The SPOOKSIEST My Singing Monsters!
...Does a song you can put together in a children's app have any business going this hard?? They kind of almost all do in My Singing Monsters, an adorable gaming property in which assorted monstrosities are collected not to battle one another, but to rock out together with an infinite variety of customization!
BRIDGIT
"Ever cross a rickety old bridge and feel like something is waiting for you underneath? It was probably just a Bridg-it! This tender soul loves hosting guests for tea, served just how they like it, in a tasse balanced delicately on its length digits. Following tea, guests are invited to sit back and enjoy the Bridg-it's exquisite 'chinstrument' as their host taps a tinkling little tune that would make any visitor feel special. What a treat! "
I feel this is a nice one to start with, because it really shows off that these singing monsters are full blown monsters. With her gnarly, hunched body, witchy face, crystalline growths and two knobbly, single-clawed limbs, this bridge troll is a design worthy of a much darker game, something I wouldn't be surprised to see in a setting like Dark Souls if we're being honest...but they give her a sweet, serene smile, and like every monster in this game, she just wants to bond with new friends over a love of music!
Those claws, like two enormous bony fingers, look just about perfect for reaching out from under a bridge and dragging a few naughty children to their doom, but Bridg-It would do absolutely NO such thing.
LOODVIGG
"Shadow made manifest, the daunting and unfathomable Loodvigg performs its Magnum Opus, celebrating the delicate interplay between shadow and light. With elegantly webbed fingers poised high above its fine clavier, each mighty strike of the keys sends ripples across the Monster World. Its hypnotic influence is felt by all Shadow-born, who find themselves longing for a place they have never known - yet, somehow - have known all along."
With a spider-like lower body, branching arms, a skull-like face and shocks of red hair, this one looks ominous and even has an equally ominous description...but the goofy little mouth takes a lot of edge off, and all this monster does is play the piano! It does, admittedly, do so in an appropriately foreboding key.
WHISP
"Even though it may look like the Whisp doesn't get out too often, nothing could be further from the truth. It loves to swoop, glide and careen through the phantasmagorical terrain of Ethereal Island, entertaining other monsters with its mellifluous voice and charming conversational skills. Whisps don't cast reflections in mirrors, which makes it difficult to preen their stylish hairdos."
This monster is basically the token "ghost" of the setting, but with the fleshy texture of her tattered, skirtlike body and wriggly tentacle-like hair, it's possibly that she's something alive and "naturally" formed this way.
EPIC QUIBBLE
"...(This? THIS is Epic Quibble? You're Sure? Okay...)
AHEM! The Epic Quibble is a Mystifying creature that... that... UGH! We give up. If you want to research this thing, be our guest.
This Monster, like all Epic Monsters, cannot breed. "
Why the confusion? Because the normal and rare Quibbles are simply two-headed birds, but this "epic" variation turns the bird heads into spiny eye stalks, and the bird body into a fleshy pink head with toad-like hands and feet! Quibble, like Loodvigg, play a semicircle keyboard that they rest in, but usually use their two beaks. Epic Quibble ends up using its eyeballs.
FIDDLEMENT
"Fiddlements are powered by the very Element of Light itself, releasing huge amounts of incandescent energy through the filaments of their cranial bulbs. The intense amplitude of light waves creates a unique whirring sound within the bulb, which Fiddlements use to express themselves. Serendipitously, the lampshade-like cone created by a Fiddlement's body channels its raw luminescence like a spotlight, which this bright little monster gladly shines on solo performances, late-night walks to the fridge, and potholes in need of repair. "
This is a beautifully otherworldly creature! It has a head like a lightbulb with a brightly glowing, branching filament evocative of a face, a "neck ruff" of feathers and a hovering body resembling a scaly lampshade! No other appendages necessary! This monster actually just "sings" from its filament-face, but its "voice" sounds like the Chinese string instrument known as an erhu.
THEREMIND
"The cerebral Theremind hears the inner voices of all Monsters, all the time! While this incessant cross-chatter can be a little confusion for even the most gargantuan of brains, Thereminds benefit from a bottomless well of knowledge and surprisingly intuitive emotional intelligence. But please, if it feels like this Psychic Elemental isn't listening to you, have some patience - it may be wrapped up in a conversation miles away!"
