The Monster Breeder
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About the GameThis is a turn-based fantasy strategy game with RPG elements. The game has two main layers: the first is the monster breeding, the second is the tactical turn-based arena combat.
Main Features
- Create Monsters
- Tactical Arena Combat
- Large variety of tournaments
- Warrior training
- Forging
- Alchemy
- Base upgrading
Players can purchase eggs and juvenile creatures from local hunters. The next step is to set up a magical treatment to enhance the creatures’ strength, agility, and other attributes. Nearly all these traits can be manipulated with magic scrolls, potions, blood infusions and runestones, although overuse of magic and potions can cause severe illness, infertility, shorter lifespan, or even death.
Natural species are weak and perform poorly in the arena, but all have at least one valuable ability. There are three classes of creature available: insect, reptile and carnivora. Players can only crossbreed species within the same class, and the best offspring can then be selected for magic treatments to improve their combat performance. Only eggs and juvenile creatures can be treated. Adult monsters earn experience fighting in the arena and learn new skills when leveling up, but these skills are not inheritable.
There are multiple options for players to house their monsters in the various chambers and cellars of the Old Keep, or they can build a small hut or kennel in the courtyard and upgrade it. Depending on their temperature tolerance, some creatures can live in a flooded dungeon cellar while some others need a warm environment to remain healthy. Only healthy creatures can fight and earn money for their masters.
Combat in the arena is tough but not always deadly. Beginners can participate in non-lethal tournaments without the risk of losing a character or monster. Lethal combat pays much better, but this is a game with permadeath, so be aware!
How much risk are you willing to take? Which tournament are you going to enter? Only you decide. Players get money if they take part in a tournament, but only the winners receive the glory and extra rewards.
Warriors, archers and sorcerers can be hired to fight side-by-side with monsters in the arena. Players can personalize their training and equip them with weapons that match their skills and strength, although to be overburdened with armor comes with serious penalties in combat.
Characters earn experience in the arena and gain new skills when leveling up, and older warriors can be valuable trainers depending on their intelligence and trainer skills. Some hired characters may refuse to participate in lethal tournaments, but slaves can also be trained for combat.
Players need to hire a blacksmith and alchemist to be able to craft items like weapons, armor or potions. Every craftsman has unique skills and traits affecting their products’ quality, their rate of work, and the amount of material they use.
Various types of equipment can be purchased to enhance productivity: recipe books, alembics and extractors are all useful accessories of the alchemist’s lab, while weapon and armor molds, alloy smelters and special forges are exceedingly beneficial to the blacksmith. Apprentices can be hired to improve productivity and players can employ them as blacksmiths or alchemists when they graduate.
Players can construct or upgrade various types of buildings, allowing them to keep more monsters, incubate more eggs, create more weapons and potions, or increase storage capacity and the size of their living quarters.
Some buildings have unique features: Hatchling’s Cabin provides the possibility of using runestones and magic fields to modify juvenile creatures’ traits, while the Alchemist’s Shack and Blacksmith’s Hut provide more places to hire craftsmen and also give an efficiency bonus. The Old Keep is the default building at the beginning of the game. It has multiple chambers and cellars, all of which can be assigned to any purpose.
Game Discussion
Steam User 29
The graphics and UI/UX leave much to be desired, however if you can look past that, there's quite a bit of well thought out mechanics and love in this game that i am thoroughly enjoying.
Would recommend for those into Turn based combat and management & gladiatorial type games
Steam User 29
I was holding off on making a review for this game until it was fully released.
I'm EXTREMELY happy to report that it actually came out. This isn't a developer who kept dragging their feet and pretending to work only to never get their project out. There was consistent and amazing updates. This game getting a full release is actually outstanding and I'm pleased to say the work was all worth it.
Steam User 11
I tried cross breeding guerrilla, and a boar. In the hopes of getting an orc. instead I got creatures that were infertile, would hemorrhage blood at the slightest of breezes, and lived in constant pain.... Next up. What would happen if a wolf, and spider got in on....
The good and the bad.
Story side. there is very little real story. Just realize the world you live in, is rather bleak. Your creatures will be abused. You can own slaves, who'll be your personal blood banks.
The game can be surprisingly difficult. There is no tutorial to speak of, just some tool tips early on. But for the most part. You'll be flying blind.
Matches are strategy turn based.
The game is while technically all about breeding monsters. there's nothing stopping you from relying heavily on a human based team. each in game turn there will be arena matches held. there will be several matches with different rules. Some matches will also be death matches, while others are none death match. Lose a death match, and well your team will be dead. if it was with monsters, some might survive with the tag be dying. Which you can than either be butchered for meat... or saved if you have the research.
Research, to start research you must perform surgery on a single creature that will kill it. This is something that could easily be missed due to the lacking tutorial.
Creature breeding, the main meat of the game. generally there is no limit to breeding, want to cross breed a spider with a boar, to try your hand at making Spider pig!? You can do that! Or maybe you want a dragon and a gorilla to get it on! It's a cool concept, and I love this mechanic of trying to cross breed for the ultimate perfect cell, I mean creature...
The game also has a good amount of options when starting a new game. That will determine how difficult, or fast your game is. So if the games too hard. you can start over. increase rewards from tournaments. Reduce maintenance. and a host of other options. Personally I love when developers give these types of options, and let the player decide how they wish to play.
Graphically the game is dated. But I love this game. Ten ten. Will make more creatures that beg for death... Which they;ll get, when I throw them into death matches as my main form of disposial....
Steam User 5
Genuinely love this game. The crossbreeding mechanisms are great, and I've spent hours crossbreeding different big lizards to make Godzilla. That being said, it could use some polish. The turned based combat encounters are not the most engaging, I wish there were more universal or default actions that humans and creatures alike could take, but I find them enjoyable regardless. I would love if creatures could vary in size, as it stands now they all just take up one tile, or if the maps in the arenas were more varied and had things like cover. Though I think the game's faults are forgivable given its early access status and the size of the development team (pretty sure its just one person). All in all, great game, can't wait to see where it goes.
Steam User 5
Wow, what a heck of an update. Been playing this game on and off since early access launch and have just come back to it a lot recently since it runs on my laptop so well and I don't need a PC. Buy this game if you like any kind of gladiator management type sim in general. Its definitely one of the better ones I've found and just has such an addicting loop. The full launch today just solidified this for me as one of my new favorites.
Steam User 5
Great Game for People that like Min/Maxing, Taming and having Pets.
A game i always wanted.
Steam User 6
Outstanding mechanics and I am very excited for the full release!