Monster Grand Prix – Multiplayer Run review: lightweight little competitive runner

Mobage recently put out Monster Grand Prix – Multiplayer Run, a competitive running game with a card collection/gacha element for the iOS.

Developed by Singapore’s own Ixora Studios, Monster Grand Prix sees you hatching monsters from gacha-gotten eggs, levelling and upgrading them, and then pitting them against campaign or real-life players.

The monsters are four legged critters modelled after various real-life animals, and you’re given a choice from three different types when you start. I’m currently using the Bobapig I got from a gacha egg. Oink. Monsters are divided into different rarity groups, with certain real-time days awarding you a special buff that increases your chance of getting a rare monster, and can be generated via crystal, gold, or normal eggs.

Once you have a monster, you can place it on a team, where it can be set as a main or support character. The main monster runs all your races, while support monsters offer a buff to the main. You can create up to three active teams for your monsters, though you’ll need to have enough bag space for each of them. The default inventory space you begin with is eight, and this space is shared with ‘seeds’, monster essences that can be fused with an existing monster to create a newer and rarer one.

Each monster has its own unique set of stats, and there are several aspects to improving a monster in Monster Grand Prix. You have to level it up with gold, make sure it runs enough races to get to the next level, and evolve it with seeds. There’s also a separate user level that improves with each race won, and will unlock game elements at certain levels.

Running, running as fast as we can

The actual competitive aspect of Monster Grand Prix is pretty fun. Each race pits you against three others, be they the computer or real-life players. I’ve noticed your monster always starts at the back, which is a bit of a bummer, but there’s nothing that a rare and powerful monster can’t overcome.

Monster Grand Prix plays well. Its jumps are satisfying, albeit lacking a little in feedback, and it’s challenging enough that you don’t breeze through it in just one sitting. Your monster of choice collects stars as it runs, which are used to power up its unique ability. These powers can also be picked up from mystery boxes along the way. While the art is nothing to shout about, the monsters do at least have a semblance of cuteness, and the overall look of the game serves its purpose. Monster Grand Prix is a lightweight little competitive runner, and it looks like one, too.

Special note must be giving to its background music, which is really upbeat and cute, and is a very nice complement to the gameplay. Monster Grand Prix’s user interface, while a little cluttered, still serves its purpose well enough, though I’m not impressed with how tooltips practically take years to fade out, and no amount of tapping can get rid of them.