A strange, pinkish goblinoid with a puffy, exposed brain and eyes that swirl as though "hypnotized," Theremind uses its psychic powers so seemingly channel the singing voices of far distant creatures, manifesting as a couple of hovering, disembodied mouths! They only sing "whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa," but the sound fluctuates somewhat like an actual theremin.
REEBRO
"Of all the creatures known in the multiverse, the Reebro is right up there with the strangest. Little more than an oversized brain to begin with, this Ethereal beast develops a mechanical body using its instinctual technological know-how. The Reebro, or simply 'Bro' as it is affectionately called by its fellow Monsters, is a laid-back character who lives for fun and has the scoop on all the latest trends. It's always willing to assist others with their technical difficulties - even if its go-to solution is to "turn it off and then turn it on again."
'Bro' is amusing as another monster that feels straight out of a more serious game, and even evokes a fairly specific one at that; as a brain with a simple face and a multi-legged cybernetic body, it looks very much like the Arachnotrons from Doom. You might expect it to produce sound in a fairly unusual manner, maybe using its brain to generate some kind of energy pulse, or something, but it actually just stomps its mechanical feet!
BULBO
"Don't be creeped out by the creepy-crawly Bulbo if you spy its strange glow in the dead of night! This Light hybrid produces its eye-popping shine from its posterior bulb, a stunning piece of glasswork powered by the kinetic energy of its stridulatory organs. To maximize the impact of its radiant rump, Bulbos slink about in the dark, bulging their eyes to observe the expression of its listeners in the dimness... whether that expression is one of shock or awe."
What a COOL arthropod-type monster! Why have I seldom ever seen a spider-like creature with a lightbulb for an abdomen?! It has such an adorably shaggy little grey face, too, with those three yellow eyeballs and two short fangs poking out of the fur. It does indeed stridulate, too, rubbing its two middle legs together to produce a washboard-like noise that simultaneously flashes its bulb!
DENCHUHS
"The pint-sized Denchuhs are a lot like a pair of your grandaddy's dentures: they're at their best when they're together, but often fall out! Occasional spats are an inevitability when looks are so identical, yet personalities are more contrary than fire and ice: gabby versus glum, sanguine versus stoic, and bubbly versus been-there-done-that. But at the end of a long day, all these little Denchuhs want is a hefty snack in their mega-mouths and the comfort of a held hand."
The Denchuhs are a duo of pink, dubby critters with huge, monstrous sets of teeth on the tops of their heads, making them actually look like a pair of upside-down skulls, except for the tinier black "mouths" that could hypothetically just be nose-holes. You'd think they might make some kind of chattering noise, but they're actually another that really sings, with just a sort of energetic "da-da-dah-dah!"
SPYTRAP
"Looks can be decieving... And so can the Spytrap. This botanical beast grows in the dark and does its darndest to go completely unnoticed by the surrounding fauna. But once an unsuspecting creature scuttles too close, SNAP - It is suddenly ensnared! And what better to do when encased in the acoustic wonderland of a Spytrap yap than to bang out a banger? In exchange for its ward's kind company and musical talent, the host monster happily supplies a steady drip of some of the sweetest sap ever sampled."
This is quite possibly the least anthropomorphic monster in the entire game, since the Spytrap itself is just that grey, segmented, alien looking plant stalk and transparent bulb, with no recognizable limbs or facial features of its own! But trapped in the bulb is a little bug-like guy we can only see in silhouette, producing a drum-like sound as it pounds on the walls. Whatever this creature is, its seven brightly glowing green eyes look pretty cool, but is it really happy in there, like we're told?
DERMIT
"The shy and unsightly Dermit harbors clusters of itchy warts all over its skin, but what is an occasional nuisance for the Wublin is the great boon for mushrooms of all varieties. As quickly as the monster can scratch away new growths with its long nails, there's more where that came from. Oh well, spontaneous singing is as good a salve as any!"
