Pokemon didn't invent the monster-catching role-playing game, but it's the biggest name in the genre. However, you may desire more offbeat critter battles after spending years with Pikachu and the gang. If that's the case, check out Cassette Beasts ($19.99) by Bytten Studio. It's an indie RPG that doesn't try to hide its obvious pocket monster influences. Fortunately, Cassette Beasts' bold tweaks to the familiar formula make it a worthy Nintendo Switch game that earns a place alongside the bigger, world-famous franchise.

Generation Remix

The music-themed Cassette Beasts challenges expectations from the jump. Despite its cute exterior, the game instantly drops you into a surreal world closer to EarthBound or Undertale than a Pokemon game. The people who inhabit the mysterious New Wirral island have no idea how they got there—or how to leave. No spoilers, but it might have something to do with the Cassette Beasts creatures that roam the land.

By recording these monsters on tapes, headphone-wearing humans assume the creatures' forms to battle each other and the menacing Archangels who guard otherworldly transit stations. These bosses are legitimately freaky, like the giant skeleton puppet master Poppetox. Although Cassette Beasts isn't scary or gory, it's a relatively mature title.

It's a game for people with adult sensibilities. The good-natured Ranger Captains are pretty analogous to classic gym leaders. However, their enemy team is a group of gentrifying landowners. The best way to heal your squad between battles is to hang out at the coffee shop and talk to your pals about life struggles, a ritual now familiar to anyone who was a youngster in 1998.

Cassette Beasts believes that its audience can grapple with concepts more complex than "water is strong against fire." That faith also extends to how you navigate its map. New Wirral is basically a 2D, open-world environment. It's not as big as Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, but it's dense with quests and contains surprising freedom. I constantly stumbled into interesting encounters, big and small, while wandering and listening to rumors. I appreciated the added agency, which recent Pokemon games have only just adopted. There's an appealing sense of adventure.

Besides dealing with monsters and rivals, you must solve environmental puzzles to open up the world. This sometimes grows tedious. The controls aren't precise enough for platforming challenges or placing rocks in exact locations. That said, most challenges took the form of fun, tiny brainteasers or underground mini-dungeons. When you record certain Cassette Beasts, you can use their power in the overworld. For example, you can blast your way through rocks if you capture Bulletino, a living bullet

Cassette Beasts' Clever Battles

Cassette Beasts distinguishes itself from the Pokemon titles by adding extra depth to the monster-battle mechanics. Sure, you still need to be aware of classic creature types and their advantages, but the game includes new elemental matchups. For example, Plastic melts against Fire, but is strong against Astral due to its artificial nature.

You always have two characters on your team, which lets you perform two actions per turn. For example, you can focus both attacks on one foe, target different opponents, or attack with one character while buffing yourself with the other. You don't level up individual monsters, only your human characters. You also have a dedicated health bar that depletes if your monster dies and you get attacked before you get the chance to switch to another one (or if you run out of all six monsters in your party).

Each monster can equip up to eight attacks, and each attack has its own AP costs (you earn more AP each turn). Like Bravely Default, Cassette Beasts lets you either immediately use a weak attack or wait to use a stronger attack on your next turn. When you're especially desperate, you can temporarily fuse with your partner to create a mega monster that has your combined strengths.

That's a lot of strategic options to consider. Granted, the game could better explain some options, which might be an overcorrection for how Pokemon constantly repeats itself to make sure kids understand how to play. Battles could also be a little faster. Even when you have a massive level and type advantage, it takes slightly too long to whittle away health bars. Or maybe that's because I just took my time pondering everything I could do. Regardless, Cassette Beasts proves that there are many exciting ways to explore creature combat. Once everything clicks, Cassette Beasts is as satisfying as any other top-tier, turn-based RPG. You can even adjust the game's balance for an easier or harder journey.

Beautiful Monsters

Cassette Beasts has 120 monsters and features awesome, imaginative designs brought to life via well-animated sprite artwork. I frequently relied on my starter monster Bansheep, who evolved (or "remastered") into Wooltergeist and then Ramtasm. Likewise, Kittelly, the cat with a TV for a head, is a terrific design. Fusions are their own unique creatures, which exponentially expands the bestiary.

The charming, pixelated look feels truer to classic Pokemon visuals than the Diamond and Pearl remake's lifeless polygons. The game also has 3D touches; the camera dramatically shifts as you enter hidden areas, giving the game a diorama feel. If that's not indie precious enough for you, Cassette Beasts also has hummable music, including vocal tracks, to back up its overall music theme.

It's a shame that the performance can't always keep up. Cassette Beasts looks nice, but I can't see how its visuals are any more demanding than, say, an HD-2D game like Triangle Strategy. Unfortunately, I experienced a lot of distracting hitches and stuttering, along with one hard crash, while playing the game on the Nintendo Switch. Cassette Beasts is also available on PC and Xbox, but it feels right to play this Pokemon-like game on a portable device (especially with more battery life than the Steam Deck). Hopefully, patches are on the way to resolve these technical issues.

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An Entertaining Pokemon Alternative

While other Pokemon clones pursue questionable gimmicks, like giving the monsters guns, Cassette Beasts is the best kind of homage. It takes what already works, makes it deeper and better, and applies its own spin to create its own appeal and identity. It won't replace the increasingly epic mainline Pokemon games, and a title this modest should have fewer technical issues. Still, Cassette Beasts makes monster catching and battling an addictive and engrossing experience for anyone who ever wanted to catch them all.

For more recommended Nintendo Switch titles, check out The Best Nintendo Switch Games and The Best Nintendo Switch Games for Kids. For in-depth video game talk, visit PCMag's Pop-Off YouTube channel. Eager to see the new titles on the horizon? Visit The Best Video Games Coming Out in 2023.