Monster Sanctuary

 Switch
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 31 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 31
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 31
  3. Negative: 3 out of 31

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  1. Rhokin
    Jan 4, 2021
    10
    Phenomenal game. It has lots of great RPG elements like unique skill trees for each monster, a very diverse cast of monsters, lots of different items to equip etc. The story is well written. The areas are fun to explore. The battles are awesome. This game does not disappoint. Amazing value for the price.
  2. Hangedman84
    Dec 15, 2020
    9
    I must say right away that I'm not a big fan of games in monster hatching genre. But I decided to give it a try and bought this one. And to my great surprise, I realized that it turns out I love games about growing monsters! I liked almost everything!

    Graphics are cute pixel, everything is very nice, the only remark I would like more animations of the environment, such as the movement    I must say right away that I'm not a big fan of games in monster hatching genre. But I decided to give it a try and bought this one. And to my great surprise, I realized that it turns out I love games about growing monsters! I liked almost everything!

    Graphics are cute pixel, everything is very nice, the only remark I would like more animations of the environment, such as the movement of grass, trees, animation in the background.

    Music - is nothing to write home about, after a couple of hours of playing it became particularly annoying.

    Gameplay is all almost without remarks, but the boss battles were a little ruffled (more precisely, not the battles, but the bosses themselves, somehow they did not impress, not by sight, not by force, maybe I played a little and there will be more difficult obstacles).

    Overall, I liked the game, it's not perfect, but very good.

    My mark 9 Blobs from 10!    … Expand
  3. WindowsVista
    Jan 2, 2021
    10
    This is a fun game. It’s like Pokémon with skill trees. You don’t have to worry about making the wrong decisions when picking skills because you can reset them for cheap.
  4. FantajiFan
    Dec 20, 2020
    5
    Overrated. If we don't grade this game on a curve for being an indie, the story is barebones and not particularly engaging.

    The entire overworld mechanic of using monsters to unlock and move through different areas is overstated. It's only a mild annoyance and a way to wall off areas instead of being integrated into a platforming challenge. The real meat of the game and what draws    Overrated. If we don't grade this game on a curve for being an indie, the story is barebones and not particularly engaging.

    The entire overworld mechanic of using monsters to unlock and move through different areas is overstated. It's only a mild annoyance and a way to wall off areas instead of being integrated into a platforming challenge.

    The real meat of the game and what draws people in is the gameplay. While it's interesting at first to build different teams to try for 5 staring fight, it eventually gets stale. Instead of scaling everything and properly balancing the game, the metroidvania mechanics have you cake walking through old areas with no good way to track what is where.

    Monster Sanctuary has the beginnings of some good ideas but doesn't blend any of them together particularly well. The only interesting fights you'll find are in new areas, and usually only champion fights. New fights can be longer but really they're more tedious than challenging.

    It's definitely a different flavor of game than pokemon or some other monster collectors, but different isn't always fun or good.    … Expand
  5. VanSolo
    Dec 21, 2020
    9
    Just a better "pokemon" game if you want a deeper combat system but not overwhelimg + lots of QOL that those games should have got long ago. Would definitely recommend if you like turn-based combat, monsters and "on the go game" as you can save anytime. Just don't expect it to be a "grand world design".

    just don't expect it to be on a big scale, the story is very simple.
  6. Lemontree
    Dec 11, 2020
    10
    Amazing game. Amazingly deep and so fun. What I wish Pokémon was more like. Controls great, the battle system is amazing and the exploration is fun as well. Pixel art looks fantastic as well.
  7. JRice
    Dec 14, 2020
    7
    Starts strong, and has a lot of good ideas, which ultimately arent perfectly thought-through and executed, though:
    Repetitive gameplay, lots of repeating world-abilities, very unspectacular "boss-fights" (which you simply need to beat to proceed, but dont add any new mechanics), annoying and disturbing puzzles, a boring level-design, and the lack of comfort disturb the experience the    Starts strong, and has a lot of good ideas, which ultimately arent perfectly thought-through and executed, though:
    Repetitive gameplay, lots of repeating world-abilities, very unspectacular "boss-fights" (which you simply need to beat to proceed, but dont add any new mechanics), annoying and disturbing puzzles, a boring level-design, and the lack of comfort disturb the experience the longer you play, and the further you get, and hinder the game from being great.