This bulky humanoid has a texture like grassy soil, littered with pale stones...but they're supposedly just "itchy warts" that also feed the colorful mushrooms sprouting from it! It's such a "grossout" cocnept and description, but executed in a relatively cute way. It's an interesting choice for its head to look so fish-like, or I guess it's more like a toad? That's fairly appropriate for a warty, mushroomy creature; a toad with webbed head-fins that also give it just a touch of mudpuppy. I also like how each big, blue porthole-like eye has two vertical slit pupils.
RARE HUMBUG
"If the element of Poison has a bit of a questionable reputation, this could be traced back to Rare Humbugs. Eschewing the typically amicable attitude of the common Ethereal, they seem to delight in injecting their venom into poor Torchle Trees. The joke's on them, though - the trees actually lap it up and grow stronger as a result!"
The most straightforward insect-type monster, the regular Humbug is more wasp-like, with cartoony eyes and a jagged mouth...but it's the rare version that gains more insectoid eyes and a fly-like proboscis! Both are said to be beings of elemental poison, but it's apparently the fly-like one that's more dangerous...or tries to be, and apparently isn't that good at it.
RARE PUNKLETON
"Nobody likes watching someone let themselves go, but this is a regrettable inevitability for the Rare Punkleton. Lacking the hardiness of the Common's Smunkin-like head, it is doomed to decompose faster and turn into a sloppy mess. Donning a paper bag to limit the embarrassment, it's lucky that this ghoulish Rare Seasonal is only really active during a time of dress-up - it fits right in, and no one's the wiser!"
The common Punkleton is an ordinary skeleton with an ordinary Jack O' Lantern head, but this rare variation sports multicolored bones, a cartoon heart pulsing in its rib cage, autumn leaves wrapped around its arms and a rotten pumpkin head! Like the description says, it wears a paper bag mask to hide its putrid visage...but we can still see some rancid pumpkin guts dripping from it!
The whole Punkleton line, appropriately enough, contributes to the band by singing OOGA OOGA!
UUDUK
"For each year of life, the Uuduk gains an extra vertebra in its slinky spine. The full height of an Uuduk, however, is hidden from view deep beneath the soil: an Uuduk never reveals its age! Wear-and-tear on its impressive blowhorns may hint at the number of birthdays this coy Monster has seen, but it just as easily could indicate how itchy it was that day."
This is one of several "bone monsters," and they all look really cool. Uuduk is mostly spinal cord, but it ends up looking like an earthworm completely with a bone "clitellum" from which its oversized, skeletal arms sprout. Its cute skull head has a pair of huge, curving, hollow tusks that it plays like a pair of flutes! I really like the concept of a skeletal creature growing longer and longer, but keeping most of its body buried.
HAWLO
"The Hawlo is 'knot' what it appears to be... but just what IS it? No one dares woodchip the chipper wood making up this percussive Monster's disguise to find out. Instead, its peers have chosen to accept Hawlo's perplexing presentation, and simply shake their trunk to the 'berry' delightful rhythm of its stump or admire its talent for pyrogravure."
This is considered another of the bone-types, but we can see the arms and legs of a clearly fleshy creature wearing this hollow log, a pair of glowing eyes peering from the "smile" carved out in it. Don't you love how some of these descriptions are written, though? It's just the goofiest poetry.
FLUORESS
"A dimmed Fluoress exudes a gloomy aura, but the moment it joins the Monster chorus, the demure avatar of Light shines with all the fluorescent radiance of its Element! Each panel of a Fluoress's 'skirt' is packed with Fluorophyll, a Magically-occuring chemical that responds to sudden agitation with a luminous light show that's designed to draw in new friends when a Fluoress is feeling much too bashful."
This is one of the "light" element monsters along with the Bulbo and Fiddlement, and I really love how "light element" monsters in this setting look gothic and nocturnal! A "light" element in most settings is synonymous with a heavenly, sunny brightness, but it makes MUCH more sense associated with creatures that illuminate a dark environment!
Fluoress might be one of my favorite designs, kind of resembling a legless grey woman with a pair of tentacle arms, a little fish-like mouth and a few flaps or petals covering her eyes, evoking a cute little hairdo. She produces sound when she touches the long panels making up her "dress," each of which lights up with a different color!
