An Indie Backlog curated overview. We round up the best indie RPGs and how professional critics and players received each one — the scores and quotes below are theirs, linked to the source.
Trapped on a mysterious island, you fight monsters by transforming into them — recording their forms onto cassette tapes and fusing two creatures into wild new hybrids. Cassette Beasts is the monster-collector for people who thought they were done with monster-collectors.
At a Glance
| Developer | Bytten Studio (pub. Raw Fury) |
| Released | 2023 |
| Platforms | PC, Mac, Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series |
| Subgenre | Monster-collecting RPG |
| Playtime | ~20 hrs (main) / ~27 hrs (most content) |
| Metacritic | 81 / 100 |
| Steam | Very Positive (94% of 10,000+) |
| Peak players | 2,764 concurrent (all-time, SteamCharts) |
| Steam Deck | Verified |
| Languages | 10 supported |
About the Game
From Bytten Studio and publisher Raw Fury, Cassette Beasts strands you on New Wirral, an island full of strange monsters. Rather than throwing balls, you record creatures onto cassette tapes and transform into them yourself, exploring a genuinely open world from the very start.
The standout system is fusion: combine two of your recorded monsters into a temporary hybrid that blends their types, stats, and movesets — opening up a staggering range of combinations. A deep elemental type chart and an AI (or co-op) battle partner add real strategic depth beneath the cute surface.
It’s wrapped in a charming hand-drawn-meets-pixel art style and one of the best original soundtracks in recent indie memory, full of vocal battle themes. There’s far more systems depth here than its friendly looks let on.
Screenshots
Screenshots: Bytten Studio (via Steam).
Why It Made the List
Cassette Beasts earns its place because it takes the Pokémon blueprint and actually innovates — the monster-fusion system alone makes it one of the most inventive creature-collectors ever made.
What the Critics Say
Cassette Beasts holds a Metacritic of 81, with reviewers won over by its inventiveness:
“Easily the best monster-collecting game I’ve ever played, with fantastic combat, wonderful monster designs and a whole lot of exploring.”
10/10 — God is a Geek
“A lesson in how to make a game that is delightful, cosy and brimming with nostalgia without being condescending toward your adult audience.”
What Players Say
Players are right there with the critics: Cassette Beasts is Very Positive on Steam (94% of more than 10,000 reviews) and peaked at 2,764 concurrent players. The fusion system and soundtrack are the runaway favourites.
Praise & Criticism
What critics and players tend to highlight:
Widely praised
- A brilliant, deep monster-fusion system
- A standout original soundtrack
- Open-world freedom from the start
- Charming, inventive monster designs
Common criticisms
- Its cute looks hide some difficulty spikes
- The story is fairly light
- Occasional performance hitches reported
Games Like This
If Cassette Beasts clicks for you, line these up next:
- Monster Sanctuary — a metroidvania monster-collector with deep team-building.
- Coromon — a polished, modern take on the classic creature-catcher.
- Nexomon: Extinction — a charming, story-driven monster-catching RPG.
Where to Buy
Available on: Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch.
Plain store links for now — swap in your affiliate-tagged URLs once you’ve joined Amazon Associates and the eBay Partner Network. (Steam has no affiliate program; that link is for convenience.)