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Randal's Monday is a point and click Adventure Game from Nexus Game Studio, and published by Daedalic Entertainment in 2014 for the PC and PS4. The game follows Randal Hicks, a good for nothing guy with kleptomania who steals his best friend's wedding ring and pawns it off for cash to pay rent, only to find said friend has killed himself not long after. Even more unfortunately for everyone involved, that ring is some sort of magical artifact that has trapped Randal in a "Groundhog Day" Loop, where he relives the same Monday over and over. Somehow, he must find the ring again and stop the loop, while also making sure his best friend doesn't kill himself by the end of it.

The game styles itself after old school point-and-click games, specifically from the LucasArts library, but has comedic sensibilities more in line with a modern adult comedy, even copying a rather ugly art style shared by the likes of Family Guy. It rapid fires jokes and one-liners, but the interesting thing here is the time loop premise isn't a normal one. What Randal does in one day does carry over into the next, but the world is rewritten by the ring and gives everyone but Randal new memories. Every single Monday is different from the last. It's also loaded with references and homage, the large majority being story-important. You can even have a rap battle with Jay and Silent Bob cosplayers; relatedly; Randal's name should look a little familiar.

The game can be easily found on Steam.


Randal's Monday gives examples of:

  • The Alcoholic: Both Randal and Matt are deep in this trope, and it's the root of the large majority of their troubles. The final puzzle revolves around keeping them both sober to escape the ring's loop.
  • Amulet of Dependency: The ring tends to endear itself to whomever owns it, or sometimes to people it wants to have it (such as Mel).
  • Anti-Hero: Randal and Kramer both. Randal is a very apathetic loser cast in a role well beyond his stature, while Kramer is a man with good convictions and the personality of a constantly annoyed house cat. Neither seem like hero material.
  • Apocalypse How: Thanks to the ring looping reality so much, reality itself eventually gave up and all hell broke loose. Quite literally.
  • Artifact of Doom: The ring is this incarnate. Those who touch it end up having their minds distorted and actions manipulated by the object's will, if the business bum is to be believed. Add in its incredible power, and it could potentially turn someone into a mad god.
  • Artificial Intelligence: Charlie has the Hal 9000 running his shop security. It is well aware of the homage. It's also one of the few beings aware of the loop.
  • Battle Rapping: At one point, Randal engages a rap battle to get a mask from a Jay cosplayer. However, saying that Randal is bad at it would be a massive understatement.
  • Big Bad Slippage: Sally eventually becomes the Big Bad after she gets the ring. She's with it so long that she gains its powers in full.
  • Big Bad Wannabe: The business bum.
  • Big Damn Heroes: Murray in the apocalypse chapter.
  • Bittersweet Ending: Matt is saved and the loop has stopped, but the ring is still out there, and Sally is dead.
  • Black Comedy: The game is full with it. From Matt's increasingly bloody and unlikely deaths to Randal's past self getting the Wolverine treatment, there is a lot of black comedy to be had.
  • Breaking the Fourth Wall:
    • Near the beginning, Randal encounters a crazy bum who keeps insisting he's really a businessman. One of the possible responses is "Look, I hate to burst your bubble, but when I put the cursor over you, it says 'bum'."
    • Randal makes a few quips directed at the player, questioning why he's even talking to them. This at one point leads to the player's camera trying to pull a Screw This, I'm Outta Here until Randal calls them back. During the ending credits, the Horsemen of the Apocalypse even riff on the ending and unexpected plot turns, like Kramer never appearing after the prison chapter and Sally dying.
  • Brick Joke: Three-quarters through the game, Sleazy promises to get Randal a tank by tomorrow, even though he didn't ask for it. At the end of the game (where it's Tuesday, finally), there is a tank in front of Randal's house.
  • Brilliant, but Lazy: Randal proves himself as surprisingly bright during the story, but his alcoholism and generally apathetic attitude early on cause him a lot of problems. He and Matt both may be taking positive steps in their life in the ending.
  • Bumbling Sidekick: Matt, though not within the game itself due to his suicide loop.
  • Butt-Monkey: Murray and Charlie do not get a break.