GOB
"Gob's gaping gabber leaves gandering groups gobsmacked. An unassuming figure at first blush, a withdrawn Gob might not even appear as a Monster to the untrained eye. But keener onlookers may note the subtle wiggle of its frill before suddenly, it happens: The Aperture Overture! Gob opens wide to release a moving melody that resonates from deep within its internal organs themselves...pipes, pedals, and all."
Another of my favorites is actually the result of crossbreeding the Fluoress with a carnivorous plant-type monster, but the result is a simple grey sphere that stands on a pair of those flesh-petals, and can split open into a big pac-man mouth. What's really cute though, is that the sound it makes is simply that of a pipe organ!
BANJAW
"Banjaw's principle tendon is 37 times stretchier than a Stritch Skin, 42 times tougher than a Diamond, and 100 times twangier than, well - anything! Pulling back this durable tendon allows this skeletal character to slingshot anything (or any Monster) great distances. Just beware that you don't get too close to that mighty ring of chompers on your way."
This bone monster has one of the most novel designs in the game, if you ask me; It's sort of a big set of skeletal jaws with crab-like bone appendages, but its bony nose and eye sockets are situated atop a long, rubbery stalk that it plucks like a banjo cord.
BLIPSQUEAK
"Before settling into its finalized form, this impassioned Wublin decided that its musical contribution would be to recite several words it had heard on faint radio frequencies from the human universe, in a kingdom known only as the Mait-Land. Its maker acquiesced to these linguistic leanings, making sure to fashion a robotic body that featured all the parts mentioned - well, in one form or another, or rather in a way that only a Monster could truly do."
"Wublins" are a set of rare, special monsters encountered as decrepit stone statues, awakened when you feed them enough fruit pods. Yes, this even includes a monster whose body is mostly robotic, with a bunch of eyeballs floating around in its cloche-like glass head! Its long arms end in green spotlights, and its unusual musical routine is just to recite "EYES...EARS...NOSE...MOUTH" in a feminine, robotic voice as it highlights its own "facial features." It's the microphones on its sides that it considers ears, and the speaker on its front that it treats as a nose.
GLOPTIC
"Gazing into the chromatic depths of Gloptic's eye will hypnotize suggestible Monsters in a harp-beat! Once under the mucky Monster's spell, their target begins to experience a wide range of delightful visions known as Gloptical Illoozions. While harmless, Gloptical Illoozions are infamous for causing chronic brain-itch."
A fun and simple design, the Gloptic is just a bunch of fat, slimy tentacles, a "harp" formed from its own mucus and a single adorable, yellow eyeball! Its description is another of those that could have just as easily been a menacing enemy in any another narrative, but this mind-altering slime just wants you to have fun, apparently.
SQUOT
"Squots are toadstool-like Monsters that creep about in the old dark corners of forested areas, nestling into the damp moss or lying in wait beneath a toppled log. At night, these unusual Monsters truly come alive! Using their spindly arms, Squots reach into hollow tree trunks to pluck out fluorescent Playphids and use them as instruments in their percussive pursuits. Despite knocking politely on their tiny doors, Playphids are nonetheless quite timorous when in the presence of a Squot."
This might be one of the most unusual concepts in the whole bestiary, and one of the odder design ideas I've ever seen in general! It's a big, many-eyed mushroom with long arms and reptilian fingers, but it lies upside-down on its cup with a luminous green insect resting on its severed stem...which it pounds at with its hands to produce both flashes of light and a drum beat. The word trippy was overused to the point of meaninglessness at some point from the 90's to the 2000's, but this monster? This is a trippy-ass monster.
NEBULOB
"The little-understood Nebulob is one of the few monsters born without a predisposition to music. Instead, it is something that the Nebulob works on all its life, constantly researching new and exciting genres to learn from and experiment with. The elaborate exo-suit it dons aids in the creation of its own special style, a dulcet mix of machine and spirit. If pressed, the Nebulob will confess its favorite musical genre as "Rhythm & Ooze".
