Monster Crown

From indie developer Studio Aurum comes an interesting take on the pocket monster craze. Monster Crown is a breeding/collectathon game where players can amass a collection of monsters through cross-breeding. Unlike games like Pokémon, Monster Crown focuses more on the breeding than the catching aspects, making it a unique experience that sets itself apart from the competition.

A Kickstarter success, Monster Crown finally released on Steam’s Early Access on July 31 of this year, and it already has a dedicated player base. If you’ve been looking for a new monster collecting game, and Pokémon just isn’t cutting it for you, then join us as we take a look at what makes Monster Crown so special.

Should you play it?

Older gamers will surely be familiar with the eternal feud of Digimon vs. Pokémon. While some preferred Bandai’s digital monsters over Pikachu and its pals, the truth is that Pokémon games (particularly games like Pokémon Red) always dominated the game charts.

That’s where Monster Crown comes in. The cross-breeding mechanics present in the game are unique to the genre; think about Persona fusion in Persona 5. That all sounds fine by itself, but here’s where things get interesting: you can cross-breed monsters with players all over the world.

Using “genes,” players can create different creatures depending on what other players are creating. This mechanic keeps the experience change and ever-changing, giving the game a nice multiplayer element.

If you’re looking for a game that feels like classic Pokémon, but also one that adds a little bit of Digimon breeding mechanics into the mix, then this might be the game you were looking for.

Fueled by nostalgia

Monster Crown features a visual style reminiscent of the classic, 16-bit era RPGs. Borrowing more than a little inspiration from another “pocket monster” franchise, the world of Monster Crown feels alive and adequately developed.

While the overworld sprites are nothing to write home about, the monsters and characters’ sprites are well-rendered and filled with charm. The design of the monster is also serviceable enough: many of these monsters wouldn’t feel too out of place in a mainline Pokémon game.

A serious tone

Unlike some other monster collecting games, Monster Crown features a plot-heavy story filled with politics and characters. Set in Crown Island, the game promises a “dark, cruel story” that serves as the backdrop to your monster collecting shenanigans. With a story centered around stopping the return of tyranny to Crown Island, this is not your everyday happy-go-lucky monster game.

To fight tyranny, you must “pact” with the monsters on the island. This pact mechanic is reminiscent of the one seen in the Shin Megami Tensei series of games, and it means that recruiting a monster has an additional layer of complexity.

Pros

• Charming character sprites
• Solid monster breeding mechanics
• Story shows promise

Cons

• Disappointing overworld graphics
• Can feel a bit derivative
• It’s still in early access, and it shows