Cassette Beasts review: a Pokémon-like that totally satisfies

Has left Pokemon since 2016 pokemon sun. was fun! But somewhere along the line, even the most die-hard monster collectors can’t remember what happens when you compare Fairy-types and Bug-types without Google, or what the difference is in Arceus’ name “Moon Fatigue.” Experience ground types and rock types. The dozens of hours required to go from picking a starter Pokemon to defeating the Elite Four is astounding. do i have this anymore? In short, a person begins to age.

cassette beast It’s like an indie Pokémon with expired Pokémania in mind. Instead of catching monsters with two-tone balls, here we record them on cassette tape.Visually, the game looks like his Octopath-ed Pokemon Black and White, colorful and wonderfully animated sprites battle against a 3D backdrop. Monster designs are creative and diverse. traffic cluba hermit crab with a traffic cone for its shell, and Brettino, is a very serious little bullet man. The beast he has 14 types, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. At first glance, Pokemon everywhere.

Well… except the game starts with a quote from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight In a sequence that falls through a wormhole of sorts into a world of cassette tapes and monsters, a powerful Ranger finds 12 Ranger Captains (think Gym Leaders; they usually don’t have buildings in their names). ordered to fight. a another Defeat eight Archangels (mysterious enemies that cause your screen to distort like a rewinding VHS tape) in a quest given to you by your first companion Kaylee, each rendered in a different art style than the game itself and return to their home dimension.

Recognize?I can’t speak to what’s going on with the unintentionally creepy visuals scarlet and violet, but you don’t fight evil claymation angels in those games.I mean, it’s just cassette beast It’s weirder than it allows, in the best possible way.

Image: Bitten Studios

I first fell in love with the method cassette beast Bytten Studio’s designers have remixed the Pokémon formula, starting with how simple strengths and weaknesses are transformed into a complex series of chain reactions. For example, if you attack a plastic type with a fire attribute attack, the plastic will melt and the enemy type will change to poison, and if you attack again with a fire attribute, it will become flammable. However, when a Plastic-type attacks a Lightning-type, it insulates them, and an attack that normally hits multiple enemies will hit one. What is it that shatters?”And “Poison makes my astral creature go Gura when you want me to go Rumbling?”

These complications are compounded by the fact that the game is primarily fought 2v2. Most of the time, you have a companion by your side who can transform into any beast in the party. Also, you and your companions have health bars that are different from the monster’s health bar. Additionally, he can fuse with a companion to create a hybrid beast from any two of his 120 monsters in the game. Pretty soon you realize you’re feeling the same creep of Pokémon complexity, but with a philosophical joke and a bit of creepy pasta.

not yet, cassette beast‘ is immeasurable.This is a game aimed squarely at players who were kids at the time red and blue You’ll laugh that Team Rocket has been replaced by a group of evil landlords who look like vampires and talk about preying on the poor. A player that allows you to watch For players who know what a cassette is in the first place, the joke that the healing item in this game is a pencil that rewinds cassette tapes actually makes sense.

Image: Bitten Studios

As time goes by cassette beast It was a fresh start for a genre like Pokémon in its decline.Other issues cassette beast: Monsters are always on the same level as the player character and can exchange “stickers” (a term for abilities in the game that allows you to attach any of your favorite beasts with all the best fire-type moves you want), so the number of less. And once you’ve put together a team that works for you, you’ll have less incentive to record them all. I think.

With some of the same problems that plague its source of inspiration, cassette beast The formula doesn’t evolve much because it swaps to another type. It’s fun, looks and sounds great, and works beautifully with the Steam Deck. But that brilliance is only superficial, and the underlying mechanics, chain reactions, and everything else match, but don’t surpass, Game Freak’s best adventures. Of course, here he is an achievement in itself, considering that he has a two-man development team.

at the end of the day, cassette beast A remix of my favorite song. Don’t expect a remaster.

the cassette beast Released April 26th for Linux and Windows PC. Available May 25th on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. This game was reviewed on PC. Vox Media has affiliate partnerships. These do not affect editorial content, but Vox Media may earn commissions on products purchased via affiliate links.discoverable Additional information on Polygon’s Ethics Policy can be found here.