It’s no secret that we here at Overclockers UK are big into our gaming. We live for new game hype and love to replay our old favourites. Over 2024, we’ll be sharing our own top fives across a spicy selection of genres. This month we’re looking at Jacob S’s Top 5 Creature Collecting Games.
It should come as no surprise that the man who had a Pokémon-themed wedding has a special place in his heart for creature-collecting games. I’ve been capturing a variety of monsters since the late 90’s, not just pocket. In an effort to keep things varied and spicy.
A quick word on the Palworld-sized elephant in the room; it’s not here. It’s a fab looking game that’s just not for me and I don’t want to enter the weeds of this discussion as a Pokémon fan. I don’t want to take enjoyment away from either side. Plus, I feel it’s more of a survival and crafting game with creature collecting mechanics. Most definitely not Pokémon with guns – that’s straight up Gundramon erasure.
Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire
So, I was told I should probably only talk about one Pokémon game just to keep things interesting, so let’s get it out of the way early. Picking a favourite of the most-iconic creature collecting franchise is tricky, not just because the core gameplay doesn’t change much, but because every iteration has its own flavour that makes it special. The Hoenn flavour is one I never tire of, and so its original pair of games take the spot (calm down Emerald fanboys).
Ruby & Sapphire were a big departure from the previous iterations, moving completely away in terms of location and scaling back certain features Gold & Silver had just introduced. But they were also so important too in introducing Natures and Abilities to the game, as well as more boring coding fixes to Pokémon that form the data DNA still used to this day. The sprite style has a few more bits and colour, but the charm is at an all-time high. Hoenn’s strong balance of Pokémon species – which blends a strong cast of new members against the classics – lends itself to multiple journeys, as does the all-time trio of Starter Pokémon. It does help that my favourite Pokémon Blaziken is one of them, but I promise I’m only a little biased.
Digimon World
Digimon is not a Pokémon rip-off. It’s actually a Tamagotchi spin-off, and it’s those creature-raising and battling elements the original Digimon World for the PlayStation 1 tapped into. You get sucked into the Digital World to help rebuild File City by recruiting Digimon from around the island who have been mysteriously losing their memory and going wild. You’ve got your partner Digimon to help thankfully, who you can raise, train, and evolve. Except, like Tamagotchi and the Virtual Pet that inspired them, your Digimon will grow old and die, meaning you’ll need to keep raising them into new and exciting monsters!
This game was my Dark Souls. The charm and quirkiness of this game, with late 90s tech vibes galore, lured you into its web. But Digimon World gave you very little in terms of explaining, pushing you to follow breadcrumbs and explore File Island for yourself. Does this result in you stumbling into punishing battles and seeing your Digimon age and die without doing much? Yes. Does that make the feeling of cracking a mystery that’s been teasing you for hours and accomplishing a big chunk of story any less satisfying? Absolutely not.
Adore
And now for something completely different. I got to go off-piste from my usual creature collecting habits and play this charming game a while back, and had myself just a lovely time. Forgoing RPG elements you’d normally find in these titles, Adore throws you straight into the action commanding your creatures to attack (and having to stay in motion to survive yourself) while still needing to grow and balance your team.
The result is a cottage-core Digimon delight that – while I wouldn’t say is perfect for cosy gamers who enjoy a nice Stardew Valley and chill – certainly brings those vibes with beautifully drawn environments, charming creatures, and a relaxing score. Perfect if you need a break from beating up the mafia or facing down godly cyber threats. Speaking of the latter…
Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth
Its crimes against coffee aside, Cyber Sleuth was an exceptional return to Western audiences for Digimon. Digimon Story games are more RPG in nature than Digimon World, letting you build a whole team of digital monsters than focusing on one partner. That, coupled with a premise that sets it aside from Digimon lore, makes it a much more accessible title.
You don’t need a working knowledge of Digimon to enjoy Cyber Sleuth and its sister-game Hacker’s Memory (in fact, it makes some of the game’s bigger moments and twists hit harder!). But you’re gonna walk away with some favourites as you make use of Digimon’s free and shifting evolution mechanics to grow your team, drop them down, and build them back up again. Taking the time to actually build your team (rather than just overpower your Starter Pokémon Digimon) is a necessity, but also a great joy. Never shall I forget the pure tank I built that was Beet J. Stag the HerculesKabuterimon.
Pokémon Legends Arceus
HAHAHA, I TRICKED YOU ALL!
No but for real, Pokemon Legends Arceus deserves to stand on its own. After nearly a decade of disastrous optics, Game Freak called its shot with a drastic departure from the Pokémon formula we all knew. The result was a complete home run (yes, it’s not the most graphically consistent game but coming to Pokémon for that is like playing Call of Duty for friendly online banter).
PLA riffs on the fourth generation of games, sending you back to the distant past of the Sinnoh region known as Hisui, in a time when Pokémon were significantly less friendly. You’ll be the one lurking in the tall grass as you try to sneakily capture Pokémon without getting eaten to complete the first Pokedex. This added sense of danger, combined with an increased focus on capturing Pokémon, open areas to freely and joyously explore, and a twisting story free from the franchise’s usual constraints, is a recipe for success that I cannot stay away from to this day. We pray to almighty himself that Pokémon Legends Z-A lives up to this legacy.
ALSO – that final battle. Spoilers, sorry, but Arceus I never want to hear people complain Pokémon can’t be hard ever again.
Best Gaming PCs for Creature Collecting
Is your gaming PC the best, like none before it was? Your system’s gonna need to be up to spec to host all those creatures you’re planning on collecting. Luckily, we have a couple of recommendations!
Refract Gaming Amber Pre-Built PC
Part of our range of pre-built Refract Gaming PCs, the Amber is great for more casual creature-collecting titles like Adore or even the visual novel Digimon Survive. Designed to deliver a consistent 1080p resolution at over 100 frames per second with popular titles like Apex Legends, it’s also a great shout if you’re looking to collect creatures in card form in the Pokemon TCG Live! Plus, with a generous 1TB SSD, there’s plenty of space for creatures of all franchises to chill!
Available to order for £1,199.99* with free next-day delivery
Refract Gaming Celeste Pre-Built PC
It would behoove me to mention the very gaming PC I have played so many of these games on. With a powerful AMD Ryzen 7700X CPU, this PC can handle everything from high-performance gaming to content creation. Enjoy an immersive gaming experience with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GPU, providing a whole new level of ray tracing performance and more. Plus, there’s ample storage space for all your favourite games with a 1TB SSD.
Available to order for £1,799.99* with free next-day delivery
Did We Fail to List Them All?
Are there any creature collecting games you felt like deserved a place on our team? Let us know your favourites in the comments below!
*Prices correct at time of writing and PC specs are subject to change.
- 8 min read
Jacob Smith
Author
Jacob is a passionate gamer, plus a noted Pokemon and LEGO nutjob, who emerges only when doing the words here at Overclockers UK. Since starting at the tail end of 2021, Jacob has gone on to write dozens of blogs on everything from the latest games to whimsical Dickens-inspired poetry. Outside of creating content and being the one person in the office daring to champion Nintendo, he is often found fawning over his Pokemon card collection and his trio of lovely doggos.
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