During the height of its popularity in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Nintendo’s Pokémon franchise took the world by storm. While Pokémon didn’t invent the monster-catcher genre, it for sure popularized it thanks to its fantastical worlds, gigantic rosters of cute yet cool monsters, and a simple yet addictive gameplay loop of catching monsters and then trading or battling them amongst your friends.
However, PC players have sadly missed out on Pokémon as it remains exclusively available only on Nintendo consoles even to this day. Thankfully, developers, both indie and AAA, have decided to rectify this by crafting their very own Pokémon-like titles and making them available on PC. Some of these games are a refined take on Nintendo’s classic while others have aimed to reinvent the monster genre by blending it with different gameplay styles.
Since there are tons of Pokémon-like PC titles to choose from, we have rounded 8 of the best ones we can find (in no particular order) that we highly recommend to anyone looking to scratch that monster-catcher itch on PC.
Palworld
Palworld is an open-world survival Pokémon-like game that took everyone by surprise in 2024 and continues to be popular today as Palworld has hit 200,000 concurrent players on Steam. In this game, you are stranded on a mysterious island populated by creatures known as ‘Pals.’ In order to survive, you must tame the Pals and use their abilities to help you craft a base of operations, forage the land for food and water, and build weapons of mass destruction to fend off predator Pals and evil poachers looking to murder your animal companions.
This game may look like an over-the-top parody of Pokémon (especially with the imagery of seeing cute animals wielding machine guns and rocket launchers,) but it surprisingly has a ton of depth to it. Palworld has a massive world filled with tons of secrets to uncover; you can catch a wide variety of intriguing creatures with useful powers, you can outfit your critters with ridiculously huge guns, and you can explore the world and shoot up poachers alongside your friends in online multiplayer.
On top of all that, Palworld is constantly being updated with new regions to visit, new Pals to capture, and more.
Monster Hunter Stories and Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin
Capcom’s popular Monster Hunter is normally a franchise all about hunting monsters rather than catching and befriending them. However, the Monster Hunter series decided to take a shot at the monster-catcher genre in 2016 when it debuted a spin-off series called Monster Hunter Stories.
In these games, you play as a Rider, a warrior capable of battling the terrifying Wyverns and beasts of the Monster Hunter franchise and taming them using the power of an ancient device called the Kinship Stone. Together with your newly dubbed ‘Monstie’ companions, you will ride on to discover vast lands filled with monsters to tame and baddies to protect nature from.
The Monster Hunter Stories games are incredibly fun games that manage to expertly blend the exploration and turn-based combat of the Pokémon franchise with the action-hunting mechanics of the Monster Hunter franchise. On top of that, these games feature large rosters of the Monster Hunter franchise’s iconic monsters for players to tame and ride into battle with.
Both Monster Hunter Stories titles are equally fun in their own unique ways. Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin has a bigger roster of Monsties and a more streamlined combat system, whereas the first Monster Hunter Stories has a more creative storyline and broader character-build options for your Monsties.
If you want more detailed examinations of what makes the Monster Hunter Stories series great, check out our glowing Monster Hunter Stories review and our Monster Hunter Series 2: Wings of Ruin review.
Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne HD
Long before Nintendo’s Pokémon franchise pushed the monster-catcher genre into the mainstream, it was an underground niche genre dominated by Atlus’ Shin Megami Tensei series. In stark contrast to the child-friendly, bright atmosphere of Pokémon, the Shin Megami Tensei games were dark, brutally challenging, and at times disturbing.
Out of all these games, the most famous entry is Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne, which was originally released on the PlayStation 2 in 2003 but has been ported to PC as Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne HD in 2021.
In this game, you play as the Demi-fiend, a young high-school student who's been turned into a demon after witnessing the end of the world. Trapped in a new world filled with blood-thirsty demons, the Demi-fiend must use his newfound powers to off monsters looking to devour what remains of his soul and embark on a journey to remake the world in his image.
Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne is often regarded as one of the darkest games in the monster-catcher genre, and for good reason. Instead of catching and befriending monsters like in Pokémon, you recruit monsters by bullying them, bribing them, or sacrificing them in demonic rituals in order to create more powerful monsters.
Additionally, Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne is considered one of the hardest turn-based JRPGs ever created. If your party of demons isn’t fully prepared to exploit enemy weaknesses and have their own weaknesses protected, then you will get curb-stomped in almost every battle you come across. So, if you like dark storylines, overcoming almost impossible odds, and recruiting over 200 demons to your party, then Shin Megami Tensei 3: Nocturne is for you.
Coromon
Coromon is an indie turn-based JRPG set in the fantasy world of Velua. You play as a newly appointed Battle Researcher tasked by Lux Solis research organization to tame and study unique creatures called Coromon. Unfortunately, your first day on the job quickly spirals out of control when an evil, mysterious force appears to cause havoc and hurt Coromon, and it is up to you to stop them.
Coromon features beautiful pixel-art graphics, over 100 Coromon to catch (each with several variants), a large world with rich and diverse biomes to explore, in-depth character customization options for both your avatar and your Coromon, epic boss fights, and online multiplayer where you can pit your team of Coromon against other Battle Researchers.
On top of that, Coromon features a unique take on Pokémon’s turn-based combat system where you must manage your Coromon’s stamina whenever they perform an action to keep them from tiring out. Additionally, you must come up with smart tactical plays to exploit the enemy’s elemental weaknesses and drain their stamina so they’ll be left vulnerable to attack.
Nexomon: Extinction
Nexomon: Extinction is another indie turn-based JRPG that has a traditional yet refined take on the monster-catcher formula. Set in a world where humans live alongside monsters called Nexomon, you play as a member of the Tamer’s Guild tasked with defending the world from the threat of destructive, godlike beings known as Nexomon Tyrants.
Nexo: Extinction features a bleak yet beautiful world rich with lore and secrets, over 300 Nexomon to catch, and an engrossing battle system that emphasizes resource management and move-priority over simply attacking an enemy’s elemental weakness.
If you wish to know more, check our review for the Xbox version of Nexomon: Extinction.
Cassette Beasts
Cassette Beasts is a turn-based open-world RPG indie title where you are stranded on a mysterious island filled with monsters and other lost souls like you. To help you survive this adventure, you are given a magical cassette tape player that records a monster and allows you to transform into the very same monsters you are fighting against.
Additionally, you can team with other human companions who have cassette tapes like you and fuse together during battle to create an entirely new fusion form to take on the game’s challenging boss fights.
Cassette Beasts is a very enjoyable title with a wild storyline filled with crazy twists, a loveable cast of characters with intriguing backstories (whom you can romance should you desire), lots of quests to complete, many ways to customize your character’s looks, and the abilities of your monster forms, and over a 100 monsters to record, online co-op and PvP, and more.
Monster Sanctuary
Monster Sanctuary is a fascinating take on monster-catcher games as it attempts to combine turn-based combat with Metroidvania, side-scrolling exploration. You play as a Monster Keeper, a guardian tasked with defending the Monster Sanctuary from evildoers looking to threaten the peace between monsters and mankind.
This game features a complex world jam-packed with secret treasure to discover and brain-teasing environmental puzzles to solve, over 100 monsters with multi-faceted abilities to help you overcome these aforementioned puzzles, an in-depth 3v3 turn-based combat system where your team monsters must synergize their powers to defeat enemies, online PvP multiplayer, and more.
Gotta catch them all on PC
Now you know all of the best PC games in the monster-catcher genre that we highly recommend to fans of Pokémon-like titles. Be sure to check back in every once in a while, as we will update this list with any upcoming PC titles that manage to excel in the monster-catcher genre upon their release date.
