Nexomon: Extinction

If you’ve become disillusioned with modern-day Pokemon, then Nexomon is super effective at appealing to your nostalgia. It looks great, the price is stupidly low and while it may feel derivative at times, the quality on display with this capture ‘em all experience is on par with Nintendo’s top-tier offerings.

In many ways, your interest in a monster-catching game is driven by whether one focuses on aspects you particularly like. Like competitive play? Or meticulously customizing creatures? But Nexomon: Extinction puts its best foot forward, delivering the most polished version of itself it can offer. And often, polish is what many players miss when exploring outside Pokémon’s safe, well-padded confines.

There is a ton of content in the game’s 20+ hour main story campaign, which is equally as impressive considering its price point of under $20. With its vibrant world, unique narrative, and expansive Nexopedia (that is going to keep me busy for a while), Nexomon: Extinction is, in fact, a successful return to classic monster-catching games.

Nexomon: Extinction is a fun monster collecting game, with great writing, that ultimately struggles to differentiate itself much from its peers.

Nexomon: Extinction is clearly inspired by Pokémon from top to bottom. While they change up a few mechanics and make some definite improvements here and there, not enough is done to consider this among the elite of the monster-catching RPGs. An interesting title to spend some time in for the right price, Nexomon: Extinction will be something the Pokémon hardcore will want to check out, while everyone else might just want to find a Game Boy and their copy of Blue version.

Given the short number of similar games, it's always good to see the Nintendo Switch catalogue accepting more proposals of less represented endeavours. In the case of Nexomon: Extinction, it features a laudable amount and variety of creatures, appealing art style, and it's fairly simple to get into. At the same time, it's far from a groundbreaking game, though competent, and it feels like it follows its main inspirations a little too close. That said, it's a welcome arrival for those looking for more creatures to capture and collect.

Nexomon: Extinction is a solid take on the monster training genre with some interesting gameplay tweaks on the Pokémon formula and narrative decisions. The higher difficulty saps some of the pace and enjoyment of adventuring, making me hanker for a return to a Pokémon game. Still, if you’re after some monster catching and battling, Nexomon: Extinction will do the job.

Nexomon: Extinction does enough to make it somewhat distinct, but the unique elements can also be its undoing. It mostly succeeds in being a more deliberate and challenging take on Pokémon, but that difficulty can oftentimes come across as exhausting and artificial. If you felt let down by Sword and Shield there may be aspects of Nexomon you really enjoy, but we can't help but feel that the slow pace of battles and lack of multiplayer features prevent it from being a true rival; it's really more like a cheap alternative, but one that's arguably worth a look if you're a hardcore fan of Game Freak's famous franchise.