    It still is a nice addition to the monster-collecting genre, and not a bad game, but didnt fulfill my personal expectations...    … Expand
  8. Purplestahli
    Dec 22, 2020
    10
    The obvious comparison here is Pokemon. There are a lot of similarities, and a lot of things done way differently. The one thing this game has head and shoulders above pokemon is difficulty and depth of combat. The game isn't exactly "Hard" but it has nice spikes in difficulty and I found myself having to rework strategies and grind up in sections which is something that can never be saidThe obvious comparison here is Pokemon. There are a lot of similarities, and a lot of things done way differently. The one thing this game has head and shoulders above pokemon is difficulty and depth of combat. The game isn't exactly "Hard" but it has nice spikes in difficulty and I found myself having to rework strategies and grind up in sections which is something that can never be said for todays generations of pokemon where your hand is held every step of the way.

    One other thing this game has over pokemon is the sheer amount of fun and viable team compositions. The game is balanced very well so that you can generally pick whatever your most appealing playstyle and it should get the job done in most scenarios. Im about 20 hours in and im having to run around like crazy trying to level and gear up something like 30 monsters which I want to use in various compositions that ive thought up.

    I should qualify this statement a little further, obviously Pokemon has "More" viable Pokemon, but thats merely a consequence of them having 900+ individual pokemon. Monster Sanctuary has a little over 100 (Each monster having 2 additional forms so more like 300 unique play styles) but out of that number FAR more are usable and enjoyable in terms of percentages. Think back to RBY and the original 151. How many of those wound up being strong in the late game? Maybe 25%?

    The talent trees are all unique and have a ton of depth to them, or at least plenty enough depth to keep me thinking and invested in trying new things. What this game lacks in a story or exploration it makes up for with its core gameplay loop.

