Monster Sanctuary (PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC)
Monster Sanctuary plays quite a bit different than games above as it is a metroidvania. Yes, you read that right and are correct to wonder how this could be considered among the Pokemon clones.
Monster Sanctuary, while being a metroidvania involves both acquiring monsters and (3v3) battles. The monsters themselves are the abilities as each one can do different things.
Abilities includes things such as helping you float over obstacles a short distance, breaking through progression blocking vines/rocks/walls, and even creating a rock to add a platform for just slightly more jump height. The player is followed by whatever monster is currently selected for ability usage.
There isn’t exactly a taming system. Instead after every battle you have the chance to receive an egg from the monsters you defeated to hatch your own.
Hatching occurs on the spot, no need to walk around for a specified distance. There are 100 monsters to collect, and quite a bit of grinding for new monsters than in other Pokemon clones.
While the party is still only six, monsters captured after the initial six aren’t sent anywhere and can be swapped in whenever and selected for their abilities at any time.
Leveling up awards skill points that are then used in skill trees that are unique to each monster. You can choose to use the points on things like better mana regen (similar to the stamina system in the above games), power up stats/attacks, or even learn new attacks.
Monster health levels and status conditions heal automatically after each battle, so there is no use for Pokecenter equivalents.
There they are, the three Pokemon Clones from 2020 that you should check out. If you happen to give any of them a go, swing on back by and drop of a comment of your thoughts.
