(The following review is based on the 1.5.0 version of Cassette Beasts, but not taking DLC into account. These feelings are still accurate as of me writing this review, but praises and criticisms I have exclusively with the DLC are not included here.)
I had heard quite a few good things going into Cassette Beasts, and the game's launch trailer really grabbed my attention, but I was not at all prepared for how the game would blow every single one of my expectations out of the water.
Cassette Beasts manages to pay homage to its inspirations while crafting its own special experience from that foundation. As a longtime Pokémon fan, I pretty quickly picked up on the gameplay, but was pleasantly surprised at the many individual components that make the game unique. Instead of a MP or PP system, the game uses Action Points that you accrue over the course of a battle that can be spent on moves of varying amounts of power- it's more akin to something like Boost Points in Octopath Traveler. This makes it so that both weak moves and strong moves have their place in battle, which I really like! The game primarily focuses on 2v2 combat, and the synergy you build with the various partner characters you join up with over the course of the story translates very well into the gameplay, especially through the headlining "fusion" mechanic that spices up the combat significantly─ you'll have much greater firepower, but can't take as many actions per turn, which is a fun tradeoff. Moves and passives are contextualized as "stickers" that can be freely attached and detached from monster tapes at will, making experimentation and strategization easily some of the most streamlined I've seen from an RPG. My only minor point of criticism is that by endgame the sticker list is a bit of a pain to sort through to find what you want, but the filter tools make this a little less frustrating at least. As a lover of turn-based combat, I was thoroughly impressed.
The characters and story felt very fresh and engaging, especially for an RPG of this subgenre. I'll keep my thoughts here as general as I can to not spoil things. Each of their backstories and personalities added something to the party, and the optional romance mechanic managed to enhance the experience without taking anything away for those who aren't interested (except an achievement unfortunately, but that's not too bad). As a nonbinary person, I felt very at home with the options included for character creation, and seeing LGBTQ+ representation in the game itself was really awesome to see. Everything regarding this feels really natural and well-written, which I love. The Archangels and what they each ultimately represent slowly build an interesting narrative over the course of the game, while each being memorable in their own right, utilizing various art styles that feel foreign to everything else in the game's world. There's a nice balance of lightheartedness and more serious subject matters tackled here, and overall does a good job of keeping a positive outlook throughout without needing to talk down to its players when the going gets rough. The story pacing felt very good, which can be hard to pull off in an open-world experience where things aren't always done in the same order, so I appreciate what the devs and writers were able to accomplish here.
The visuals really land in this game in every aspect, from the chibi overworld, to the adorable talk sprites, to the unsettling-yet-badass Archangels, and of course, the fantastic animated monster sprites. To the untrained eye the inspiration is obvious, but it goes a lot further with it than its inspirations by every monster having animations for dealing and taking damage, as well as many of the "asleep" animations being a lot more visually interesting than just having closed eyes. Oh, and reminder that just about all of this applies to the 19,000+ fusions too. Some procedural generation was obviously needed to reach that monolithic number, but amidst the recent controversies around AI art, it's really refreshing to see this pulled off with 100% organically drawn and animated components. Oh, and of course, the monster designs themselves are fantastic. There's a very lovable quirky feel to each one, while having a flavor entirely of their own that you can't easily find elsewhere. The more mature subject matter allows for some really fun names and designs that wouldn't fly in more family-friendly monster-collecting RPGs without losing any of the aforementioned charm at all─ shoutout to Skelevangelist and Miasmodeus, among others.
The music is absolutely stellar. The vocals kicking in during battle themes when a fusion happens appeals very heavily to me as an enjoyer of dynamic music in video games. There's some nice motif reusage present, as well as a good amount of lyrics with multiple meanings that were fun to experience. Same Old Story and Arrow of Time will be on my VGM playlist for a long time yet to come.
I could go on for ages about all the other things I love about this game, and I'm sure there's some things I'll kick myself for not mentioning here later, but honestly the best thing about Cassette Beasts is the gestalt of the game experience rather than any of its individual aspects. It's not very often I see a game so well-balanced in its strengths, and whether you're a casual Pokémon fan, a monster-collector RPG fanatic, or just want a fun turn-based experience in general, you can't go wrong with Cassette Beasts.