    The gameplay is what I WISH Pokemon could have evolved into.    … Expand
  9. kirkender
    Dec 9, 2021
    9
    This is exactly the kind of game I wish pokemon was. It's fun, strategic, and beautiful. Hatch those monsters baybeeeee
  10. redwing605
    Oct 8, 2022
    2
    The game's fun but I don't like it. Your trainer battles are too **** difficult. I should not have to be an expert to get by.
  11. rhellik
    Aug 11, 2021
    8
    A very enjoyable game. There is a lot of depth to the customization possibilities and skill trees. But then again the game on normal difficulty is not very punishing for "wrong" choices. I could play whatever I found fun and only in the very end the battles were so challenging that I had to tinker around which skills to take to beat it.
    It's not triple A but it is fun to pickup every time    A very enjoyable game. There is a lot of depth to the customization possibilities and skill trees. But then again the game on normal difficulty is not very punishing for "wrong" choices. I could play whatever I found fun and only in the very end the battles were so challenging that I had to tinker around which skills to take to beat it.
    It's not triple A but it is fun to pickup every time and I could play for only a couple minutes if time was short and I still felt I made progress.
    The blend between the "Pokemon style" monster fights and collection and a jump and run platformer worked surprisingly well and was very satisfying.    … Expand
  12. NeyXP
    Dec 20, 2020
    8
    Excelente mistura de pokémon com metroidvania, um RPG de turno que a tempo não me encanta tanto, belo jogo.
  13. Cancery1987
    Nov 19, 2021
    9
    I hate pixel art but I love this game so much
    Solid Monster Team battle, so much monster, items and skills...
    Far better than Pokemon
    Good job
  14. Bibbidybuff
    Jan 6, 2021
    5
    Monster Sanctuary was on its way to being a favorite of mine, as it combined the two genres I tend to enjoy the most and it felt pretty fresh. I love the idea that monsters grant you the metroidvania abilities, I love the art in your "dex" with long entries on each monster, I love the art style even though the environments were fairly uninspired, and I love that the combat feels completelyMonster Sanctuary was on its way to being a favorite of mine, as it combined the two genres I tend to enjoy the most and it felt pretty fresh. I love the idea that monsters grant you the metroidvania abilities, I love the art in your "dex" with long entries on each monster, I love the art style even though the environments were fairly uninspired, and I love that the combat feels completely separate from Pokemon. The music isn't very good, so I had the volume off for most of my time playing. The story is weak, but that doesn't matter too much in this sort of game.
    My problem comes in where the Metroidvania aspects seem to be tacked on to expand off the combat system. I feel like the developers made the monster combat and polished up how that system works and then said "waaaaait, let's put it in a Metroid map". That's just what it feels like from my perspective. Maybe if they had mixed up the gameplay where some battles are Metroidvania style where your abilities for battle are based on the monsters you choose.
    There is no catching mechanic, so obtaining a new monster relies on RNG drops (in your favor, it seems, this never gave me issues). Most monsters do not evolve, only a select few use random items that you give to a tree. I suppose this was to differentiate from Pokemon, but if that's the reason than why only give this to a few monsters? Maybe that should have given me a clue that the game doesn't care if you like your monsters or not, it expects you to consider a min-max team. I did not beat the game, because the monsters I had at the final fight were not enough to win and I preferred to walk away with a pleasant experience than look up the meta. I'm not sure why they decided to slap a difficulty curve at the climax of the game. Maybe they forgot the Elite Four isn't leveled to 100 so their lvl 40 cap that the last fights match is fine? Anyway, in a monster collector game I would prefer to win with the monsters I've bonded with along the way, not dump them at the last second. I have no doubt Pokemon haters will praise this game to no end and ignore the mediocrity, they can find a way to glorify an old potato if someone claims it's like Pokemon.
    One last issue, it's disappointing that you get to pick between two white dudes at the start and there's no character customization whatsoever. If I'm not really supposed to care for the monsters, then at least give me some options for my own look (or at least a female character).
    In the end, I would still recommend giving this game a try. It's a good game with some design flaws here and there that leave it middle of the road in the end. It's still going to be more interesting than most of the big releases.    … Expand
  15. CasualTap
    Oct 16, 2021
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Obviously, Monster Sanctuary is a Metroidvania heavily influenced by monster-catching games. This pixelated gem is developed by Moi Rai Games and published by Team17.

    First, let’s talk about the general aspects of it. The game invites you to explore the interconnected world of the Monster Sanctuary, find hidden areas, and unfold dark secrets. You play as an inexperienced Monster Keeper and later encounter with the Alchemists, discover their dark secret and save the day. The game has some significant differences if compared to traditional Metroidvanias. First, there are no checkpoints where you can manually save your progress, while the auto-save function is used instead. Alternatively, you can also save it by going through the menu option. In this game, you use your monsters to fight in turn-based battles. If your monsters lose or for example you fall on spikes, you will respawn next to the death place, which can be convenient and less irritating. Second, in your run you can pick up one monster (of course, you can you switch among them). You basically put the monster’s ability to your advantage i.e.in order to access a certain area. For example, some will help you levitate, light up a dark area and destroy obstacles that prevent you from exploring further. Similar to other monster-collecting games, Monster Sanctuary also lets your monsters evolve by speeding up their evolution with a Catalyst unique to their own kind. However, in addition to stats improvements, the evolution will change your monsters both in physical forms and some of their abilities. So bear in mind it’s possible that your newly evolved monsters could no longer fit into your current combat style/tactic.

