I'm in awe of this game. Let me back up.
I'm generally not a huge fan of monster taiming rpgs, and haven't been into pokemon since way back in Silver and Gold. I truly did not expect to enjoy this game much, but kept hearing hype about it so gave it a shot. I can't tell you how glad I am that I did.
I write way too much and the rest is going to be a huge gushing synopsis about the game, so if you want to skip it all, just know this is an excellent game worth playing.
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The premise is basically open world pokemon with mild cosmic horror elements, and a lot of exploration and discovery. This might sound like a lot, but the execution is top notch.
Combat plays out in 2v2 battles where typing doesn't affect damage but instead gives status effects or can even change typing based on the type interaction. Used electric moves on metal or water types? They get the "Conductive" debuff, which makes them take damage when any electric move is used. Used an ice move on a water type? They will become an ice type and be stunned for a turn when they "froze". There are a lot of these interactions, but they make sense so it's not too hard to keep straight.
Even outside of these interactions, the game offers a variety of unique status effects which are really fun to play and strategize around.
Another interesting thing about this combat system is the fusion mechanic, which allows you to combine both active trainers to form a "super monster" with the movesets of both, a unique "fusion attack" and upgraded stats that takes the buffs, debuffs and types of both active monsters.
On top of that, your trainers "Become" the monsters, meaning they keep debuffs when they switch and excess damage is dealt directly to the "trainers". If a "trainer"s hp bar is depleted, then that character can't call in another monster, making it a 1v2 battle and disabling the fusion mechanic. All of these mechanics work together to add a depth I haven't seen in any other monster training game I've played.
Outside of combat though, the exploration is top notch. The game is fully open world, and you can explore anything at any rate you would like. This game relies heavily on "Knowledge Based Unlocks", which makes progress locked behind player knowledge, which I love. That said, it also uses "Metroidvania" tactics and gives certain unlockable powers that help with terrain traversal and allow you to access new areas. These powers are obtained from capturing certain monsters the game will indicate to you. In fact, while the open ended nature of the game may be a turn off to some players, rest assured that the game does a good job of guiding you along the way should you choose to follow it. While a lot of quests give exact location markers on the map, some of the main story quests do not BUT after a while NPCs can be found in town giving hints and eventually quest markers for those main quests too.
On top of that, the "Captains" quest line, which I'm pretty sure is optional and acts like the gym leaders in Pokemon, tends to lead the players directly to important locations that advance the main quest line while still letting you feel like you found it on your own. As a big fan of exploration style games, I found Cassette Beasts pulled it off excellently and it's a big reason for why I love the game so much I think.
Finally let's talk about story, writing and music. First off, the music is EXCELLENT. I do wish there were more tracks for variety's sake, but the tracks in this game are bangers, ESPECIALLY the one that plays during Archangel fights (Called "Same Old Story"). I need Spotify to put all of the songs (including instrumental versions) online so I can add them to the playlist.
The story is what I've seen come under fire a lot, but honestly I really liked it. It does take a long time to get interesting, but I really enjoyed the payoff. In the meantime, the character writing and interactions between party members are absolutely phenomenal. While I've finished the game, I do plan to go back just to unlock all of the character interactions. I'm invested in my party members at this point.
All in all an absolutely excellent game, and I strongly recommend it to any and everyone with even a passing interest.
I'm generally not a huge fan of monster taiming rpgs, and haven't been into pokemon since way back in Silver and Gold. I truly did not expect to enjoy this game much, but kept hearing hype about it so gave it a shot. I can't tell you how glad I am that I did.
I write way too much and the rest is going to be a huge gushing synopsis about the game, so if you want to skip it all, just know this is an excellent game worth playing.
______________________
The premise is basically open world pokemon with mild cosmic horror elements, and a lot of exploration and discovery. This might sound like a lot, but the execution is top notch.
Combat plays out in 2v2 battles where typing doesn't affect damage but instead gives status effects or can even change typing based on the type interaction. Used electric moves on metal or water types? They get the "Conductive" debuff, which makes them take damage when any electric move is used. Used an ice move on a water type? They will become an ice type and be stunned for a turn when they "froze". There are a lot of these interactions, but they make sense so it's not too hard to keep straight.
Even outside of these interactions, the game offers a variety of unique status effects which are really fun to play and strategize around.
Another interesting thing about this combat system is the fusion mechanic, which allows you to combine both active trainers to form a "super monster" with the movesets of both, a unique "fusion attack" and upgraded stats that takes the buffs, debuffs and types of both active monsters.
On top of that, your trainers "Become" the monsters, meaning they keep debuffs when they switch and excess damage is dealt directly to the "trainers". If a "trainer"s hp bar is depleted, then that character can't call in another monster, making it a 1v2 battle and disabling the fusion mechanic. All of these mechanics work together to add a depth I haven't seen in any other monster training game I've played.
Outside of combat though, the exploration is top notch. The game is fully open world, and you can explore anything at any rate you would like. This game relies heavily on "Knowledge Based Unlocks", which makes progress locked behind player knowledge, which I love. That said, it also uses "Metroidvania" tactics and gives certain unlockable powers that help with terrain traversal and allow you to access new areas. These powers are obtained from capturing certain monsters the game will indicate to you. In fact, while the open ended nature of the game may be a turn off to some players, rest assured that the game does a good job of guiding you along the way should you choose to follow it. While a lot of quests give exact location markers on the map, some of the main story quests do not BUT after a while NPCs can be found in town giving hints and eventually quest markers for those main quests too.
On top of that, the "Captains" quest line, which I'm pretty sure is optional and acts like the gym leaders in Pokemon, tends to lead the players directly to important locations that advance the main quest line while still letting you feel like you found it on your own. As a big fan of exploration style games, I found Cassette Beasts pulled it off excellently and it's a big reason for why I love the game so much I think.
Finally let's talk about story, writing and music. First off, the music is EXCELLENT. I do wish there were more tracks for variety's sake, but the tracks in this game are bangers, ESPECIALLY the one that plays during Archangel fights (Called "Same Old Story"). I need Spotify to put all of the songs (including instrumental versions) online so I can add them to the playlist.
The story is what I've seen come under fire a lot, but honestly I really liked it. It does take a long time to get interesting, but I really enjoyed the payoff. In the meantime, the character writing and interactions between party members are absolutely phenomenal. While I've finished the game, I do plan to go back just to unlock all of the character interactions. I'm invested in my party members at this point.
All in all an absolutely excellent game, and I strongly recommend it to any and everyone with even a passing interest.