  • Childhood Friends: Randal and Matt have known each other a long while.
  • Cloudcuckoolander: The business bum and Alan.
  • Cosplay: There's a comic convention in town, so Randal runs into a lot of cosplayers. In particular, there's a Jay and Silent Bob pair running around you have to rap battle. Charlie also dresses up as Wolverine.
  • Cranky Landlord: Mr. Marconi just wants his money from Randal, and Randal missing rent seems to be a common occurrence.
  • Cruel and Unusual Death: Matt is subjected to this every Monday. He keeps killing himself in ridiculous ways with his outlandish appliances.
  • Deadpan Snarker: Both Randal and Kramer are loaded with quips and comebacks, and neither takes anything from anyone.
  • Defeat Equals Explosion: Sally's ultimate fate.
  • Demonic Possession: Sally gets possessed by Satan, though it's implied she may have more control.
  • Descent into Addiction: Happens to everyone who has had possession of the ring, including Matt, the business bum, Mel, and Sally. Oddly, Randal seems immune.
  • Determinator: Randal, outside one brief moment between the prison chapter and apocalypse chapter. The guy spends six years trying to escape the "Groundhog Day" Loop.
  • Dialogue Tree: Mainly used to pick out your favorite quip, but a few puzzles are reliant on this, including the last puzzle.
  • Disc-One Final Boss: The business bum. Kramer is also a bit of one, since they're built up as Randal's most constant antagonist, but it would make little sense since Kramer has no villainous intentions, he's just trying to do his job. The latter disappearing from the game is brought up for mockery in the end credits by the Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
  • Driven to Suicide: Matt is constantly brought to this during the loops. He thrusts himself into an oven, a blender, the fridge...
  • Dude, Not Funny!: The Jay cosplayer does not appreciate mom jokes.
  • Dumb Is Good: Murray is incredibly stupid, and also the nicest guy in the game. The smarter a character is, the more likely they're a manipulative jerk.
  • Fan Convention: One chapter takes place during a comic convention.
  • Fate Worse than Death: The business bum appears in the apocalypse chapter, unable to satisfy his thirst or even move properly, with all his skin missing.
  • Foreshadowing: Quite a bit. There's Matt's appliances, which all come from the same manufacturer, and Charlie being in prison for murder.
  • Forgot to Pay the Bill: Randal can't pay his rent at game's start, causing much of his misfortune.
  • For Want Of A Nail: Randal is effectively the nail.
  • A Friend in Need: Randal goes through hell to save Matt.
  • Good Angel, Bad Angel: Randal gets one of these scenes at Mel's Pawn Shop on the first Monday. The good one is Matt, and the bad one is Marconi. When Matt understands that Marconi will impale him if Randal doesn't sell the ring, he quickly tells Randal to do it.
  • Good Is Not Nice: Kramer is not a nice cop by any means, but he is absolutely a good cop.
  • "Groundhog Day" Loop: The title character is cursed to repeat the same Monday until he fixes the events which resulted in his best friend's suicide. Thanks to Randal stealing Matt's ring, the same Monday repeats over and over... sort of. Inverted Trope, as Randal's actions cause the next Monday to adapt to what he did. The loop simply rewrites details and memories to make it seem like this was always the way things were to everyone else besides Randal and the Business Bum.
  • Hardboiled Detective: Kramer, who is incredibly sharp and does not stand for stupidity or snark.
  • Horsemen of the Apocalypse: You actually get to meet them! They hate their job, mainly because they have a Bad Boss.
  • Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Randal is a surprisingly decent guy at times. He genuinely cares about Matt and feels guilt for his actions. But he's always handy with a good quip or tell-off to the average person on the street.
  • Kids Are Cruel: The only kid in this game is somehow one of the nastiest members of the cast.
  • Kleptomaniac Hero: Lampshaded, as Randal actually is a kleptomaniac.
  • Lampshade Hanging: The entire ending credits commentary from the Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: Randal is subjected to this for the majority of the game, and he subjects it on a few people as he goes. The business bum also gets this in spades during the apocalypse chapter.
