10 Hidden Gem Video Games Of 2023
4. Cassette Beasts
The final entry in this trilogy of 90s-related games, Cassette Beasts is yet another game that attempts to evoke the days of Michael Jordan and Sunny D. But rather than rest on the laurels of nostalgia, developers Bytten Studio took the opportunity to move past its inspiration and provide something new.
That inspiration being, of course, 90s (and noughties/tens/twenties) mega-hit Pokémon. But unlike Nintendo's seminal series, Cassette Beasts has grown up with its audience. There are jokes about literal soul-sucking landlords and the story deals with relatively mature themes that belie the cutesy visuals. (Well, cutesy until you battle one of the game's nightmarish Archangels)
More impressively, Cassette Beasts also evolves the monster-catching genre it belongs to with new ideas. Monsters can change type in battle depending on the attack they're hit with (hitting an Ice type with a Fire attack changes them to Water, for example), and you can fuse monsters together mid-battle like you were Seto Kaiba calling forth a Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon (one last shout-out to the nineties kids in the audience).
For those who've grown tired of Pokémon in recent years, Cassette Beasts may just be the alternative you've been looking for. It certainly plays better than the recent entries in Nintendo's series...