Monster-taming RPG Cassette Beasts is launching on PC and Game Pass next month

Are you a fan of RPGs where you make friends with adorable critters? Not a fan of trapping said friends into small balls, only letting them out to fight gangs and other Godlike creatures? Well, Cassette Beasts might be the game for you. It's a Pokémon-like where you’ll still be beating up wildlife creatures in turn-based combat, but rather than capturing them, you record their likeness on the titular tapes and then transform into those same street cone-wearing crabs and metal-clad wolves. It looks like an energetic, nostalgic romp, and it’s coming to PC and Game Pass on April 26th.

Cassette Beast is riffing on Pokémon’s sprite-based past with some lovely 2D art, only this time, your character’s exploring a 3D open world. The monsters you capture, or record, don’t look half bad either. There looks to be a healthy balance of cutesy dogs, fierce humanoid beasts, and unnaturally put-together robots - the perfect blend for a good Poké-like.

There are over 100 beasties here, and this time you can combine any two of them for a buffed-up monster during combat. This fusion system joins together two beast's elemental types, stats, and move sets for the strategic edge, although some of your enemies can do the same too. When you’re not busy battling, you can glide, swim, and run through the game’s open world. There are some puzzles to solve and two-player co-op is an option, too, if you’re looking for a more human friendo.

In last year’s preview, Ed called Cassette Beasts “a wonderful monster-collecting RPG with a character-driven twist… it was utterly charming and great fun.”

A console release will follow sometime this spring, but PC players can enjoy Cassette Tapes when it launches on Steam and Game Pass on April 26th. A free demo is also available now on Steam.