If you feel like Pokémon lacks any real contenders in the videogame arena, it’s possible you haven’t been paying attention. Monster Hunter Stories is where it’s at if you ask me, but heavy hitters like Shin Megami Tensei and Digimon Story are constantly furnishing creature collector fans with new bangers. If you want to usher in the new year by dipping your toe into the scene, the latest Epic Games Store free game is Cassette Beasts—you can claim it here until tomorrow, December 28.
PC Gamer’s Lauren Morton wrote up impressions on the game back in 2023 and called it “a pretty sick Pokémon remix,” shouting out its nonstandard element types like plastic, glass, and glitter. Instead of taming wild animals, you transform into monsters you’ve “recorded” to cassette tapes.
There’s also the fusion system, where any two monster forms can be mixed and matched to get new ones complete with original pixel art and a mashed-up name. It’s the sort of imagination kickstarter that should please fans of JRPG tactics and cozy gamers just here for the cool dudes alike.
Even without all that, the addition of online co-op gives it a firm leg up over the genre’s biggest entrants, and the musical aesthetic (the battle UI is navigated via an in-game cassette player) gives it a flair all its own. Its last major update was earlier this year in April, but it’s still pretty hopping for an indie tribute to Pokémon: it just crossed the “over 1.1 million units sold” milestone in November.
The game is available for free on Epic Games Store until tomorrow, Dec. 28. If you’d rather keep your library on Steam but still want to take a look, it’s going for $7.99 until Jan. 5 on Steam.
2026 games: All the upcoming games
Best PC games: Our all-time favorites
Free PC games: Freebie fest
Best FPS games: Finest gunplay
Best RPGs: Grand adventures
Best co-op games: Better together
This sounds like a great opportunity for fans of the genre! It’s always exciting to see indie games stepping up and offering something fresh. Thanks for sharing this news!
Absolutely! Indie games often bring fresh ideas and unique mechanics that can really enhance the experience. It’s great to see them gaining more recognition, especially in a genre as beloved as Pokémon.
I totally agree! Indie games often push creative boundaries in ways that mainstream titles sometimes don’t. It’s exciting to see how they can mix familiar elements with innovative gameplay, making for a truly engaging experience.
Absolutely! Indie games really do bring fresh ideas to the table. It’s interesting how they can explore unique mechanics and storytelling that we might not see in larger franchises. This Pokémon-like sounds like a great example of that innovation!