    Now, let’s see the game mechanics. You can always avoid a battle altogether by not touching any monsters in your way. In a normal encounter, it will be a tactical 3v3 combat. However, in a boss fight or duel, it will be a 6v6, meaning that if one of your monsters is defeated, your backup will become a replacement. Defeating your opponent’s all six monsters means you win the battle.

    Your monsters will also level up if you win a battle or duel and you can earn a skill point that can be used on the skill tree to upgrade the monster abilities. And yes you have to grind in this game too. Apart from that, you can improve their stats by feeding them with fruit as well as giving them an upgradable weapon. You can buy any of these with the in-app currency that can be earned from each battle or duel win or by donating monster eggs or monsters to the Keeper’s Stronghold (where Monster Keepers live). You can also buy potions or antidotes that you as a player can use to support your monsters during every battle.

    Frankly, there’s a lot going on in the game that you need to master. But don’t worry. The developer won’t throw everything at you all at once. They are able to cope with the complicated gaming experience very well. For example, you can access ‘Talk’ in the menu if you get stuck and don’t know where to go next. On one hand, it feels like a hint, but on the other hand it seems like a quest(s). You can always read short and simple texts about the monster abilities and their upgrades, which will help you become more informed about combat styles. The NPCs also give you insightful guides/information. What’s more, the map is so well-design. Distinctive colours are used to separate each area, and the whole map is very accessible (good enough for my vision) and easy to navigate.

    Every time from when I started playing it on my fully charged Nintendo Switch until the battery was running low, it felt like a 20 minute-ish playthrough. Yes, Monster Sanctuary is that kind of game. It lets time pass so quickly that you literally do not even notice it. Also, sometimes I explored random areas again without a purpose but just enjoyed doing that. Although I couldn’t see any WOW moments and pinpoint what was so special about the game, Monster Sanctuary felt consistently good every time I played it; and I enjoyed it thoroughly. For me, it’s a 9/10 game.    … Expand
  16. MaikelDB
    Dec 21, 2020
    10
    Have been playing this game since its early access release, and it's honestly one of the best games i have played this year. The platforming is easy but fun. The skill tree and battles have so many ways to approach it. The game let's you experiment around, because skill resetters are very cheap. Game is also very balanced even tho there are 101 monsters that are all usable (generation 1Have been playing this game since its early access release, and it's honestly one of the best games i have played this year. The platforming is easy but fun. The skill tree and battles have so many ways to approach it. The game let's you experiment around, because skill resetters are very cheap. Game is also very balanced even tho there are 101 monsters that are all usable (generation 1 Pokémon only had like 50 usable pokémon). I really hope that with the recent downfall of Pokémon, people pick this game up and give it a try and it gets the attention that it deserves. If you are thinking about buying this game, just do it. You will not regret it.… Expand
  17. TrueHorse
    Sep 1, 2022
    8
    Sorry for fr om and hav ing. I get a 404 without that.

    Monster Sanctuary is a very solid game with a lot of content (took me about 50 hours to complete the story), an awesome skill system for your monsters and a decent amount of challenge, which I would recommend to everybody, who likes Pokemon, but wants something that requires more strategy to beat, to try out. Unfortunately it    Sorry for fr om and hav ing. I get a 404 without that.

