Cassette Beasts is a wonderful take on monster catching

It needs to hurry up and be 2023 so I can play the full game of Cassette Beasts, an upcoming monster catching / creature collection game from Bytten Studio and RawFury. Coming with full Native Linux support built with Godot Engine, it's easily one of my biggest highlights from the ongoing Steam Next Fest, where it has a rather great demo available to play right now.

Playing this, I felt a little like a kid again, bringing back some really fond memories of the early Pokemon games. The great twist here is that you're pretty much making a bootleg copy of the creatures you encounter, using retro cassette tapes. Ah, memories coming flashing back of recording off the radio onto tape when I was younger. Heck, the game even has special bootleg creatures to find too!

Here's a little footage for you:

YouTube videos require cookies, you must accept their cookies to view. View cookie preferences.
Accept Cookies & Show   Direct Link

Really quite fantastic. Can't wait to see more of this and fuse various creatures together to form some kind of completely unholy thing that can take down anyone. You really don't want to miss out on trying this.

Game Features:

• Transform into monsters...using retro cassette tapes?!
  Faced with the constant threat of monster attacks, the residents of Harbourtown, New Wirral choose to fight fire with fire. Record a monster to tape, then play it back to take on its form for battle!
• Fuse monster forms!
  Getting close to your companion has benefits–while transformed you can combine your strengths to gain the upper hand in battle! Any two monster forms can be fused to produce unique, fully-animated new fusion forms.
• Explore a rich open world
  Certain monster abilities can be used in human form. You’ll need these to help you get around, solve puzzles, and locate dungeons. Glide, fly, swim, climb, dash, or turn magnetic!
• Travel alongside a diverse cast of human companions
  Never fight alone! Form bonds, spend time together, and help your selected partner complete personal goals to become a better team. The strength of your relationship determines how well you’re able to fuse!
• Master a deep battle system
  Take advantage of elemental chemistry to apply extra buffs or debuffs alongside your attack, or even alter your opponent’s elemental type!

Check it out on Steam.