Creature collectors are one of the most popular genres in the gaming space. This is mostly due to the rise of one prolific game in 1996, you know the one. However, many fail to find that sweet spot that Pokémon did years ago, and instead languish in obscurity. In fact, many are trying to be something they aren’t instead of trying to do their own thing. So I was excited to hear that Creature Keeper was going to have you fight alongside your creatures.
This concept could lead to something new and exciting that could change how I view creature collectors. However, it would need to pull this off correctly and make combat fun and varied. Did it actually achieve this lofty goal and pull ahead of a genre full of competitors? Is it even possible to get out of the shadow of the juggernaut of the genre and pull fans away?
First, You Have to Pull Some Weeds
Congratulations! It’s your first day as a creature keeper, a defender of Sodland and the rest of your country. It’s your duty to learn how to befriend creatures and fight alongside them to keep the realm safe. First, your task will be to slay some vile weeds and keep the lawn safe from evil! Wait… seriously?
Creature Keeper starts off rather generically with you attending a class. Even the characters complain about it to your character, Blank. However, this is just how your adventure must start, that is, until you uncover a plot to overthrow the leader of the keepers using a mind-controlled creature. It’s here where you are tasked with bringing this collar to the next town over to investigate, leading to a quest of searching for answers.
Honestly, this story eventually hooked me once I started to really get into the swing of it. The real issue is that at first, the game points you to the next town over, but no landmarks really lead you there. For the first half hour of my time, I ended up lost, revolving in a circle around Sodland. However, once I reached the first town over and spoke to the head mage there, the story began to open up more.
My issue with this was that even with finding out more about the lore of the land and the different magics, I struggled to find a reason to really care all that much for what the characters were saying. The game tells its story at an almost breakneck speed at times, but at the same time, it felt slow. I was being rushed towards the next objective, but that objective would just be more talking. Normally, this isn’t too big of a deterrent for a game, yet I find that the combat leaves much to be desired.
I found the art style to lend itself well to the aesthetics of the world. Yes, pixel art can be a bit overdone at times, but it’s charming here, as the creature designs are simple. This world feels aged and lived in, and the designs inside the dungeon lend well to it. So it is a shame that I find the combat to fall short.
Fight Alongside Your Team
Gameplay is an area that sounded the most interesting, because so many other titles have you acting as a bystander in most fights. Instead, Creature Keeper pits you as an active participant issuing orders while fighting for your life. As a result, I was disappointed when I finally threw my first punch in Creature Keeper. You essentially have three slots to hold three different weapons, and your fist counts as a weapon.
When you start out, you will notice that you have three separate buttons to punch the exact same punch. There is no combo system aside from half-heartedly spamming the same punch and move a step forward. This did not change when I received the boomerang. I would instead stand still and throw the boomerang out, and I would only move if I was in danger. I quickly stopped caring as dying felt like it was impossible to happen, because of one small mechanic, petting your creature.
Petting your creature allows it to spend its meter to produce a heart that can heal you. This skill’s timer is so short that I would never worry, as I could just pet my creature again for more health. This mechanic drained all of the difficulty in any encounter, turning each fight into a slog, and these fights were already draining. A fight with a basic enemy could take a minute or two if I didn’t have the correct creature that could exploit enemy weaknesses. Otherwise, I would spend minutes dealing three damage and dodging away from a weak enemy.
This problem is only multiplied when dealing with bosses, who frequently have their own keeper to help. Instead of being something to look forward to, fights devolved into running around, taking potshots at the boss, and petting my creature for health. I could come up with strategies, but each time doing this tactic would gain me a victory, no matter the time cost. So, then, at least catching these creatures could be fun, right?
No, it’s not. Creature capture is instead relegated to feeding a creature the correct amount of food, with liked food filling the bar faster. There is no chance to fail; simply dump resources into any creature that you want, and it’s yours. This aspect felt the most disappointing, as the actual collecting part is a huge draw for me. Instead, I was looking at a shell of a system that rewarded you for hoarding resources and offered no level of challenge.
We Fall to the End
Creature Keeper feels like a game that deserved much better. There is endless potential here, yet said potential is just not reached whatsoever. While the story itself is serviceable, albeit a little boring at times, the combat feels too simple with enemies that absorb absurd amounts of damage. Creature collecting also fell short of my expectations, as it depended on my ability to shove food into a monster’s mouth with no chance of failure. Sadly, I found most of the creatures themselves even felt bland, and there were times I thought they were objects.
I can’t help but feel that Creature Keeper needed more time in the oven. Solo developer Fervir Games clearly has put immense passion into this project, but the unbalanced and, at times, broken gameplay left me immensely disappointed with this title. After all, I was hoping for a new game to be able to satisfy my lust for collecting defenseless animals. Instead, I feel Creature Keeper is a game that never managed to retain my attention due to its mechanical issues.
I hope that Fervir Games is able to correct the balance and expand on the ideas presented here in the future, but, for now, I find Creature Keeper a hard game to recommend, especially considering the shortcomings at play here.
Disclaimer: Graffiti Games provided Final Weapon with a PC (Steam) copy of Creature Keeper for review purposes.
