievements