Game Over: Nexomon

As someone who was first introduced to the monster taming genre (is that an actual genre?) via Pokémon Red all the way back in 1999, I’ve seen my fair share of Poké-likes in my time. I’ve returned to this much beloved series many times, but these days, being mainly a PlayStation gamer, I’ve found myself itching to catch ‘em all again. Enter Nexomon, a previously mobile only title that made its way to PC and consoles in 2021.

To be clear, I wasn’t expecting much out of Nexomon. I envisioned a dodgy mobile port of a Poké-bootleg title that was little more than throwing something at wild animals in order to enslave them. I’ve played games before that had been ported from mobile, and it rarely ended well, with some even including the mobile’s free-to-play microtransactions despite the console version being a paid title. For shame! I also assumed there would be a bare-bones story, a handful of generic environments, and a simplistic battle system that required little to no thought. Was I too harsh in assuming all of this simply because of its mobile origins?

Well, actually, yes! Despite Nexomon obviously looking like a mobile port — mainly due to the heads-up display clearly designed with touch controls in mind — it’s really, really fun to play. The story was much more in-depth than expected, with your Nexomon tamer heading out into the world to stop the evil Nexolord (the strongest tamer in the world) from fulfilling his plans of reviving the big bad Omnicron. Is it an epic RPG-esque story that will keep you hooked from beginning to end? No. But there is a surprising amount of detail in the world-building and some genuinely endearing characters, with a post-game storyline that’s so much more engaging than the standard bonus dungeon with high-level enemies to defeat.

It follows much of the same formula as Pokémon does to advance the narrative; traverse an area filled with wild Nexomon, arrive at a town, defeat the local Overseer (basically the towns' Gym Leader), rinse, and repeat. But the Overseer’s will become companions on your quest, meaning these interesting characters become more than just simple boss battles. Overall, it was a fun story, with some tongue-in-cheek humour and several instances of fourth wall breaking that always had me cracking a smile.

Nexomon isn’t half bad to look at either, with the 2D world (viewed from a top-down perspective) popping with colours at every turn. Battles are also two-dimensional, fought from a side-on viewpoint with both player and opposing Nexomon stood across from one another, but I was seriously impressed with how interesting and unique the creature designs were! The music — particularly the battle theme — also has no right to be as good as it is. I’ve found more than one track stuck in my head after longer play sessions, and whilst it will never be as iconic as what you’d find in the original Pokémon games, it’s a surprisingly well crafted tracklist of ambient music.

The game also plays really well; the almost strategic nature of the battles in particular is what turned this from a quick pick-up and play to a “I will not stop until I capture that elusive legendary Nexomon!” If you’ve played any turn-based RPG before, then you’ll know how it works. Select one of four available attacks (although Nexomon are able to swap their moves within the menu, to really mix it up), swap your active battle participant, use an item, then see how your opponent responds in kind. Add in the ability to throw a Nexotrap to capture the beast if you’re up against a wild Nexomon, otherwise it wouldn’t be much of a monster taming game now, would it? Most moves deal damage, some inflict status ailments, and some do both! Status effects such as paralysis or sleep felt very overpowered in Nexomon, making late game battles a breeze, as I continuously forced the enemy into missing turns because their Nexomon was too sleepy.

Outside of battling and taming, you’ll be following a largely linear path to your goal of bringing down the Nexolord, although there are a few optional sidequests interspersed across the map. It did become tedious at times, especially when the main quest forces you to backtrack to areas you’ve just been to, but with over 300 Nexomon to tame, chances are you’ll come across one you missed during your original venture through said area.

Nexomon is a surprisingly good game. It’s entertaining, cutesy, and has a good amount of content. It’s definitely done enough for me to purchase the sequel, Nexomon: Extinction, and from the trailers I’ve seen of the second title, it looks to be a much more open-ended adventure which was designed with consoles in mind. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to catch that last legendary Nexomon!