Nexomon (Switch)

 Collecting monsters is always fun.  Pokemon really set a huge bar for the genre but a few titles have reached similar heights.  Dragon Quest Monster and Yokai Watch are two series that I've played that are just as good.  I have to add Nexomon to this list now.

I went into this game not expecting much, this is a port of a mobile game to the Switch and honestly way more fun that I thought.  I've played some really bad monster collectors (Monster Crown...such a bad game) and this game surprised me.

The concept is pretty simple.  You start with one Nexomon and grow your team.  As you proceed you find better or rarer monsters to add to you team.  You level them up and they learn new things.  This game does some really neat things.  First thing that comes to mind is the fact that your monsters don't forget moves they previously learned, they are treated as skills that you can toggle off and on.  You can only select 4 per Nexomon but it is so nice having choices and not being punished by experimenting with a new move.

Instead of moves having a certain number of usages, your monster has stamina and each move uses a set amount.  Once a monster runs out of stamina, you either have to heal it with an item that is always plentiful or let them rest in the battle to get a little big back.  Leveling up your monster will also refresh both stamina and health.  

There is a story but it isn't super serious.  There is a lot of fourth-wall breaking and they really don't take some things seriously.  The characters are all kind of one-note but I didn't go into this to play a game with a story.  It is passable and does move the player through the whole game.  The music is also decent.  Some of the tracks are forgettable but some are pretty good.

If you like Pokemon and want to try something with some different ideas, try this out.  It is pretty fun and competently made.  This is actually the first game made in Unity (that I know of) that I've played that hasn't crashed or just been super janky.  I had some fun and nothing really got super challenging.  The story, characters, and music aren't terrible but if you feel the need to collect a bunch of little monsters, this is a good game.  Some of the monster designs are pretty good and it was always neat to see what was in the next area.