Off the top of my head, there’s Temtem and Cassette Beasts that try to mimic the formula more closely, and then there are a bunch of “Pokemon but _____” takes on the formula that you can find with a quick Google. This is “Pokemon but <survival game>”. Last I heard, Ark didn’t let you assign dinosaurs to a factory or have some of the more RPG systems like boss fights, but quite frankly, I found Ark so obtuse that I didn’t play for long.
The problem with TemTem is that it’s an always online game, if the servers are turned off you won’t be able to play, not even the single player campaign so it’s a hard pass.
And the art style of both games are not my cup of tea, the do a disservice selling me the game.
I’m a fairweather Pokemon fan at best, but I’m with you on Temtem for the same reason; many people don’t have the same reservations as you and I, so I thought I’d mention it. I think Cassette Beasts is that game and reviewed well, and to ignore it might be to ignore exactly the game you’re asking for, but I’d also point you toward the “creature collector” tag on Steam. I’ve never heard of Coromon before doing that search to leave this reply, but mousing over it for a second shows a video that proves they know what they’re making (87% positive Steam reviews). Same goes for Nexomon: Extinction (92% positive). No one will know what you’re looking for better than you, but people have been making games inspired by Pokemon for a long time now.
No one will know what you’re looking for better than you, but people have been making games inspired by Pokemon for a long time now.
A Pokemon clone with high production values made in Japan. Or if it’s not made in Japan one that uses it own art style, I simply can’t stand the “Fake anime” aesthetic that most indies use, like they learned to draw using this as refference
Think of Shin Megami Tensei (but not SMT V, that one sucks, they removed the dungeon crawling and the puzzles)
Off the top of my head, there’s Temtem and Cassette Beasts that try to mimic the formula more closely, and then there are a bunch of “Pokemon but _____” takes on the formula that you can find with a quick Google. This is “Pokemon but <survival game>”. Last I heard, Ark didn’t let you assign dinosaurs to a factory or have some of the more RPG systems like boss fights, but quite frankly, I found Ark so obtuse that I didn’t play for long.
The problem with TemTem is that it’s an always online game, if the servers are turned off you won’t be able to play, not even the single player campaign so it’s a hard pass.
And the art style of both games are not my cup of tea, the do a disservice selling me the game.
I’m a fairweather Pokemon fan at best, but I’m with you on Temtem for the same reason; many people don’t have the same reservations as you and I, so I thought I’d mention it. I think Cassette Beasts is that game and reviewed well, and to ignore it might be to ignore exactly the game you’re asking for, but I’d also point you toward the “creature collector” tag on Steam. I’ve never heard of Coromon before doing that search to leave this reply, but mousing over it for a second shows a video that proves they know what they’re making (87% positive Steam reviews). Same goes for Nexomon: Extinction (92% positive). No one will know what you’re looking for better than you, but people have been making games inspired by Pokemon for a long time now.
A Pokemon clone with high production values made in Japan. Or if it’s not made in Japan one that uses it own art style, I simply can’t stand the “Fake anime” aesthetic that most indies use, like they learned to draw using this as refference
Think of Shin Megami Tensei (but not SMT V, that one sucks, they removed the dungeon crawling and the puzzles)
Cassette Beasts was the true goty last year!