  • Living Shadow: Mortimer, Randal's roommate. When we finally do get to see him in the prison, he's rendered as a shadow with eyes.
  • Luxury Prison Suite: Randal eventually gets a sweet throne in his prison cell.
  • Manipulative Bastard: The business bum.
  • Mental Time Travel: Done by Sally at the end of the game.
  • Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: The Horsemen of the Apocalypse agree to help Randal return everything to normal because they're fed up with how Sally is treating them.
  • Monster Roommate: Mortimer is a mystery, but what does become clear after awhile is that he's done some pretty questionable things.
  • Morality Pet: Matt is this to Randal. Matt is the only person (other than maybe Sally before her Face–Heel Turn) that Randal likes and appreciates. True, Randal pawns Matt's wedding ring and latter feeds him to the four horsemen of the apocalypse, but only as a last resort in both instants. In truth, Randal cares deeply for Matt, as part of the reason Randal is so determined to break the time loop is to save Matt and Randal won't leave to search for the ring on day 4 without checking on Matt first. After the final puzzle Randal apologizes to Matt for screwing everything up and that he is failing at saving him and when Randal succeeds after all, it cuts to two days later where Randal is comforting Matt about Sally's death and has learned that he needs to change as a person to stop being such a bad influence on Matt.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: Randal has a realistic one the first time Matt dies. He has two other significant ones later when he gets drunk and sleeps with Sally and agrees to feed Matt to the four horsemen of the apocalypse.
  • New Job as the Plot Demands: Justified. Murray keeps getting reassigned due to his incompetence and Randal's shenanigans. How he ends up being a prison guard is never properly explained, though.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Randal is directly at fault for everything that happens in this game, including Sally becoming evil. Then again, it's not like he knew the ring was going to trap him in a time loop when he pawned it.
  • No Animals Were Harmed: Played With. You have to poison some pigeons to solve a puzzle later, and the game does clarify that they are dead. But they were also drawings, so whatever.
  • Noble Demon: The Horsemen of the Apocalypse are pretty rational guys. They also keep their end of their bargains.
  • Noodle Incident: Too many to count. Randal and Matt have gotten into a lot of shenanigans.
    Randal: Like what? When I gave that carload of nuns directions to a lesbian bar?
  • Only One Me Allowed Right Now: Randal has to avoid this by killing his past self.
  • Only Sane Man: Randal, the majority of the time. Kramer and his men also fall under this.
  • Pet the Dog: You can help a struggling salesman in one early puzzle. This is subverted later in the prison chapter, where said salesman does not return the kindness and you have to give him some payback.
  • Pixel Hunt: The clover hunt during the prison chapter. Otherwise averted.
  • Police Are Useless: Played Straight with both Murray and Kramer's guys. Usually averted with Kramer, but even then, he provides what's perhaps the worst example in the game: he's completely absent during the long sequence where Randal attempts to talk down Matt (who wants to shoot both Randal and himself), only to show up after Matt has accidentally shot himself to wrongly arrest Randal without bothering to hear Randal's explanation or collect evidence (which would have shown that Randal's fingerprints weren't even on the gun).
  • Prison Episode: After Randal is wrongly accused of Matt's murder.
  • Prisoner's Work: Randal is assigned to gardening duty during the prison chapter.
  • Prison Rape: Threatened in the prison chapter, but things do not end well for those who threatened it.
  • Punch-Clock Villain: The Horsemen of the Apocalypse mainly treat their evil duties as a job. They used to be more enthusiastic, until they got their new boss: Sally.
  • Progressively Prettier: An strange in-universe example with Elaine. She goes from a Gonk with crooked teeth and an overly large nose to having a super model-esque face through out the loops. What exactly causes it is not explained, but it is implied that Randal's interaction with her does it.
  • Punishment Box: Randal is put in one during the prison chapter. Randal is hurried to find a way to escape, because due to the time loops it's pretty much a And I Must Scream fate for all of eternity, as he points out.
  • Put on a Bus: Kramer just disappears from the game after he sends you to prison.
  • Rage Breaking Point: Charlie kills past Randal pretty brutally after being teased enough.
