Monster Sanctuary
As we start to deviate away from the more on-the-nose Pokémon-me-dos, we’re not straying too far. Monster Sanctuary is a hybrid of a traditional monster gathering game, and…Metroidvania! Think Pokémon Mystery Dungeon meets Ori
Presented in 2D pixel prettiness, this is at once a side-scrolling adventure and a monster battler, with more than 100 creatures to collect. The whole thing is bursting with SNES vibes, flavors coming from all sorts of JRPG backgrounds, but then has you hatching eggs, upgrading monster skills, then using newly gained abilities to get to areas previously out of reach.
The story won’t blow you away, but then…has a Pokémon tale ever managed that for you? Still, it’s awesome to see the formula being experimented with.
Available on: Switch, PC, PlayStation, Xbox
