Searching for the best games like Pokémon on PC? It's but a wisp of a dream that Nintendo will ever release a mainline Pokémon game on anything but their own game systems. Even though PlayStation games are now routinely making their way over and Xbox releases are almost a guarantee thanks to Game Pass, Nintendo may never follow.
There are more alternatives than ever, though. Developers have been testing the creature collecting waters over the years and there are now a wealth of awesome Pokémon-inspired games on PC that recreate the classic Game Boy experience, or turn Pokémon into an MMO or life sim.
The list below includes all kinds of games influenced by Nintendo's creature-catching goliath. Some are directly inspired and closely follow the Pokémon formula, others only share a few features, but all of them are worth checking out.
Cassette Beasts
Release date: 2023 | Steam
Cassette Beasts isn't actually about catching monsters, it's about recording them on cassette tapes so you can transform into them and do battle yourself to escape the weird world of New Wirral. Its monster type system has a lot of elemental interactions such as fire skills creating a healing mist around water types or poison damage to metal types coating them so they can return poison damage back. be prepared to really strategize and change monsters often in each battle. No surprise, Cassette Beasts has a pretty rockin' soundtrack too.
Moonstone Island
Release date: 2023 | Steam
Among the creature-collecting games, Moonstone Island is more a mashup with a life and farm sim. Each world is procedurally generated and it's up to you to stake out your own home and cultivating space on one of its sky islands. Personally I found the card-based battle system to be a little on the slow side, so this may not be the winner for battling purists. But Moonstone Island is super cute and the variety of creatures is great. If you're a Stardew fan who also has fond memories of the Chao Garden, this is where I'd point you.
Monster Hunter Stories 2
Release date: 2021 | Steam
The spinoff from Capcom's big monster battling series is actually all about taming and befriending creatures called monsties. You become a monster Rider, protecting a special Rathalos egg while taming your monstie pals and guiding them through turn-based battles. "It's definitely got a touch of Pokémon to it—you can have a squad of up to six Monsties that you can switch out depending on how a battle is going," says our 80% Monster Hunter Stories 2 review. It's a more approachable spin on the classic Monster Hunter series combat. You can also create new monsties by splicing their genes into powerful new combinations.
Monster Rancher 1 & 2 DX
Release date: 2021| Steam
Koei Tecmo's PlayStation-era cult classic monster taming game is back with a remaster of Monster Rancher 1 & 2. As in the originals, you raise, train, and battle your monsters. You can also download monsters trained by other players to battle against. The original games generated new monsters when you inserted random CDs into your PlayStation, a system which KT has brought back by allowing you to search a music database for music titles that will generate monsters.
Temtem
Release date: 2022 (left early access) | Steam
The truest to the Pokémon formula on this list is Temtem. You have teams of creatures who fight each other, different regions to explore, and an evil band of hooligans to take down. You can't get much more Pokémon than that. Battles are bombastic due to Temtem's 3D animations, and NPCs and gym leaders (known as Dojo masters in the Temtem universe) are actually pretty tough to beat—there's no way you can easily breeze through battles in Temtem. And the best part is that it's an MMO, letting you fight and adventure with friends and strangers.
Ooblets
Release date: 2022 (left early access) | Epic Games Store
If you want a Pokémon game that's also a farming and life sim, then Ooblets is for you. It's a creature collector where your little buddies don't fight each other, but compete in dance battles—a friendly alternative. Building a team of different ooblets who all have different abilities will appeal to Pokémon players, and each and every oob is as cute as a button. If you get worn out by all the dance battles, the life-sim elements of the game are also a treat.
You can build a farming empire, make friends with the locals, and decorate your home with funky furniture, all things I have sunk many many hours into. Ooblets is still in Early Access but there's plenty to do, and the majority of its story is ready to play.
If you're still not sold on Ooblets, look no further than Gloopy Longlegs. Convinced?
Monster Crown
Release date: 2020 | Steam
Usually in creature collecting games you need to battle and then capture the beasts that cross your path. But in Monster Crown, you don't just battle monsters—you can make pacts with them to join your crew, which is pretty cool. It's also different from other games on this list in that the scope of its story is much bigger, and instead of battling groups of meddling baddies, it has a much darker tone dealing with heroes, legacies, and evil rulers. There's also a much bigger emphasis on breeding your creatures, creating powerful new species—there are more than 1000 to mad science into existence.
Nexomon
Release date: 2020 | Steam
Nexomon is also one of the most polished Pokémon games out there. The character animations are fun, the world is vibrant, and the creatures, 300 total, are a well-designed bunch. It's a lot easier than some of the other suggestions on this list—like Temtem or Siralim Ultimate—so it's definitely for players looking for a more casual time. The most difficult part of the game is choosing between the three starter Nexomon which include an adorable baby beaver, yellow tiger cub, and a lizard with a pink flower.
Siralim Ultimate
Release date: 2021 | Steam
If you're after a game with a little more depth, Siralim Ultimate will give you just that. It's both a monster catcher and dungeon crawler where you travel through procedurally generated "realms" to get resources and loot. The thing that sticks out the most about Siralim Ultimate is just how big it is. Players can pick from 30 different character specializations, equip different spell gems (of which there are 700), visit 30 realms, choose a guild to work with, partake in minigames, unlock relics—there's a lot to get stuck into.
If you love the create collecting aspect of Pokémon, have fun collecting the 1200+ creatures in Siralim Ultimate.
Monster Sanctuary
Release date: 2020 | Steam
Creature collecting meets metroidvania in Monster Sanctuary. It has the same monster battles as the other games on this list but with the twist of having everything play out in Final Fantasy-like team battles. The creatures you've collected follow behind you and can be used to fly, swim and climb the landscape, so there's plenty of platforming to do. The pixel graphics are polished and the creatures' animations are a lovely touch. Don't let Monster Sanctuary fly under your radar.
Coromon
Release date: 2022 | Steam
Another Pokémon-inspired game with gorgeous pixel art. Coromon's story has you play an aspiring technology researcher who has set out to investigate a group of six titans with your team in tow. After playing the demo I'd say the battles in Coromon are some of the most dynamic out of the games on this list, from both the vibrant background to the creature and attack animations. You can check out the demo yourself over on the game's Steam page, especially now that it has a release date for spring 2022.
