"Monochrome Echoes - black -," a 2D field-exploration fantasy summoning RPG currently in Early Access on Steam, is developed by the indie game studio Thousand Games.
As part of the “Monochrome Echoes” series, the game that served as the basis for this title, “Monochrome Echoes - white -,” has also been released and is currently available on PC (Steam) and Nintendo Switch.
In this article—the second part of a two-part series introducing both titles—we’ll share our hands-on impressions of *Monochrome Echoes - black -*.
White and black. They’re not just a little different—they’re vastly different!!
This title is based on *Monochrome Echoes - white -* (hereinafter referred to as *White*), a 2D field-exploration RPG developed by Thousand Games.
Like *White*, it’s an RPG with strong hack-and-slash elements where you explore 2D fields—most of which consist of unknown areas—as long as your food supply lasts, battling enemies and experiencing the highs and lows of random item drops.
In combat, each character can take up to three actions per turn—within the limits of their action cost—using their own skills or those hidden within their equipment (two weapons and one accessory).Additionally, the “hate” level from enemies is displayed as a numerical value in the bottom-left corner of each character’s screen, and the character with the highest hate is more likely to be targeted by enemies. This combat system also follows in the footsteps of *White*.
Just like in *White*, assigning each character a specific role—such as a tank capable of managing hate, a healer, or an attacker—makes it easier to gain the upper hand in battle.
The fact that you’re returned to base when your food runs out is also a feature shared with *White*. So, what exactly sets *Black* apart from *White*?
The biggest difference in the game system is that in *Black*, the exploration period lasts only 5 days.
In *White*, you’d be fined if you failed to complete a quest once every 10 days, but in this game, the exploration period has been cut in half.
Once the 5 days have passed, a battle against a boss enemy begins automatically, and regardless of the outcome, that run comes to an end. You can attempt the same stage again, but your character’s level will be reset to 1, and your equipment will revert to its initial state. Furthermore, the field layout changes randomly, and the locations of the base and each dungeon vary every time.
Indeed, even the character known as the “Goddess”—a rather blunt and frank navigator—openly admits that this game is roguelike in nature.
In fact, as we’ll discuss later, the game has strong roguelite elements. In any case, while *White* was a game focused on long-term character growth and hack-and-slash action, *Black* places greater emphasis on short, repeated playthroughs.
Another major feature is that “character creation” is now available in this title. While *White* only allowed you to adventure with pre-set characters, this game finally lets you create your own.
Additionally, the Steam version—currently in Early Access—supports importing external images. If you import an image measuring 340×170 (the standard size; any size is acceptable as long as the aspect ratio is 2:1), it can be used as the character’s face graphic.
Please note that the game automatically converts imported images to grayscale, turning them black and white.
When you achieve small objectives—such as finding a stone tablet or defeating a bounty hunter—while adventuring with a character created this way, you’ll earn points and unlock licenses. This ties into the replayability elements, which will be explained later.
If you are defeated by the boss that invades five days after the game begins, or if your party is wiped out while challenging a powerful enemy along the way, that playthrough ends and the next one begins.
At the start of the next loop, you’ll be awarded license points equal to your highest score from the previous loop divided by 3,000. You can use these license points to receive various loop bonuses, such as initial experience points, experience point bonuses, unlocking level caps, increasing food capacity and skill points, and acquiring special items.
This system ensures that the more loops a player completes, the more advantageous their position becomes—in other words, it features robust “roguelike” elements.
You can carry over some of the items you obtained in the previous run to your next playthrough.
Additionally, items not selected here can be purchased at the base as “frozen gear,” and you may occasionally obtain frozen gear by destroying breakable blocks.
As mentioned earlier, the map changes every time, but once you’ve discovered a dungeon or an object, the surrounding area on the map will be highlighted in subsequent playthroughs, and you can even select a previously discovered dungeon as your starting point. None of your past adventures are ever wasted.
Of course, you can still obtain rare items from enemies and treasure chests within dungeons, and there are still plenty of strange items to be found.
Collecting items remains fun in this game as well, and you can now upgrade accessories—something that wasn’t possible in *White*. Upgrading accessories grants them new skills at random, so even unexpected items might turn out to be surprisingly useful.
Additionally, this game features a system where defeating specific combinations of enemies and exceeding a certain score grants you an automatic victory.
Since you’ll be repeating your adventures many times, you’ll often find yourself fighting early-game enemies over and over—but thanks to this system, battles against minor foes won’t feel like a chore.
While *White* was an exploration RPG focused on carefully nurturing characters over the long term, *Black* involves repeating short adventures to gradually build up your progress… Although the games take different approaches, the fun of the hack-and-slash genre remains unchanged.
For fans of *White*, this is a chance to experience the familiar game system in a new form, while fans of roguelike games can fully savor the joy of “building up strength step by step”—that, in essence, is *Black*.
A Word from Spa-kun
A game where you can swap out character portraits is a good game, Spa (just my personal opinion). Go on an adventure with your favorite character, Spa!
Title: Monochrome Echoes: Black
Platforms: PC (Steam)
Platform used for this article: PC
Early Access Start Date: July 16
, 2026 Author’s Playtime: 8 hours
Available via Subscription: No Price
: 1,980 yen
*Product information is current as of the time of writing.
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(価格・在庫状況は記事公開時点のものです)