A monster without natural born musical talent! Apparently that's highly unusual in this canon, but Nebulob makes do, and it sings a sort of echoing "shamanamanama" at various frequencies. The design is pretty intriguing, since it looks like a humanoid with a bubble helmet and transparent tentacle sleeves, but all we see inside are two floating eyeballs and some swirling wisps of vapor.
CLACKULA
"Dapper Clackula doesn't have a mouth of its own with which to chitter-chatter about its many cultured interests, so the Bone Elemental leaves all the yammering to its loquacious little hands. If only they'd behave! When the lanky gentle-Mon's appendages get too snippy with dinner guests, it delivers the quickest of pin-point pinches to each chatterbox with its dainty fangs. While not enough to cause any pain, it's certainly enough to send a message: keep it classy!"
Clackula seems to be a fan favorite, because you'll find a lot of fan art if you go google it real quick; some of it the romantic kind! I understand completely; it has a dapper Jack Skellington quality to it with its little bow tie and unique, tubular black coat, but its anatomy is far cooler and more creative than anything derived from a human skeleton. A head like an adorable, jawless cat skull, a long skeletal neck, skeleton arms ending in a pair of fleshy mouths, and three rubbery, tubular legs that twist all the way up into its torso, where they resemble intestines!
A really fun concept that its singing mouth-hands apparently have minds of their own, too.
CREEPUSCULE
"In the gloomy twilight of Wublin Island, the eerie gleam of the Creepuscule's plate can make it even harder to tell what time of day it is. This Monster takes full advantage of its unique physiology to showcase true percussive prowess. The nails that tip its long, finger-like limbs are actually tightly packed strands that are more like stiff hairs. The 'hair' on its head is probably a wig, but hey, right on - whatever makes a Creepuscule feel good, right?"
This drumming monster has another of the "scariest" designs on paper; it lies on the back of its warty, turtle-like main body as it pounds on a cracked, stone disk with four giant finger-like legs, while its long dinosaur-like neck terminates in a face with a huge underbite and multiple rows of fat, grinding teeth! The fake strips of "hair" draped over it, fluffy eyelashes and lovely smile are all that keeps this beast from looking like it would love to feel your bones crunching between those crowded molars.
BRUMP
"Eww. Almost unique among Wublins, this monster's appearance definitely brings to mind the eggs used to wake it... and also elicits a gag reflex. The Brump uses its Furcorn-like headstalks and Fwoggy feet to forage for food. It's pretty nasty, but presumably like you, we just can't seem to look away."
This might be one of the only monsters whose official description expresses so much disgust! Brump resembles an eyeless frog with only a single pair of oversized legs, an unsettlingly humanlike head shape and equally humanlike lips, all of which would be eerie enough without the fuzzy green fruits embedded in its skin, like the eggs of a Pipa frog!
Strangely, this monster repeatedly sings "wake up the wublins!" in an electronic-sounding voice.
GHEEGUR
"Amicable but eccentric, the interior of the Gheegur is a plexus of intricate tubes, which begin at its gaping mouth and culminate in its shoulder pipes. The meticulous movements of its many mandibles make for melodious music... but they may also be the mainspring of the mystifying glow that intermittently emanates from the junctions of this Monster's body. The sequela of this glow as of yet unknown, a fellow Wublin is usually appointed as a 'counter' to monitor how much time is spent in the Gheegur's company."
I love this one! Its name is a reference to H.R. Giger, and it indeed has several Gigeresque characteristics including a chitinous ribcage, organic pipes on its shoulders and a pair of tubes or hoses that run from its chest to its jaws, which form an underbite of almost Solifugid-like mouthparts! The rest is sort of like a shaggy, long-necked yeti, but it really works. It's a really fun combination of features, and actually, it's not just the jaws; the entire creature reminds me of a Solifugid or "camel spider" despite not really having any other arthropod-like traits. Maybe it's the jaws, the ribs, the furriness and the sad look of its little eyes? It just has the overall spirit of a really huge camel spider, is what I'm saying.
