(My very low playtime, at least at the moment I'm posting this review, is a result of my experience with Cassette Beasts being almost completely through my partner as I watch them play through the game. I've been present and watching practically since the moment they took their first step in New Wirral. They are now in post-game and have completed the game's equivalent to a Pokedex. I've seen more than enough, trust me.)

I completely lost my spark for Pokemon and anything akin to it, despite being obsessed with monster taming, summoners, pet classes, anything like that in games since I had the fixation instilled in me by Chaos Legion, when I was very, very, very young. Pokemon's, even after all these years, drowning in lack of QoL features and things that would skyrocket the games' replay value like randomization/nuzlocke/difficulty customization, and their resting on their laurels had convinced me that I just didn't have that passion for this particular genre anymore.

I no longer bothered naming or getting attached to my Pokemon; I just brute forced playthroughs with a couple Pokemon and refused to level any more. The list of things I swore I loved yet couldn't bring myself to do is longer than that, but suffice to say, it prevented me from having the energy to dive into Cassette Beasts proper, before I watched my partner do so in my stead. I've always BOUGHT games like this to support them and give the genre another try, but always struggled to get the ball rolling again, so watching her playthrough has been the natural course for me.

Cassette Beasts reignited my passion for this genre in the first night, seeing her get past the point where I'd stopped. It was the realization of how the sticker system is just the moves system but better, more customizable, and far more built for longevity and preventing repetition/tedium. The type system has been taken further than merely 'fire hurts plant types 1.4x as much", adding on with a gloriously varied list of debuffs and buffs and general effects (such as shifting the enemy's type from Plastic to Poison if struck with a Fire move, since melting plastic creates poisonous fumes!), and tying your Beast's level to YOUR level, since all your Beasts are you taking on their form rather than summoning them yourself. This means that if you absolutely love one of the earliest, weakest Beasts in the game, you can customize their moveset to your heart's content to better fit your playstyle AND their level being directly attached to yours means that they can't possibly fall behind you just because you haven't used the form in a while.

I'm not explaining this very well, but, I suppose what I'm trying to say is, Cassette Beasts rekindled my burning passion for monster taming when I thought the last spark had died years ago. It has difficulty customization, good developers, long-term support (and further content additions) planned, rules for Nuzlocke-esque runs (such as your Beast dying permanently if that form is defeated, that sort of thing), rules for randomization of both your starters and the available pools of monsters within each of the general areas on the overworld map... the list goes on.

This game also is dripping with genuine effort, passion, and charm. It's sorta kinda got some Shin Megami Tensei vibes, just not so dark and serious. The characters are likeable without overstaying their welcome, the dialogue is cute, the music is lovely, and the replay value is off the charts thanks to the randomization mode unloked after finishing a single normal playthrough (or with a cheat code provided by the developers, if you prefer).

Please give this game a shot. Overwhelmingly Positive is well deserved for this absolute treasure of a game. Take it from the guy who thought monster tamers were lost as a genre to him, and found himself excitedly helping his partner buildcraft and cheering at the various fusions of beasts available in this game as we discovered them.

Oh yeah, did I mention that? There's fusions. Like, a LOT of them. Every single Beast can fuse into a bigger one that has both Beasts' moves and combines their sprites in really fun ways. BUY THIS GAME!

(My very low playtime, at least at the moment I'm posting this review, is a result of my experience with Cassette Beasts being almost completely through my partner as I watch them play through the game. I've been present and watching practically since the moment they took their first step in New Wirral. They are now in post-game and have completed the game's equivalent to a Pokedex. I've seen more than enough, trust me.) I completely lost my spark for Pokemon and anything akin to it, despite being obsessed with monster taming, summoners, pet classes, anything like that in games since I had the fixation instilled in me by Chaos Legion, when I was very, very, very young. Pokemon's, even after all these years, drowning in lack of QoL features and things that would skyrocket the games' replay value like randomization/nuzlocke/difficulty customization, and their resting on their laurels had convinced me that I just didn't have that passion for this particular genre anymore. I no longer bothered naming or getting attached to my Pokemon; I just brute forced playthroughs with a couple Pokemon and refused to level any more. The list of things I swore I loved yet couldn't bring myself to do is longer than that, but suffice to say, it prevented me from having the energy to dive into Cassette Beasts proper, before I watched my partner do so in my stead. I've always BOUGHT games like this to support them and give the genre another try, but always struggled to get the ball rolling again, so watching her playthrough has been the natural course for me. Cassette Beasts reignited my passion for this genre in the first night, seeing her get past the point where I'd stopped. It was the realization of how the sticker system is just the moves system but better, more customizable, and far more built for longevity and preventing repetition/tedium. The type system has been taken further than merely 'fire hurts plant types 1.4x as much", adding on with a gloriously varied list of debuffs and buffs and general effects (such as shifting the enemy's type from Plastic to Poison if struck with a Fire move, since melting plastic creates poisonous fumes!), and tying your Beast's level to YOUR level, since all your Beasts are you taking on their form rather than summoning them yourself. This means that if you absolutely love one of the earliest, weakest Beasts in the game, you can customize their moveset to your heart's content to better fit your playstyle AND their level being directly attached to yours means that they can't possibly fall behind you just because you haven't used the form in a while. I'm not explaining this very well, but, I suppose what I'm trying to say is, Cassette Beasts rekindled my burning passion for monster taming when I thought the last spark had died years ago. It has difficulty customization, good developers, long-term support (and further content additions) planned, rules for Nuzlocke-esque runs (such as your Beast dying permanently if that form is defeated, that sort of thing), rules for randomization of both your starters and the available pools of monsters within each of the general areas on the overworld map... the list goes on. This game also is dripping with genuine effort, passion, and charm. It's sorta kinda got some Shin Megami Tensei vibes, just not so dark and serious. The characters are likeable without overstaying their welcome, the dialogue is cute, the music is lovely, and the replay value is off the charts thanks to the randomization mode unloked after finishing a single normal playthrough (or with a cheat code provided by the developers, if you prefer). Please give this game a shot. Overwhelmingly Positive is well deserved for this absolute treasure of a game. Take it from the guy who thought monster tamers were lost as a genre to him, and found himself excitedly helping his partner buildcraft and cheering at the various fusions of beasts available in this game as we discovered them. Oh yeah, did I mention that? There's fusions. Like, a LOT of them. Every single Beast can fuse into a bigger one that has both Beasts' moves and combines their sprites in really fun ways. BUY THIS GAME!