Lately they are appearing on the market numerous monster collector, games inspired by the play style of the various titles of the main saga of Pokémon, but each with their own more or less original identity. Nexomon: Extinction, developed by VEWO Interactive and distributed by PQube, is part of this park of titles inspired by the famous Japanese franchise.
Despite the humble reality of the Nexomon brand, composed for the moment of two titles, one of which was born mobile, the new chapter Extinction is respected in a more than dignified way, presenting itself on PC, Nintendo Switch and other consoles with a strong character despite the many similarities with Pokémon. We explain the strengths and weaknesses of this title in detail below.
The difficult coexistence between humans and monsters
Basically, if you think you are in front of any copy of Pokémon you are very wrong. The plot will be the first point of contact that will make you understand the great potential of Nexomon: Extinction. What is told in this chapter is one mature story, full of facets and brimming with twists, not to mention the numerous well-characterized characters and humorous streaks that break thedefeatist and apocalyptic mood general.
But how, apocalyptic? Could it be the usual Pokémon play where the evil team on duty awakens a very powerful ancient and legendary creature?
No.
From the very first minutes of the game, Nexomon: Extinction immediately clarifies that his world is dangerous and that humanity is on the verge of extinction precisely because of the Tyrants, very ancient and powerful monsters that are descended from Omnicron, evil King of the Nexomon.
As a new recruit from the Tamers Guild, the player will begin his adventure right in the middle of a catastrophe, between dimensional travelers, kidnapping attempts, plots, powerful Dragons and awakened Tyrants. Nexomon: Extinction's narrative reaches very high peaks thanks also to his twists, some telephoned but well orchestrated, others instead completely unexpected and surprising.
The guys at VEWO Interactive have really committed themselves to this aspect of the game, also sewing the roles of some characters to perfection. One in particular, Coco, comic shoulder of the player, is the symbol of the overwhelming humor that here and there transpires from the title. It is practically impossible not to sympathize with him with his continues ruptures of the fourth wall… And what's more, it is also an anthropomorphic cat!
The legacy of Pokémon
Monster collectors, or pokémon-like if you prefer, are a subgenre of gods JRPG with a strong emphasis on collecting and on building a party of fighters from ample scope for struggle, and Nexomon: Extinction at the base is no exception: the player is a kid who sets out on an adventure to capture the pocket monsters found intall grass.
There are many elements that recall the Pokémon games of the origins, from top-down view with the graphics 2D and the chibi characters, to the real play style between movements in only 4 dimensions and close fights with other creatures and other Tamers. Either way, in graphics and gameplay style, Nexomon: Extinction still tries to distance itself with a modernized artistic rendition, fluid animations, and small innovations of the genre that cut a modest figure. There capture of monsters, for example, it is not a trivial choice of a menu, but a quick-time event conditioned by several factors, first of all the player's thumb-eye memory. Other welcome inclusions are the Nexotrap crafting, the triangular Poké Balls of the world of Nexomon, and the special powers inherited from a game element that we will not reveal to you to avoid spoilers, and which essentially replace the old Pokémon of Pokémon.
The massive amount of boss fight it also increases the difficulties of the title in itself already high compared to traditional Pokémon games, but it is to be considered, unfortunately, a double-edged sword as it is poorly balanced: sometimes these fights will prove to be really difficult as they will require that the levels of their Nexomon are of little lower than those of the monsters to be killed, for this reason the grinding it will gradually become more and more disruptive to the gaming experience and risk boring the player.
Another negative point is unfortunately the collector element. Although the Nexomons in play are many and varied, most are made up of somewhat anonymous creatures of which we will soon forget names and peculiarities, also because beyond statistics and aesthetics there are no other characteristic elements except for some types of Nexomon, namely Dragons and Tyrants. But even here the game, although it immediately shows the type of rarity of the monsters, only makes recognizable elementary types (Grass, Fire, Water, and so on) but not the much talked about "Tyrant" or "Dragon" types. Even the animations of the monsters, however fluid, do not characterize the monsters at all, making them any colored animals.
In the compendium of monsters there is no way to understand in which areas to find them and the navigability of the menus of this specific game element is very limited, leading to the collecting a cumbersome operation. Even the fights, after all, do not have who knows what depth and for this reason they will soon turn out to be poor in variety if not for the always very high degree of challenge. Finally, on the sound side there is not much to say, the music is good and always contextual while the game effects do their dirty work with no problems. Some touch functionality on Nintendo Switch would have been appreciated.
Ultimately, despite the good news Nexomon is unable to keep up with its Pokémon parent, but it is expected that perhaps in the future it will deepen these strengths to present a richer and more complete game offer to the public. In the meantime it is anyway a very enjoyable gaming experience, perhaps dosed in small game sessions to avoid running into long grinding sections.
Conclusions
Nexomon: Extinction is a fun monster collector with few old but well done ideas it's a splash of modernity; some of these ideas, however, would have needed more attention, a duty if you want to compete with the progenitor of your genre, namely Pokémon. Nonetheless, Nexomon humbly shows his strong identity with funny play ideas, a story worthy of being called such and an overwhelming humor. Title recommended to all passionate collectors of monsters, but to play in small doses if you don't want to choke too much on the grinding.
