Abomi Nation

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If you can't choose your team, and you can't grind levels for bosses, then you don't really get much agency when it comes to having a successful run or not. The game's systems make it clear what the optimal move is in just about every scenario, yet even following the optimal path can lead to failure because of questionable design decisions. I'd prefer more skill-based gameplay. The game seemed promising for a while but quickly became frustrating because runs are more or less down to luck.

Abomi Nation is a thoughtfully designed indie RPG developed by Orange Pylon Games and published by DANGEN Entertainment that reinterprets the familiar creature-collecting formula through the lens of roguelike structure and high-stakes decision-making. Rather than offering a fixed world and permanent party growth, the game places players on a mysterious island that is regenerated with each run, ensuring that no two journeys unfold in exactly the same way. This approach immediately sets the tone for an experience focused on adaptability, experimentation, and learning from failure, where success depends less on grinding and more on understanding systems and making informed tactical choices. At the heart of the experience is the recruitment and management of creatures known as Abomis. These creatures come in a variety of elemental types, each with strengths and weaknesses that interact in intuitive but meaningful ways. Battles are primarily one-on-one, which gives each encounter a focused, almost duel-like quality, forcing players to carefully consider matchups rather than relying on overwhelming numbers. Team composition becomes a strategic puzzle of its own, as Abomis not currently …

Rouge-like monster tamer games are what I feel like is a bit rare but this game has some decent charm that makes it interesting enough. Its gameplay has similarities to tried and true nuzlocke runs as even though you can build up a solid team of what you have been given, its only a matter of time before one bad hit screws you over and the permadeath mechanic kicks in (at the very least you don't have to worry about group level grinding). In other words, it has a good amount of difficulty that really makes you think about your strategy, especially with whatever hand you're given throughout the run. It has a good amount of charm with both the biomes and creature design, with a lot of replay value and customization. The only issue is that the game feels kind of slow but other than that its good for what it is.

This is a cautious positive review from me. If I had the option, I would choose a neutral rating instead of an upvote or downvote. I originally wrote a negative review of the game complaining of choice. I praised the game's creature design and overall mechanics, which tend to mirror Pokemon's in terms of battle system but a roguelike in terms of progression. I explained how the rigid adherence to a "Nuzlocke" style was problematic to me because type matchups tend to dictate success or failure, particularly early in a run where additional options are not readily available. Moreover, Abomi Nation differs from Pokemon because you receive each new monster from a randomly generated large pool and the bosses you fight are not static -- they change with each run. Thus, a run could easily be sabotaged due to unluckiness from RNG. In a normal playthrough of the game (running the game on normal difficulty with normal setting), you could easily get RNG blessed or screwed at the start, which would massively affect the success or failure of a run. For instance, if your first 3 monsters are all grass types and you are up against fire bosses or air bosses, you will have a hard time. In fact, my…

great nuzlocke-styled game! i wish i could change the UI color, but otherwise the rest of the game is great!