Pokémon meets Castlevania in Monster Sanctuary, a charming turn-based platformer

Monster Sanctuary opens with the classic choice any Pokémon lover will recognize: picking your elemental starter, or Spectral Familiar, as they’re called in Monster Sanctuary. I deliberated for some time, as it’s an important decision — I was choosing what would likely be the crown jewel of my team in the long haul. The Spectral Toad was a water- and earth-specializing toad whose cute hopping accompanied my throughout the remainder of the game.

The first time I picked it up, Monster SanctuaryWhile trying to heal the Metroidvania-shaped wound in my heart, I will be in 2020. But I accidentally found a perfect Pokémon game — one that takes the classic series’ base elements while modifying the formula enough to feel like a satisfying stand-alone game. Monster SanctuaryIt became an obsession for me that lasted 40 hours. I wanted to own every animal.

A female character in a blue outfit is standing next to a large blue toad named “Toady”

Monster Sanctuary, these monsters are fun to deploy in turn-based combat; they’re also a means of traversal, helping you navigate Metroid-style map chock full of secrets. Best of all, it’s on Xbox Game Pass — along with its Forgotten World DLC — so if you’re a subscriber, and a fan of Pokémon or Metroidvanias, you have no excuse not to try it.

As a Monster Keeper from my family of talented Keepers, I am a humble Monster Keeper when I first start the game. It’s my job to protect this world, bursting as it is with wonderful little monsters, from the evil plotting of The Alchemists. This vague premise was enough to spur me forward, intent on revealing the world’s secrets.

Monster SanctuaryThe game also includes monster-collecting. These creatures range from true-life animals, such as lions and eagles, to steampunk-like creations like steampunk, or the beloved classic blob. The more monsters you have, the more prepared you’ll be to face down the game’s varied enemies. While you may collect any number of monsters, the minimum amount that your team can use to fight a given battle is three, and in some cases six, respectively. Each has elemental strengths and weaknesses that carry over into attacks, healing spells, and buffs — buffs become especially important as enemies grow more difficult.

A versus screen showing two groups of six enemies facing off against each other. One of the groups is a variety of creatures, while the other group is comprised solely of different types of blobs.

While combat starts out on a repetitious note, it ends up requiring a fair bit of strategy thanks to each monster’s perk tree, making it a great choice for anyone who grew up with Pokémon but wants a different take on monster progression and evolution. Monsters can earn experience points which can be used to purchase perks that are tied to certain elements. This makes it worthwhile to collect more than one of any monster type — you might develop one into a poison spore specialist, and another into a healer. It is about the team as well as development that you use to win battles. Some of my favorite battles were fought with multiple of the same type of monster — just with different elemental proclivities or perk tree choices.

But maybe you’re a lover and not a fighter? This game’s dense 2D map is delightfully varied, with biome-specific regions that house certain types of monsters and gated areas motivating me to catch someone specific for my party. Each monster has a unique “explore ability,” and setting them as a primary opens new move sets — like unlocking double jump or dash in a classic Metroidvania. The Koi allows you to swim underwater freely, and the Draconov helps players jump farther or fall more slowly. In Pokémon games, I like being able to admire my favorite creatures — but in Monster SanctuaryWe felt like we were working together, and that our bond transcended battles.

I’ve never felt the desire to actually “catch ’em all.” Monster SanctuaryThis was changed. Round it out with the fact that I was able to give my monsters ridiculous names like “Meowderer,” “Koi McKoiface,” “Gay Blob” (he’s rainbow patterned!), and “Benjamin,” and I became an absolute sucker for growing my party and taking on challenges at every turn. This game is absolutely delightful. Just be careful — it might ruin other monster-taming games for you.