  • Rage Quit: Randal pulls one of these after the prison escape, because he has just had enough of this lunacy. He shouldn't have said that.
  • Redemption Quest: Despite how mean-spirited the game can be, Randal's story is ultimately about him redeeming himself for his terrible choices and becoming a better person.
  • Reference Overdosed: The game is absolutely filled with references to films and video games, and the occasional book (such as The Lord of the Rings or the Discworld series). How they work varies a lot: sometimes they're subtle enough to work, sometimes they're so obvious that they seem shoehorned. And then, a few puzzles require you to be familiar with the work in question unless you want to spend a long time having random guesses at dialogue options, such as Hal's Star Wars test or the rap battle against the Jay cosplayer.
  • Refuge in Audacity
  • Reset Button: Randal has to rewrite the entire timeline to stop the loop and save Matt.
  • Ripple-Effect-Proof Memory: Randal, the business bum, and Hal are given this. Hal manages to have this by virtue of being an AI. Sally also has this later on.
  • The Rival: Kramer to Randal. They're always at odds and have similar skill sets. Both are Deadpan Snarkers and both are experts at figuring things out (as Kramer is a detective and Randal is trying to unravel a Stable Time Loop).
  • Sadist Show: The game isn't entirely like this, but there are a good bunch of jerks who get what they deserve at Randal's hands.
  • Screw Destiny: Randal spends the entire game trying to do this. He eventually does, but he has to end the world and make a deal with the four horsemen of the apocalypse to do so. That deal? He gets sent back to the start of the mess to set things right... if he feeds them Matt.
  • Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: During the prison chapters, Randal manages to corner the market on matches.
  • Set Right What Once Went Wrong: Randal has to stop himself from taking Matt's wallet, and instead return it.
  • Shout-Out: Enough to fill out pages. The game is filled with references to everything, from The Lord of the Rings to The Legend of Zelda to Terminator.
  • The Slacker: Randal to a tee.
  • Split Personality: One of the patients at the therapist office. Robert is the normal personality, an Alan is the crazy one.
  • Stable Time Loop: The ring is causing this by rewriting events in past Mondays into the current one, dealing with inconsistencies as they come up.
  • Technically-Living Zombie: Both the business bum and Murray in the apocalypse chapter.
  • Temporal Paradox: By giving Matt his wallet instead of taking it, Randal manages to rewrite the timeline. The demon$possessed Sally who came back with Mental Time Travel ends up exploding, killing past Sally, when this paradox occurs.
  • Toxic Friend Influence: Randal and Matt are not good for each other, as they tend to encourage each other's worst tendencies. Randal realizes this by the end of the game.
  • Trademark Favorite Food: Hotdogs for Murray.
  • Treacherous Advisor: The business bum is using Randal to regain the power of the ring.
  • Video Game Cruelty Potential: The large majority of puzzles are based around this, even tricking someone into murdering yourself. Well, you from an alternate timeline.
  • Vomit Indiscretion Shot: First when Matt throws up at the beginning of the game, and then when the zombified business bum drinks Randal's remedy.
  • We Buy Anything: Averted. Mel thinks everything Randal offers is junk, except for the ring.
  • Where It All Began: The finale takes place in the same place the story started on: Clayton's Cave.
  • Wolverine Claws: Charlie wears them as part of his cosplay. He claims they're made of adamantium; any material they're actually made from, it's hard enough to dig through most of the prison walls.
  • Woman Scorned: Sally's motivation for becoming evil.
  • World of Jerkass: Murray is perhaps the only character who remains good for the whole game. Most other characters already start being complete jerks and show it during the occasional Kick the Dog moment. Even characters who start sympathetic stop being so by the end of the game: Elaine progressively becomes more arrogant and smug as the history gets rewritten and she becomes more attractive, and Sally outright pulls a Face–Heel Turn when she gets the ring.
  • You Can't Fight Fate: It seems more and more like this is the case as the game goes on. Randal has to make a deal with demons to subvert this.
  • Your Mom: This trope is key to "win" a rap battle (which may be a Guide Dang It! moment if you're not familiar with it, because the involved dialogue option is so bland that players may initially avoid it, thinking it's just another No, You insult).

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