Five Games To Play Instead Of The New Pokemon
The new Pokemon game came out to a very mixed reception! It’s been a glorious weekend of posting bugs and wondering what went wrong. To be upfront and honest, I’m still having fun with it, but to me, it feels like unfinished alpha. I bought two games, one for my husband and one for myself. Spending $120 dollars for the game to be so unfinished is an uncomfortable feeling.
There are indie devs making better Pokemon-like games than GameFreak is, often for a third to half the price. Given that after this weekend, players may look elsewhere to scratch that itch, I thought I’d highlight a few games.
Here are four of the games (okay, technically five) I’ve played on the Switch in the past year.
Coromon
$19.99
Let’s start with my favorite one. Coromon is a sprite-based game that bills itself as a fresh take on the monster-taming genre and is inspired by Pokemon.
My favorite new idea, and the one I’ve spent the most time on, is by far the tying together of a Pokemon’s IV with its shiny status. Each pokemon has three forms, a standard form, a high iv form, and a perfect iv or shiny form, all with their own rarity and color palettes. I never knew how much I wanted my shiny mons I found in the wild to be also outstanding fighters. In fact, it makes grinding for them MUCH more rewarding when they are some of the best of the best and furthermore makes finding the battle-ready pokemon much easier.
That is only the beginning. A lot of the appeal for me is the player's friendly focus. It features three difficulty levels: the ability to assign stat increases to chosen stats, a better battle system, and many other things. There are so many details I never realized could enhance the gameplay.
In the cons category, I am not the biggest fan of the designs. They definitely have a style and look, it’s just not one I particularly gel with.
Monster Crown
$29.99 *though at the time of writing is on sale for $14.99*
I have played and recommend this game with a bit of a caveat. The game is very unstable and buggy. I recommend not playing this if you can't enjoy the current Pokemon because of bugs. This game will frustrate those players.
Why recommend it then? Bugs aside, it’s a legitimately fun and unique fakemon game. Starting off, Monster Crown looks great, with it being like an old-school Gameboy color game. From there it gets better, with the monster designs being some of the best fakemon designs I’ve ever seen.
Writing, world exploration, and an engaging core loop are the highlights for me. The game also has monster fusion, but I haven’t reached that point yet. The bugs are the only place where this game really failed for me. I always warn players who pick it up to save often, as it crashed about every 45 minutes for me.
Nexomon/Nexomon Extinction
$9.99 for Nexomon $29.99 for Nexomon Extinction
Nexomon is the singular most like Pokemon fakemon that I have played. Full disclosure, I have yet to play Extinction. The formula doesn't contain much innovation, but the game shines in other areas. Nexomon itself is gorgeous, with quality monster designs that are more worthy of the pokemon status than pokemon itself.
While more expensive, I’ve heard Nexomon: Extinction is better than the original Nexomon. That said, I’ve played the original, and feel comfortable saying it’s still a solid experience for a third of the price.
Monster Sanctuary
$19.99
When you want to play Pokemon, but also want to wear a Final Fantasy-themed outfit. Monster Sanctuary is Metroidvania meets Pokemon, with the weird part being that it works. There are 111 different mons, and each mon has a skill tree, leading to a LOT of different ways to build a team and play through the game. The synergy is the key here as combat is 3 vs 3, and I’ve found if I’m not prepared, I’m in for a butt-kicking. In fact, it’s a little overwhelming. Throw in this beautiful 16-bit art style, and it’s a great experience.
My only complaint is the combat can be slow! I suspect that is because I suck at the game.
And that’s a wrap! If you are someone who wants a better experience, or rather to play something new but similar after the Elite Four, I got you covered. Feel free to let us know if you check any of these out, either via a comment or Discord. If you want more recommendations, please let me know. I would be happy to share more fakemon games! This is Janette, signing off.