I had heard quite a few good things going into Cassette Beasts, and the game's launch trailer really grabbed my attention, but I was not at all prepared for how the game would blow every single one of my expectations out of the water.
Cassette Beasts manages to pay homage to its inspirations while crafting its own special experience from that foundation. As a longtime Pokémon fan, I pretty quickly picked up on the gameplay, but was pleasantly surprised at the many individual components that make the game unique. Instead of a MP or PP system, the game uses Action Points that you accrue over the course of a battle that can be spent on moves of varying amounts of power- it's more akin to something like Boost Points in Octopath Traveler. This makes it so that both weak moves and strong moves have their place in battle, which I really like! The game primarily focuses on 2v2 combat, and the synergy you build with the various partner characters you join up with over the course of the story translates very well into the gameplay, especially through the headlining "fusion" mechanic that spices up the combat significantly─ you'll have much greater firepower, but can't take as many actions per turn, which is a fun tradeoff. Moves and passives are contextualized as "stickers" that can be freely attached and detached from monster tapes at will, making experimentation and strategization easily some of the most streamlined I've seen from an RPG. My only minor point of criticism is that by endgame the sticker list is a bit of a pain to sort through to find what you want, but the filter tools make this a little less frustrating at least. As a lover of turn-based combat, I was thoroughly impressed.
The characters and story felt very fresh and engaging, especially for an RPG of this subgenre. I'll keep my thoughts here as general as I can to not spoil things. Each of their backstories and personalities added something to the party, and the optional romance mechanic managed to enhance the experience without taking anything away for those who aren't interested (except an achievement unfortunately, but that's not too bad). As a nonbinary person, I felt very at home with the options included for character creation, and seeing LGBTQ+ representation in the game itself was really awesome to see. Everything regarding this feels really natural and well-written, which I love. The Archangels and what they each ultimately represent slowly build an interesting narrative over the course of the game, while each being memorable in their own right, utilizing various art styles that feel foreign to everything else in the game's world. There's a nice balance of lightheartedness and more serious subject matters tackled here, and overall does a good job of keeping a positive outlook throughout without needing to talk down to its players when the going gets rough. The story pacing felt very good, which can be hard to pull off in an open-world experience where things aren't always done in the same order, so I appreciate what the devs and writers were able to accomplish here.
The visuals really land in this game in every aspect, from the chibi overworld, to the adorable talk sprites, to the unsettling-yet-badass Archangels, and of course, the fantastic animated monster sprites. To the untrained eye the inspiration is obvious, but it goes a lot further with it than its inspirations by every monster having animations for dealing and taking damage, as well as many of the "asleep" animations being a lot more visually interesting than just having closed eyes. Oh, and reminder that just about all of this applies to the 19,000+ fusions too. Some procedural generation was obviously needed to reach that monolithic number, but amidst the recent controversies around AI art, it's really refreshing to see this pulled off with 100% organically drawn and animated components. Oh, and of course, the monster designs themselves are fantastic. There's a very lovable quirky feel to each one, while having a flavor entirely of their own that you can't easily find elsewhere. The more mature subject matter allows for some really fun names and designs that wouldn't fly in more family-friendly monster-collecting RPGs without losing any of the aforementioned charm at all─ shoutout to Skelevangelist and Miasmodeus, among others.
The music is absolutely stellar. The vocals kicking in during battle themes when a fusion happens appeals very heavily to me as an enjoyer of dynamic music in video games. There's some nice motif reusage present, as well as a good amount of lyrics with multiple meanings that were fun to experience. Same Old Story and Arrow of Time will be on my VGM playlist for a long time yet to come.
I could go on for ages about all the other things I love about this game, and I'm sure there's some things I'll kick myself for not mentioning here later, but honestly the best thing about Cassette Beasts is the gestalt of the game experience rather than any of its individual aspects. It's not very often I see a game so well-balanced in its strengths, and whether you're a casual Pokémon fan, a monster-collector RPG fanatic, or just want a fun turn-based experience in general, you can't go wrong with Cassette Beasts.