![]() Instead of scaling everything and properly balancing the game, the metroidvania mechanics have you cake walking through old areas with no good way to track what is where. While it's interesting at first to build different teams to try for 5 staring fight, it eventually gets stale. The real meat of the game and what draws people in is the gameplay. It's only a mild annoyance and a way to wall off areas instead of being integrated into a platforming challenge. The entire overworld mechanic of using monsters to unlock and move through different areas is overstated. If we don't grade this game on a curve for being an indie, the story is barebones and not particularly engaging. It's still going to be more interesting than most of the big releases. It's a good game with some design flaws here and there that leave it middle of the road in the end. In the end, I would still recommend giving this game a try. If I'm not really supposed to care for the monsters, then at least give me some options for my own look (or at least a female character). ![]() One last issue, it's disappointing that you get to pick between two white dudes at the start and there's no character customization whatsoever. I have no doubt Pokemon haters will praise this game to no end and ignore the mediocrity, they can find a way to glorify an old potato if someone claims it's like Pokemon. ![]() Maybe they forgot the Elite Four isn't leveled to 100 so their lvl 40 cap that the last fights match is fine? Anyway, in a monster collector game I would prefer to win with the monsters I've bonded with along the way, not dump them at the last second. I'm not sure why they decided to slap a difficulty curve at the climax of the game. I did not beat the game, because the monsters I had at the final fight were not enough to win and I preferred to walk away with a pleasant experience than look up the meta. I suppose this was to differentiate from Pokemon, but if that's the reason than why only give this to a few monsters? Maybe that should have given me a clue that the game doesn't care if you like your monsters or not, it expects you to consider a min-max team. Most monsters do not evolve, only a select few use random items that you give to a tree. There is no catching mechanic, so obtaining a new monster relies on RNG drops (in your favor, it seems, this never gave me issues). Maybe if they had mixed up the gameplay where some battles are Metroidvania style where your abilities for battle are based on the monsters you choose. That's just what it feels like from my perspective. I feel like the developers made the monster combat and polished up how that system works and then said "waaaaait, let's put it in a Metroid map". My problem comes in where the Metroidvania aspects seem to be tacked on to expand off the combat system. The story is weak, but that doesn't matter too much in this sort of game. The music isn't very good, so I had the volume off for most of my time playing. I love the idea that monsters grant you the metroidvania abilities, I love the art in your "dex" with long entries on each monster, I love the art style even though the environments were fairly uninspired, and I love that the combat feels completely separate from Pokemon. Monster Sanctuary was on its way to being a favorite of mine, as it combined the two genres I tend to enjoy the most and it felt pretty fresh. ![]() If you like min-maxing, feel free to add a point or two to the score below. It can feel more like organising a spreadsheet than playing a game at times, but it's impossible to deny that it's an accomplished game with a lot to offer - and that's without even taking it online to battle other players. Every fight is pushing your team forward, and the potential for maximising the efficiency and power of your squad is seemingly infinite. It's a total timesink, but that's a term that implies said time is being wasted, when it really isn't. While Monster Sanctuary's is a little plain at the outset, the right people will find it one of their favourite games of the year. It's a difficult one to review because a lot of what this reviewer personally found a little boring is exactly what's going to appeal to its core audience of number-crunching statisticians. An expansive and content-packed game, Monster Sanctuary would be easy to criticise as a grind if we didn't find that said grinding was never really necessary to enjoy it. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |