The story game Monorail Stories is a short title about a week in the lives of two commuters that evolves through multiple playthroughs. The Stelex Software title is a game where even the most minute choices players make matter, featuring several different endings and interesting changes that occur after repeated runs. Monorail Stories has charming characters and an interesting - albeit at times strangely paced - story that largely accomplishes what it sets out to do, although after a while players may find some of the narrative's more repetitive beats wearing on them.
Monorail Stories centers on the lives of Silvie and Ahmal, who are residents of cities M and L respectively. The monorail at the center of the game's narrative travels between the two cities, and is where players will spend essentially all of their time. As player progress, more of the bitter history between the two cities is revealed via different expositional elements like newspaper headlines and casual conversation that make its elements of societal criticisms never feel heavy-handed. That being said, the pacing leading up to a fairly game-changing plot twist near the end of the title does feel somewhat rushed, although not to the point it ruins the narrative experience.
Silvie and Ahmal are both charming leads, each with their own commuter friends and backstories. Players alternate between the two on both their morning and evening commutes, and can make many choices that help define their relationships with others. Players will not only encounter friends on the monorail - strangers can turn into new friends or enemies, with even seemingly innocuous choices having a lasting impact. There's a lot of funny dialogue on Monorail Stories mixed in with some more meaningful conversations, encapsulating the wide variety of people often encountered during a daily commute very well. The game's charm is enhanced even more via its stylized pixel graphics and a soundtrack from Swiss indie musician Filippo Zanoli, which makes Monorail Stories a joy to look at and gives it a relaxed energy even in times of conflict.
The gameplay of Monorail Stories is reminiscent of a point-and-click adventure game, although it contains very little of the puzzling that's typical of the genre. The game is intended to be about the lives of ordinary people who become part of something much bigger unintentionally rather than an epic adventure from the start, with the first several days of the commute mostly consisting of conversations and basic problem solving, like searching out aspirin for a friend or finding a lost cat. At the end of each day, players will see their relevant choices for each character summarized, and will often find themselves surprised at the things the game has made a note of. This is a system that helps inspire future runs of the game, as players can make note of which things they want to do differently the next time around.
Monorail Stories is a very short video game - depending on the characters players choose to talk to and how leisurely their approach to the game is, a single run could clock in at anywhere from about half an hour to 90 minutes, although as players rack up a larger number of playthroughs this time is sure to decrease. The game is designed in a way that essentially necessitates multiple playthroughs, which may be divisive depending on player preference. Over time, Monorail Stories introduces new possibilities, choices, and even new characters into the mix with every new run, which is a great incentive to keep players coming back, however some of the same main events that continue to occur can begin to feel grating after a while. It is possible to switch up the experience somewhat with an optional asynchronous multiplayer and Twitch modes, and developers have indicated that future updates will bring new playable characters for players to live out the commute from a new perspective.
While players shouldn't go into Monorail Stories expecting a Telltale Games-level of branching storylines, it's a simple and charming title that despite its elements of conflict is an overall relaxing player experience. The replay aspect of the game ensures nothing ever feels too high stakes - if players make a mistake, they can simply readjust their approach the next time around. While the repeated playthrough element may not be for everyone, it's an interesting concept that's easy for players to jump into for short play sessions. Although sometimes repetitive, Monorail Stories tells a mostly engaging and charming story that seems to have a bright future ahead of it.
Monorail Stories releases for PC and Mac via Steam and the Epic Games Store on September 30, with a Nintendo Switch release planned for later this year. Screen Rant was provided with a Steam code for the purpose of this review.