Monster-catching and collecting games will never fail to spark my interest, and Aethermancer is no different. At first glance, it may seem to hold some nostalgic energy through its eye-catching 2D Pixel graphics and turn-based battle system. However, after spending even just a little bit of time with the game, I was thrilled to discover that there were even more positives to be found with Aethermancer; I was hooked.
Not only does Aethermancer cater to the audience of creature-collector enthusiasts, but it also puts a spin on the classic formula through more of a roguelike approach. This results in a gameplay loop that is charming, fun, and addictive. Quite literally, I found myself struggling to put it down – it’s just one of those titles where your brain is constantly whispering “just one more fight!”.
A Mysterious World & Simple Story That Doesn’t Overdo Things
Aethermancer’s narrative and story progression are rather simple and straightforward. You’re Siriux the Aethermancer, a skilled warrior with the ability to recruit and tame mythic creatures. After a catastrophic event takes place in the capital city of Vigil, a void is unleashed across the land, bringing forth strange monsters in a loop of life and death.
Siriux must collect and tame these creatures to aid his exploration across these fractured lands, as well as navigate encounters with quirky NPCs and utilize the safe zone of Pilgrim’s Rest to converse with the citizens and improve different mechanics before heading back out on your next run.
There’s not a massive amount of narrative substance, but that’s also really not needed – the game simply offers enough mystery to spark your curiosity, hooks you with addictive gameplay, and then the next thing you know, you’re already planning ahead for your next run. Fair play, Aethermancer, fair play.
When it Comes to Gameplay, Strange Creatures Are Your Tactical Battle Partners
Aethermancer’s core gameplay loop revolves around traversing different zone maps to encounter NPCs, discover loot, and battle different creatures. By doing this, you level up your monster team, unlock potential to add new soul-bonded creatures/mementos for future runs, and further improve your strength for the next area. It’s nothing too complex, but where the fun truly kicks into play is with each and every creature battle.
First off, monster design is a standout feature, each creature appearing to take inspiration from various animals and/or mythological beings – much like that of the first three generations of Pokemon design. Much of my fun and excitement has been discovering new critters to add to my team throughout each run, as well as seeing what they can do in battle.
Every monster in the game has a fresh breath of life brought into its pixel model with fun idle and battle animations. Speaking of which, the animations and visual effects for each move are bright, eye-catching, and add a little bit of personality to each monster. There’s really nothing negative to say there, if I’m honest.
Combat is your average turn-based monster-battling system on the surface. However, through clever team mechanics, status effects, and the ability to proc buffs between your monster and its teammates, there’s endless opportunity to utilize many different strategies on your Aethermancer runs.
In particular, the Sidekick mechanic brought me so much joy. After all, there’s nothing more satisfying than commanding one of your monsters to launch into an attack, only to see its buddy jump right into action for a follow-up move to create a devastating combo attack.
Monster-Fighting Repetition Made Addictive Through Fun Battle Mechanics & Moves
As you level up, you get to choose different attacks and buffs to add to your monster’s loadout, strengthening them over your run. Items can also add fun effects for battle, which adds a lot of freedom in customizing your team to your particular playstyle, or to follow a different strategy with each new run.
Through Momentos and soul bonding, there’s a layer of permanence and growth between each adventure that really creates an environment that is easy enough for newcomers to the genre to grasp, yet familiar and fun for those already proficient with roguelike mechanics or turn-based monster battles.
Hitting that Nostalgic Sweet Spot With Proof Pixel Art is Still Viable in Modern Games
From the moment you first boot Aethermancer, it’s clear that the visuals are one of the greatest strengths of the game. The pixel art style is both highly gorgeous and nostalgic to that of older, iconic monster-catching games (yes, looking at you again, Pokemon). Honestly, it’s these graphics alone that make me feel right at home with each new Aethermancer run that I launch.
If anything else, this undeniably proves that pixel art can absolutely be utilized to create stunning modern video games. The last game to leave such an impact on me, personally, was none other than Sea of Stars, back in 2023. Aethermancer achieves a similar level of beauty, with environments that invite you to pause and simply take in the view. Every frame is filled with tiny flourishes that breathe life into the world around you – swaying grass and tree leaves as you walk past them, crystals glowing with a hum of life, and so much more.
Aethermancer is truly a game where the art isn’t just pleasant to look upon; it actively strengthens immersion and brings a true sense of magic to this mysterious world. Every little corner is alive with new things to discover or interesting characters to meet.
Speaking of characters, the character portraits in this game are also wonderfully executed – in pixel-perfect stylization, of course. However, the full character portraits are rendered in a lineless style with pops of neon highlights, truly making each one stand out in a way that feels both familiar and strikingly unique.
Final Thoughts
There’s an elephant in the room to consider first and foremost when evaluating Aethermancer (and not the tame-able monster kind!) -the simple fact that the game is currently in Early Access. Honestly? For an early access game, I’m absolutely blown away. It’s so rare for me to find a roguelike title that crawls into my brain and sets up a camp, living absolutely rent-free….but, here we are.
Aethermancer is an absolute indie gem that bridges a gap across multiple popular gaming genres, thus creating a harmonious blend of battle mechanics, monster design, and team-building strategy.
The game first hooked my interest with its monster-catcher mechanics, pulled me in with its art directions, and kept me chasing new runs long after I meant to stop. It’s charming, stylish, and creative, with a genuine sense of care being put into the player experience.
I am ecstatic to say I can, and will, continue to return time and time again to lose myself in this gorgeous pixel magic forevermore, and I am oh so excited to see where further developments throughout the Early Access stage lead – my biggest grievance right now is that I would simply like a larger pool of monsters within each area. All things considered, this bodes pretty well for Aethermancer, as I’m sure this will be implemented prior to full release.
Aethermancer: An absolute indie gem that bridges a gap across multiple popular gaming genres, thus creating a harmonious blend of battle mechanics, monster design, and team-building strategy. The game first hooked my interest with its monster-catcher mechanics, pulled me in with its art directions, and kept me chasing new runs long after I meant to stop. It's charming, stylish, and creative, with a genuine sense of care being put into the player experience. – Grace Black