WITHUR
"Light as a feather and exquisitely empyreal, Withur shares a spiritual connection with a similarly ghostly Ethereal. But whereas its spectral 'sister' makes music with its mellifluous voice, Withur favors the haunting vibrations produced by plucking the fins of the Lyrodocus Rex. Much like the famed Fossil-osaurus, this skeletal creature is merely a fiberglass model from the days of yore - although it seems blissfully oblivious to this fact, tapping its tail along to the rhythm."
Cutie!! Withur is another "fleshy ghost" design like the Whisp, which is what its description is referencing, but Withur also has those cute, grey hair buns and a pair of arms with sharp nails, which it uses to flick the bony back spines of what resembles a half-buried animal skeleton. That it's supposed to only be a "model" skeleton and still animates a little is a funny touch.
POEWK
"Is that the Poewk's face, or is it a mask procured from parts unknown? If it is indeed a mask... Why? Is it bashful? Cold? Ghastly to behold? Or is this Wublin simply into cosplay? That would explain a lot. The Poewk's musical performance is a mesmerizing display of frantic grace and composed frenzy."
We've talked about how formidable some of these monsters actually look, but most of them tend to have some element of the cute or comical in their design. Poewk is JUST a hunched, long-limbed beast with a mane of beautiful iridescent feathers and a sewn-together plague mask for a head, no emotion readable behind its yellow lenses. The threatening figure stands on a cluster of strange hexagons, surrounded by longer hexagonal tubes that emit a frantic pipe-organ tune as its dances in place!
BONA-PETITE
"Some musicians tickle the ivories, but the Bona-Petite prefers tickling the ribs. Or perhaps 'having its ribs tickled' is more accurate, depending on which of these two percussionists we're talking about here. Truth is, each is symbiotically connected to the other and equally responsible for delivering punchy kick patterns peppered with a little bottom-end bulk. The duo consists of two monsters, amiably dubbed 'Bona' and 'Petite' by their Wublin pals. Petite puts the 'riff' in 'midriff,' while the larger Bona grumbles endlessly about indigestion."
A really lovable design, or I guess designs! Bona has a simple, cartoon skull head that's mostly huge, grinning teeth, but with lots of poofy, feathery pink fur and a pair of shaggy sloth-like arms that seem attached to its head, rather than to any distinct shoulders. The fact that its bare ribs and spine end at a furred set of legs gives it what should be an unsettling half-skeletonized look, but comes across as adorable as anything else here...and then there's its little friend, Petite! Just a fuzzy little blue critter with three eyes and simple spike-like limbs, perfect for playing a tune on its partner's ribs.
PERISCORP
"If Periscorp's eyes look familiar, you must have gazed upon the pupils of Psychic Island's critters! Periscorps share a feed with those all-seeing eyeballs, storing its favorite footage within its gelatinous dorsal sacs. When these sacs are agitated by Periscorp's dual stingers, they play a brief soundbite from their stored footage - who knew the Psychic Island critters had ears, too?"
What they mean by the eyes of the Psychic Island's "critters" is that Psychic Island wildlife includes what are just disembodied, floating eyeballs matching those of this monster, a truly alien looking blob of pink pustules with a pair of slimy looking, curled stingers. The sound it actually produces as it beats its own boils is that of a synthesizer drum beat, while its longer antenna-like limbs produce a synth maraca sound and its little mouth emits a synthesized cymbal!
Of every creature in the game, Periscorp deviates the most in its design style, looking the most like some kind of parasitic, gelatinous alien from Metroid or Half-Life, and the concept that it simply spies on others through its hive-mind of hovering, symbiotic eye creatures is cool as heck. How great is it that its only takeaway from this behavior is how to lay down some sick beats??
I don't think anybody was thinking that deeply when they came up with this game, but My Singing Monsters is so gosh-darn sweet taken at face value. You have all these wildly different creatures from wildly different environments, half of them look terrifyingly lethal, some of them have powers that should logically only have nefarious applications, and yet they still all come together to share the innocent fun of song. It feels like a setting where music is the true "universal language" that can bridge completely alien cultures and mindsets, and...yeah, actually, I find that believable. It's a concept that's been seriously explored in science fiction a number of times, and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if a concept of music did actually turn out to be a common thread of civilization throughout our galaxy.
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