I was pretty interested in trying out Creature Keeper because, as I’ve mentioned before, I’ve felt like the Pokémon series has gotten a bit stale, and I’ve long relied on the Indie scene to approach it with fresh new ideas. So far, while games like Nexomon and Corromon have been pretty serviceable little Poké-likes, games like Beastieball, Ooblets, and Cassette Beasts have found ways to really shake things up and stand out above the rest.
Creature Keeper certainly belongs in the latter category, combining several unique elements of gameplay with its central monster taming mechanic to make something truly unique. When I started playing it, I jokingly said it felt like “Pokémon Red/Blue but with more ambition,” but the longer I played, the more my opinion shifted because Creature Keeper isn’t really trying to be Pokémon. It’s going for something far more interesting.
Players take on the role of Blank—a young boy in training to be a Creature Keeper. Creature Keepers are warriors who work together with monsters in order to defend the land and maintain peace. However, he quickly becomes wrapped up in a grand adventure when a corruption that was thought to be destroyed returns and begins turning Creatures hostile. Blank must journey across the land to discover the source of the Corruption and put a stop to it once and for all.
“Creature Keeper isn’t really trying to be Pokémon—it’s going for something far more interesting.”
While the story itself isn’t that original—is it just me, or are more and more games these days centred around some anomalous corruption?—it has a lot of heart and charm, specifically in the way it’s written. It leans really hard on being light-hearted and silly in ways that almost feel self-referential. Similar to Beastieball, there’s a sense that everyone in this world is kind of over the concept of monster taming—like its normality allows them to be openly glib about it.
But it was Creature Keeper’s gameplay that really hooked me. Like I said, initially, you might think the game is trying to go for a more action-oriented Pokémon, but what it really feels like is The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past combined with monster-taming elements. Players explore a vast world with a top-down perspective, battling monsters and solving puzzles. In keeping with the story, players actively fight alongside their monsters using a combination of three different weapons. Similar to Pokémon, different monsters have different type advantages, so swapping in different monsters depending on which monsters are in an area becomes a big part of the strategy.
Furthermore, different weapon abilities can combo with different monster attacks, so how you approach enemies also has a surprising layer of depth to it. And I really like how Creature Keepers connects monsters to the player in both a narrative and functional way—namely, with how the health system works. While players have a standard health bar, monsters’ health is represented by a little heart above their sprite. As players combat monsters, a white outline will surround the heart, allowing for monsters to use a special attack, or for players to gain health pickup for both them and their monster.
“Creature Keeper is an incredibly enjoyable experience that definitely exceeded my expectations—or at the very least circumvented them.”
I like how this not only adds an interesting layer to combat—as players need to not only be aware of their positioning in combat, but also whether to wager using an attack or waiting for some health—but also how it makes players feel more connected to their monsters. Much like I said years ago about Pokémon Sun & Moon, it creates an atmosphere where players have to rely on their monsters and form a connection with them. They aren’t simply tools for battle, they’re your partners in every sense of the world.
Visually, Creature Keeper has an incredibly charming, simple pixel aesthetic that is incredibly evocative of a Game Boy game—or at least a super high-end Game Boy game. Characters and monsters all have an adorable chibi aesthetic that maintains a surprising amount of detail. There’s a surprising number of monsters that range from interesting takes on simple animals to fun fantasy creatures. The visuals are backed by an excellent use of sounds that balance bitcrushed sound effects with a cleaner, more SNES-inspired soundtrack that makes the game feel nostalgic, but also more bombastic and exciting.
Creature Keeper is an incredibly enjoyable experience that definitely exceeded my expectations—or at the very least circumvented them. And while it’s not a totally flawless game, it’s got a unique gameplay gimmick, a really genuine story, and a charming aesthetic. As someone who’s always on the lookout for interesting Pokémon-likes, this is certainly one to add to the collection.
