Sorry if this is redundant, I didn’t see another thread focused on reactions to the game itself (just the Pokemon-ripoff news cycle).
I tried it on GamePass thinking, why not - might as well see how overhyped it is. And unexpectedly, I put in about 8 hours this weekend.
Despite some rough edges and some very clear inspiration, I am actually enjoying it. It has a very satisfying gameplay feedback loop and is an overdue (if involuntary) “modernization” of the basic monster-collector format.
I actually bought it, tried it for a bit, and then refunded it.
It just felt kinda bland? Not sure if this is just because I wasn’t in in the right headspace, but the game got to the point where I started collecting resources in a base and I just put the game down.
It’s like they got a generic survival game and added not-pokemon and guns to it for shock factors, without really considering gameplay cohesion.
The real reason I refunded it though is because, according to someone on Bluesky, the devs have a history of being NFT and genAI shills. I’d rather not get emotionally invested in mons that could just become NFTs or AI puppets.
Very interested in a future game where someone else takes the idea and actually has the passion to create a good 3D mon catching game. Clearly it’s something the market wants.
The generative AI and NFT concerns were overblown. His generative AI comment was from his other game, AI art imposter which has AI in the title. For crypto stuff, it’s likely because his company just chases trends. Say what you will about that, but to me a trend chaser is more innocuous than a grifter.
I wish this were an article/column, but it’s a brief video if you want a journalist’s perspective: https://youtu.be/mYBN5Er8qOs