Monster Sanctuary

Genre: Turn-Based Monster Collecting RPG / Metroidvania

Players: 1

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Review:

Monster Sanctuary is a game that takes the Turn-Based Monster Collecting RPG formula and applies it to a side-scrolling Metroidvania-style platformer. Battles are turn-based and focus on building up a balanced team of fighters, while outside of battle players are exploring the world, uncovering secrets, and getting equipment and other unlockables. This game was released on multiple platforms in 2020 including Nintendo Switch.

The presentation here is very good, using some colorful and well-animated pixel art graphics that give the monsters a good amount of personality and make the world interesting to explore. The game’s soundtrack isn’t quite as good, featuring synthesized tunes that are fine, but aren’t especially good or noteworthy. However, all in all the look and sound of everything works well for the gameplay.

When it comes to that gameplay, players should expect the Turn-Based RPG elements to be more of a focus than the Metroidvania elements. The game does have players using the monsters’ “unique” abilities to get past obstacles or reach new areas (though some monsters have functionally similar abilities to others), but mostly what you’ll be doing is collecting and raising your monsters much like a Pokemon game.

It’s a good thing, then, that players are given a lot to work with here. Monsters all have elemental abilities and weaknesses, various stats, their own individual skill trees, and the ability to outfit themselves with various equipment that players can find or buy. Suffice it to say, players are given a lot of flexibility in ensuring that their team not only consists of whatever set of monsters they like, but that those monsters are also uniquely equipped in the way players choose. All this variety does a great job bringing players into the game and enticing them to explore further to find new monsters and new equipment.

I do wish that Monster Sanctuary went farther with its Metroidvania elements, but overall I was delighted with this game – it does a great job with its Monster-Collecting RPG elements, which makes for some really fun, varied, and compelling gameplay. Because of this, I believe that fans of that sort of game who are curious to play with those mechanics in a different context should absolutely try Monster Sanctuary.

tl;dr – Monster Sanctuary takes Turn-Based Monster-Collecting RPG gameplay and places it in a side-scrolling Metroidvania. I wish the game went farther to incorporate its Metroidvania elements into the game, but overall it’s hard to complain when this is a top-notch Monster Collecting RPG, and one with a lot of depth to its gameplay. Fans of the genre will find it well worth playing.

Grade: A-

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