Preview: Coromon Has Its Own Spin on the Pocket Monster Genre

Screenshot: Coromon Growing up, I missed the whole pocket monster craze by a few years. I was just slightly older than the kids getting into it, even though I was still a kid myself. Years later, I came to regret that slightly as Pokémon had a huge impact on video games and beyond. Truth be told, even if my friends were into Pokémon it’s possible I would have missed the craze anyhow because I was primarily a PC gamer and didn’t have a handheld device. Who knows? Maybe if games like Coromon existed, I would have had a chance to give the pocket monster role-playing game genre a chance. Coromon is a “JRPG-like monster training game” (from the game’s store page) where you take control of a young kid, and guide them (and their Coromon) through the rigors of training and pocket monster battles. Yes, Coromon is a Pokémon clone made by those who obviously have a love for the classic Pokémon games. You play as a young researcher in Lux Solis, a technologically advanced organization that researches Coromon. Eventually, you’ll be tasked with recovering the essence of six titans—meaning you’ll have to battle your way to supremacy to hope to take on Coromon’s various puzzles and challenges. Screenshot: Coromon If you’re familiar with Pokémon, Coromon will be extremely familiar. You can challenge other trainers to battle and even face off against your friends online while searching the land of Velua for powerful Coromon to capture and train. Level them up to unveil their true potential, and try to catch all 120 Coromon. I really like the design of the Coromon—they remind me of new generation Pokémon rendered in classic pixel art. Coromon isn’t a 1:1 recreation of Pokémon, however, with a few of its own unique mechanics, most notably the stamina system that forces you to choose your abilities carefully in battle. If you’ve wanted to jump into the world of classic pocket monster battling, Coromon is a pixel art blast from the past. It has a whole set of Coromon to collect and level, and a huge gorgeously rendered world to explore, trainers to battle, and titans to defeat. I’m definitely looking forward to Coromon’s full release. Screenshot: Coromon Coromon will be available early next year, but if you’re eager to play it now, there’s a demo available on its Steam store page.       If you like the video game, tabletop, or other technology content that Third Coast Review has to offer, consider donating to our Patreon. We are the only publication in Chicago that regularly reviews video games, and we cover lots of local Chicago-based events and more. If you want to contribute to our coverage of Chicago’s video game scene (and more) please consider becoming a patron. Your support enables us to continue to provide this type of content. Patreon.com/3CR You can also catch us streaming games we’re reviewing and staff favorites on our Twitch channel.
Antal Bokor

Antal is video game advocate, retro game collector, and video game historian. He is also a small streamer, occasional podcast guest, and writer.