Exclusive: Let’s break down Dawn of the Monsters kaiju kombat

Godzilla never parried enough

As you might recall, Destructoid previously reported on a brand new city-stomping brawler, Dawn of the Monsters, which sees a roster of awesome kaijus throwing down on both each other and some pretty unlucky cityscapes. While work continues on this earth-shaking fighter, publisher WayForward has been rad enough to offer Destructoid a new video exploring DotM‘s combat.

The video, narrated by 13AM Games‘ creative director Alex Rushdy, gives us our first real deep dive into Dawn of the Monsters‘ symphony of destruction. While the gameplay instantly recalls the apocalyptic smashing of classics such as Midway’s Rampage and SNK’s King of the Monsters, 13AM Games has infused DotM with a combat system more akin to modern fighting games, resulting in a fun and frenzied brawler with its own added character depth, meter management, and sense of style.

As explained in the video, Dawn of the Monsters features an evolving, ladder-style combat system. Your chosen giant throws fists and feet with reckless abandon thanks to an array of light, heavy, and dash attacks, all of which build a “Rage” meter, chunks of which can then be spent on unique and powerful Rage Attacks (specials). In turn, as the player unleashes Rage attacks, they build toward mighty Cataclysm Attacks (supers), causing catastrophic damage to both opponents and the local high street.

This ladder system is also implemented in DotM‘s combo chain. Light/Heavy attacks can be canceled into Dash Attacks, which can cancel into Rage Attacks, which cancel into themselves. Ergo, in order to bag those high scores and sweet, elusive S+ rankings, players will be required to lay waste to swarms of opponents whilst using smart meter management and situational awareness to keep the combo meter rolling and our scaly friends full stocked with Rage. Surprisingly deep for a game about stepping on bridges.

While Dawn of the Monsters rewards aggression, sometimes the best offense is a good defense… or something. Our anti-heroes can not only block attacks and perform smart dodges, but frame-perfect timing will result in a parry! Like King Ghidorah just joined the roster of Third Strike! Practiced use of parrying, dodging, juggling, and devastating combos will soon see your giant crowned King of the Monsters!… Erm… Dawn of the Monsters!

To add a little customization to the action, augments will also be available, allowing players to focus buffs on the weaker elements of their gameplan, or simply double-down on their positives. These augments range from meter build and parry ability to damage, dodge speed, and more. The video also touches upon weapons, unique character states, and the intricacies of the DotM combo system.

At this stage, Dawn of the Monsters is already looking like a fine time for those who like a bit of button-bashing between friends, while having the depth to keep die-hard kaiju fans locked in for the long haul.

This smart gameplay divide between casual couch party fun and practiced, lab-based study has worked out marvelously for modern brawlers such as DotEmu’s Streets of Rage 4. Hopefully, Dawn of the Monsters will find its own dedicated community when it finally brings its big ol’ foot down on your local financial district.

Dawn of the Monsters is coming soon to PlayStation, PC, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch platforms.