Monster Sanctuary features a fun blend of monster taming and side-scrolling metroidvania platforming RPG adventuring that sees you battling monsters and venturing out into the world to become a legendary Monster Keeper.
In Monster Sanctuary you take on the role of the youngest heir in an age-old bloodline of Monster Keepers. You must now set out with your trusty spectral familiar, a wolf with elemental powers, and learn the ways of Monster Keeping while unravelling a mystery that may disrupt the peace between humans and monsters.
You can explore the open game world much like in a metroidvania, with you collecting loot and useful items that can help you access new areas. When you meet a monster the game switches to a turn based battling system and you choose three of your monsters to face-off against your opponents in turn based battles. When defeated, the monsters will occasionally drop eggs which you can hatch and add to your group of monsters.
You collect, train and battle monsters, but the mechanics feel much more like a traditional turn based RPG than a Pokemon game. You have three monsters fighting together as a team, able to use buffs and heal each other. Each of your monsters has their own skill-trees which allow you to select new attributes and skills as they level up. You can also equip your monsters with weapons and accessories as well as give them food to give them extra buffs. Also, there are no random encounters – you only fight when you meet monster in the game world.
It’s easy to call Monster Sanctuary a Pokemon metroidvania, but that would be very reductive. The team-based based turn-based combat, loot and levelling systems are very different from Pikachu and pals’ outings, bringing more strategy and depth to the gameplay. It’s a joy exploring the beautiful 2D pixel art world too, with lots of secrets to find, monsters to battle and characters to meet. It’s shaping up to be a fantastic monster taming metroidvania. Highly recommended.
Check Out a Gameplay Video Here
Download The Monster Sanctuary Beta Demo Here (Steam)