A cursed adventure inside Balduq
Ys IX: Monstrum Nox follows Adol "the Red" Christin and his companion Dogi to Balduq, a city annexed by the Romun Empire. Adol is detained before he even sets foot inside, and while imprisoned he meets a mysterious woman named Aprilis, who turns him into a Monstrum — a being with supernatural Gifts and the power to exorcise monsters. From there Adol has to ally with his fellow Monstrum to fend off threats emerging from a shadowy dimension called the Grimwald Nox, while unravelling the mysteries of the Monstrum curse and the truth behind the unrest within Balduq. It's an action RPG with a story-rich, dark fantasy tone and a colorful 3D world to move through.
Playing it together
The Steam feature listed for this game is Remote Play Together, so one person who owns it can invite friends to join in over a stream. The game itself is tagged as Singleplayer, so the group experience is built around watching and taking turns rather than a shared co-op mode. That still works well for a crew that likes to follow a JRPG story together: someone drives, everyone reacts to the plot, and you can hand the controller around between sessions. It's a good pick for a Discord night where the group wants a long adventure to follow rather than a competitive match.
What to know before starting
Expect a big city to explore rather than a linear corridor. You can accept quests to aid the townsfolk and enter the Grimwald Nox to vanquish the threats to Balduq. Combat is fast hack-and-slash action built on familiar mechanics like Flash Dodge and Flash Guard for outmaneuvering foes, plus new additions such as Gifts and Boost Mode that further augment your ability to fight. You can play as any of the six notorious Monstrum, each with their own unique Gifts — abilities such as scaling sheer walls or detecting hidden objects — which changes how you move through and read the city. The tag list also notes open world exploration, a great soundtrack, and anime-styled presentation, so go in ready for a lengthy, story-driven JRPG with plenty of ground to cover.