Monster Sanctuary Review - Nintendo Switch

THE FIRST 48

Does mashing up Pokemon with Metroidvania produce Pokemania, Monster Sanctuary tries to figure out.

Some of my personal favourite games of recent memory include Dead Cells, Hollow Knight, Ori and the Will of the Wisps among many others, but I draw attention to these games because they are some of the best Metroidvania’s. It’s clearly evident, I have a certain fondness for a good Metroidvania, but one genre that hasn’t connected with me is monster taming and collecting RPG’s. Monster Sanctuary looks to blend some of the best elements of both and piqued my interest. Does a spoonful of Metroidvania sugar make the difference? Before going further, I would like to personally thank Team 17 for providing me with a review code for Monster Sanctuary.

The first moments of Monster Sanctuary feel similar to many retro style games of recent memory. 16 bit pixel art, 2D and minimalist retro music. These characteristics won't help Monster Sanctuary stand out from the crowded pack and over supply of Metroidvania’s that exist today.

However, just a few steps into your journey you realize what separates this game from others in the genre. Monster Sanctuary is less about exploring and backtracking, although secret and locked passages exist, instead the game focuses on monster taming. Collecting new monster eggs, hatching them, and levelling them up to aid you in your journey across the lands and become the back bone of what Monster Sanctuary is for better or worse.

You are from one of four prominent bloodlines of Monster Keepers, which are what they sound like and your journey into this dangerous world doesn’t start alone as you pick your loyal companion or familiar. The options are Lion, Wolf, Frog, and Bird, all of which have different strengths and weaknesses. Similar to many other fantasy or RPG’s these skills including fire, water, earth and wind. I chose the Lion, who seemed like the most balanced of the familiars with attacks in both fire and wind. With my Spectral Lion selected, we began our journey as a new monster keeper on the Keeper’s Trail.

The first job as a new monster keeper is to figure out how to fight other monsters and collect an egg, hatch it and raise it, so that it may aid you in your journey. You initiate battle by just contacting monsters along your journey, you can avoid them by jumping them but in the game you are limited in your movement. Monster Sanctuary controls fine for a platformer, although it may not have the prescison of a game like Celeste or Dead Cells, but it isn’t the main reason you would play this game.

Within the first few hours, I wanted more exploration that I found myself avoiding these battles to see what secrets awaited me in the world of Monster’s Sanctuary. For my preference I wanted Monster’s Sanctuary to be more of a Metroidvania first and RPG second but it feels the other way around.

Battles aren’t like your typical Metroidvania’s with a simple combination of button presses, instead the combat is more methodical and is built around an RPG system where you have to look for elemental weaknesses on your enemies and determine who should attack first as well as which character on your team should heal. This method of combat provides a depth most Metroidvania’s usually lack in this area.

Your team is composed of three monsters which you will quickly find on your travels. Monster eggs can be found by defeating that type of enemy in an efficient manner. In the first 48 minutes I was able to collect, hatch and level up six monster eggs. You will also have a backup roster of monsters which you can select which three you want to bring into battle.

A smart feature is that your monsters will still slightly level up even if you don’t bring them into battle keeping them at relevant levels. Levelling up happens fairly quickly, which keeps you very invested in the world, your roster of monsters and creates a very addicting gameplay loop. Selecting which monster follows you around during the moment to moment exploration actually will make a difference in your ability to forge new paths.

Using each monsters unique elemental is a way Monster Sanctuary creates a hybrid of genres. Some monsters have the abilities to break down walls, revealing hidden paths and other allow you to float, enabling you to make jumps that seemed out of reach. During exploration you will find hidden areas and treasure chest that feature loot such as gold, weapons, equipment to help buff your monster.

The Metroidvania aspect of the game echo the more 90’s style where exploration is fairly surface deep. If you see a jump too high or a wall blocked by vines you just have to figure out how to unlock it. Whereas modern titles completely changed the game mechanics in each new area you discover.

Discovering and levelling up monsters, grinding for slightly better gear and filling out skill tree’s are the essence of Monster Sanctuary. Monster Sanctuary leans into the min/max nature of RPG’s where different skill tree upgrades on different monsters make all the difference or strategically determining which order your monsters will attack to create the best possible combos. Spending your time creating the best team of monsters for your journey is the backbone of this experience. If you love Pokemon style RPG that include collecting monsters spiced with a little Metroid exploration then you will be addicted to Monster Sanctuary.