    Monster Sanctuary is a very solid game with a lot of content (took me about 50 hours to complete the story), an awesome skill system for your monsters and a decent amount of challenge, which I would recommend to everybody, who likes Pokemon, but wants something that requires more strategy to beat, to try out. Unfortunately it doesn’t do a good job at giving you the right expectations to enjoy the challenging parts immediately.
    At the start, the game teaches you, how the combat system works and then leaves you alone with your monsters and their skill trees, which I enjoyed a lot. Reading the skills always makes you think: “Oh, that sounds useful and combos well with that other thing. I want that.”, which makes every level up exciting. The same thing is true for new monsters, which have even more new abilities for you to get excited about.
    Of cause, this can’t go on for ever, since there are only so many abilities. So strategy and challenge have to take over, but the way they did was not very enjoyable. It was basically one fight, which was a big difficulty spike. Of cause I thought a bit about my team before, but losing this fight multiple times (which there is no punishment for), while I beat everything before in the first few tries made me question, if my team was bad. Or maybe I was just getting unlucky, maybe my level was to low. I just didn’t know and that didn’t feel good. Through out the next fights I slowly got into the right mindset of expecting to lose the first attempts and using them to find out, what my opponents monsters are doing, so I knew what monsters to take out first etc. the next times. That way I was able to beat the later fights (exempt the finale) in 1-10 tries while being underleveled, so I don’t thing the game is to difficult, the difficulty curve is just bad, but I can’t think of a good way to fix it either, without hav ing a bad new player experience.
    An other weak point of the game are the characters and the world. Part of that could be, because I took a longer break fr om playing the game in the middle of the story, but the characters always felt a little flat to me and the areas didn’t quite feel like a connected world and not very immersive. But that could also just be me. I don’t know.
    In any case, apart fr om those two issues the game is great. There are a lot of monsters, that all feel different and capable, a lot of interesting abilities to discover and use and only one music track, that in my opinion was not in between good and awesome. There is also a new game+, that I haven't tried yet, that even has a build in randomizer and perma death option, which they released in a free update, they definitely could have charged money for.
    So, as I sad, if you are a Pokemon fan, I recommend you giving this a try. Just don’t expect Pokemon levels of difficulty.    … Expand
  18. Mruhl94
    Jan 26, 2023
    10
    10/10 states exactly what it is, other than the mechanics of battle ahead of time so you know what you are getting into. The combat is 3v3 at once, that and other things make it a lot more refreshing. In the last 3-5years I have only completed a handful of games. I buy them like mad and then play halfway through and get bored. I 100% this game. Other games I have completed in last few10/10 states exactly what it is, other than the mechanics of battle ahead of time so you know what you are getting into. The combat is 3v3 at once, that and other things make it a lot more refreshing. In the last 3-5years I have only completed a handful of games. I buy them like mad and then play halfway through and get bored. I 100% this game. Other games I have completed in last few years though not much relevant are Pokémon Scarlet, Pokémon Sword, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond, Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Rune Factory 4 Special, Metroid Dread, Dead Cells, Elden Ring & Dark Souls 3.… Expand

Awards & Rankings

60
#60 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
74

Mixed or average reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
  1. Starbit
    Mar 8, 2021
    70
    Monster Sanctuary blends a Metroidvania game with monster capture elements, and it does a great job at bringing those worlds together. With its enormous amount of content and a fun, well-designed sense of progression, Monster Sanctuary does not stand out as brilliantly when it comes to its exploration, which feels rather simplistic, but there are plenty of elements here to make it worthy for everyone who enjoys any of both genres represented.
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  2. KeenGamer
    Jan 4, 2021
    60
    Monster Sanctuary is a genuinely impressive Monster Collect-a-thon, offering far more customization and tactical variety than its competitors. All other aspects of the title fall spectacularly short, however. The story is abysmal, the environments have nothing interesting to discover, the Metroidvania elements are incredibly basic, and the level design lacks any notable features. If you’re here for the monster battling, you are likely to have a lot of fun with Monster Sanctuary.
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  3. NintendoWorldReport
    Dec 22, 2020
    60
    I like Monster Sanctuary for what it tries to accomplish, I just wish I liked the execution as much as the concept. I could see the threads of its attempt weaving into a better cohesive whole, but instead each different ingredient feels incomplete or misses the mark of what makes each genre it pulls from so compelling. There’s still fun to be had if setting expectations right and wanting a unique twist that is no muss, no fuss, but I was hoping for more that Monster Sanctuary wasn’t quite there to give.
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