The monster-hunting RPG Coromon had its PC release today. While the concept of catching monsters in a colorful and varied landscape may seem simple, it’s actually fairly complex. But that doesn’t mean we haven’t seen a lot of games try and capture the essence of Pokémon. In fact, Coromon, the newest game in this sub-genre of JRPGs, looks to be nailing some of these aspects.
Developed by indie studio TRAGsoft and published by Freedom Games, Coromon isn’t shy about its retro roots. It proudly shows off its 16 bit visuals in all their glory, with each part of the game bursting with color. This kind of aesthetic should be more than recognizable if you’ve played some of the classic Pokémon titles. Of course, the visuals here have a modern edge, which allows Coromon to have far more detail than some of the older games.
Not just a Pokémon clone
Coromon isn’t the only monster collection game to release in the last couple of years, with 2020’s Temtem being another. That game had a decent amount of post-launch support, but it’s worth noting that it’s also very different from Coromon. While the former took the concept of monster collecting to the MMO genre, Coromon is going for a mostly single-player experience.
On the gameplay side of things, there’s a lot that’s familiar here and plenty that isn’t. The core loop of the game lies in building a team of up to six creatures, each with varying abilities. You then pit your team against other monsters in the game and see who comes out on top. It’s a simple loop with an equally basic-looking combat system. But it’s one that also seems to have some complexity beneath it all. Suffice to say, even those with loads of Pokémon knowledge may end up struggling. Difficulty options are also included that allow you to make the game easier or harder.
Some of the more exciting inclusions in Coromon include an in-depth character creator. Players can choose from hundreds of options to make a character that feels right to them. It also has a built-in randomizer, and Nuzlocke modes (a popular challenge used by the Pokémon community), allowing you to easily mix things up. Inclusions like that can really help with the longevity of games by a lot. It’s also refreshing to see developers implement ways of re-experiencing a game in new and interesting ways.
Coromon looks to be an interesting game based on a classic formula. And while we’ve seen plenty of other games attempt to emulate it, this one seems particularly cool. The best way to find out yourself is by trying it out, and luckily you can do that right now.
