Here’s a hand drawn puzzle platformer about emotions. It’s by South Korean indie dev Studio BBB Inc. and MONOWAVE is its first ever game! It launched on 16th September 2026 on consoles and PC.
You can play along or in co-op mode across vibrant worlds that encourage you to sing, empathise, and solve puzzles. It’s a relaxed game that makes you think, has a great aesthetic, and some bangin’ beats to go with it all.
Psychology and Stuff in MONOWAVE
You remember that Pixar film Inside Out (2015)? That’s kind of what this game is. But it’s a video game, not a film. Players enter a colourful world powered by four emotions, which they use to manipulate environments and advance to new areas.
Full credit to Studio BBB Inc. for trying something different with its platforming concept. It can be a co-op game, too, but we played it in single player mode, learning how to EXPRESS our FEELINGS through song across:
- Anxiety (evading threats)
- Anger (wall jumping)
- Sorrow (melting down)
- Happiness (jumping)
You take control of a guardian spirit of emotions, Mono, and your job is to protect the above emotions. It’s a game about empathy, really, and your journey to understand what makes humans, human. All told out to some puzzle platforming fun and games, as below.
It’s great for adults and kids, with two difficulty settings, and a great deal of accessibility. Once you’ve mastered the emotion-based controls you’ll connect with everything nicely and embrace its compassionate sense of fun.
The game looks super cute, too, with its eye-catching visual style. Plus, there’s a fun soundtrack. This one is provided by musician Wolfgang June and consists of some 38 quickfire melodic pieces.
It’s a surprisingly big game, with around 7-10 hours of gameplay. Plenty to enjoy, then, but since MONOWAVE’s launch it hasn’t had much press coverage. Not many reviews from publications, although it’s had a very positive reaction from fans on Steam.
As a way to relax and shut off from the world, the game does a grand job. Its core message is very sweet, too, and that lovely art style is to swoon for. Well worth your consideration.
