A guide to the best games and deals of Steam's Creature Collector Fest
Steam Creature Collector Fest starts today and runs through next week. Some great games are deeply discounted, including some you wouldn't expect.
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Today marks the beginning of Steam’s Creature Collector Fest, where all kinds of games featuring battleable or non-battleable creatures are on sale or have free demos to try. All the great games you might expect are taking part, like Palworld (25% off). But there are a few games included that might not be quite what you expected. This is an excellent opportunity to explore the many variations within the creature collecting genre and prove that it’s a much more innovative space that’s not just Pokémon clones.
Steam’s Creature Collector fest starts today. There are tons of great deals
The creature collecting genre has been undergoing some tension lately due to Pokémon’s patent infringement lawsuit against Palworld. The lawsuit is taking place in Japan, and nothing has been decided yet. But that hasn’t stopped Palworld’s developer, Pocketpair, from Japan might not be the only place the Pokémon Company has its eye on.
From what we’ve learned so far, the patents that Pokémon alleges that Pocketpair infringed upon include throwing a sphere to summon an ally and riding on creatures to traverse the landscape. These are some of the features that have been removed from Palworld over the last few months. However this lawsuit ends, it could embolden Pokémon to go after other developers or establish the genre as not dominated by one company. There are so many great games in this genre, with more unique takes on it launching every year. They all deserve to stand independently and not be compared to the biggest game franchise of all time.
Steam’s Creature Collector Fest runs through May 19th at 10:00 AM Pacific Time. So, check out these games and take advantage of these deals while they last.
- Steam’s Creature Collector fest starts today. There are tons of great deals
- Turn-Based RPGs
- Cozy Creature Collectors
- Real-Time Action
- Rogue-lites & Rogue-likes
- One last game you may not expect to see here
Turn-Based RPGs
If you’re familiar with a certain global phenomenon, chances are the concept of a turn-based RPG is not that far-fetched. Plenty of great games fall into this part of the genre. Games like Nexomon: Extinction bring back a classic top-down perspective with 2D animated creature sprites. Explore a vast world, collect and train your group of Nexomon, and battle other teams along the way. Currently, Nexomon is 50% off, and Nexomon: Extinction is 90% off, which means you can get both for about $6.99.
Some other games take the genre to the next level, though. Celeste. There’s no discount now, but there is a free demo to try this unique concept.
Speaking of great music, Cassette Beasts from 2023 is another incredible turn-based RPG. Rather than capture monsters, in Cassette Beasts, you record them with cassettes and then, during battle, use that recording to transform into recorded monsters. This introduces a frightening battle mechanic where damage from incoming attacks spills over to your character if your monster is defeated. It’s not just your party of monsters in danger in this one. Plus, you and your partner’s monsters can fuse in battle, resulting in thousands of unique combinations to experiment with.
Monster Sanctuary is a creature-collecting metroidvania with turn-based battles. In most metroidvanias, a core concept is unlocking new abilities that allow you to access new areas. In Monster Sanctuary, you use your party of monsters. A flying creature might give you a glide or a boost to your jump, while another might create a platform for you to jump on. The turn-based combat might seem simple on the surface, but everything from turn order to positioning makes a difference. The developer, Moi Rai Games, also has another game on this list that I’ve been having a lot of fun with, so make sure to check it out if this sounds like fun. Monster Sanctuary is currently 75% off on Steam, making it just $7.49.
Cozy Creature Collectors
It’s amazing how many games you can find in this subgenre of creature collecting over the last few years. You may have heard of Tiny Pasture, which launched earlier this year. Let cute critters take up a small portion of your desktop while you work on other things.
Many of these games introduce some elements of crafting, farming, or something similar. In 2023’s Paleo Pines, imagine something like a 3D Harvest Moon series where you recruit dinosaurs to help out around the farm. Ooblets is 40% off right now on Steam, and Paleo Pines is 60% off.
Another game with farming elements, but with a turn-based deckbuilding battle system to keep things fresh, is Moonstone Island. This game covers all the classic life-sim elements, from farming, crafting, decorating, and building relationships with other residents. But aside from all that, there are dozens of spirits to find and add to your party, along with one hundred islands to visit and explore. Team up with your spirits in turn-based battles where you use a deck of cards to give commands.
Another hugely popular indie game from 2023 is Loddlenaut. Tasked with traveling to an alien ocean to save it from pollution, you will collect trash, remove oil, and befriend the local wildlife. Plant local flora and watch as your newfound friends grow and evolve. Float around in a colorful underwater world.
Real-Time Action
Compared to many of the games on this list, Creatures of Ava almost has a double-A appearance. This fully 3D action adventure has the player saving the world of Ava from a deadly infection, teaming up with the local creatures to progress and explore. It is 40% off on Steam during this sale, so if it’s ever looked interesting, now is a great time.
Another game series you might have heard of is Slime Rancher. The genres of creature collectors and first-person shooters don’t often go together, but developer Monomi Park tapped into something special. Use a vacuum gun to wrangle the rambunctious slimes in both games, available at a discount during this fest. The original Slime Rancher is 75% off, while the sequel is 30% off, and still in Early Access for now.
Adore is an action RPG where you and your team of creatures take on enemies and go on adventures. Summon your teammates at the right moments to take advantage of their abilities. Use one creature to freeze an enemy in place and then summon another to deliver a powerful strike. Adore is currently 40% off on Steam during this Creature Collecting fest.
I recently had the opportunity to interview the developer of this next game, Kyle Thompson. In the metroidvania, Sheepo, you explore a strange world and meet quirky creatures. Transform into those creatures and use their abilities to progress. Sheepo is 60% off on Steam, and it only started at $10, so this makes it $4.
Rogue-lites & Rogue-likes
There are so many different needed to describe Dicefolk accurately. Of course, it is a creature-collector, but it is also a rogue-lite with turn-based combat, and elements of deckbuilding, or dicebuilding to be more precise. Build a team of three chimeras and find synergy between them and the various artifacts you discover along the way to defeat the great evil that threatens to destroy the world. Combat takes place in 3v3 rotational battles, where each turn, you roll and use your own and your enemy’s dice. The turn only ends once you’ve used all of your opponent’s moves. This was one of my favorite games of 2024; I put over forty hours into it on Steam and Switch. Dicefolk is currently 50% off on Steam, making it only $7.49 total.
While Aethermancer has not been released yet, the demo is some of the most fun I’ve had with a game this year. This creature-collecting rogue-lite is developed by Moi Rai Games, the same team behind Monster Sanctuary. It has absolutely incredible pixel-art and engaging turn-based combat as you explore the mysterious void. Even though you can’t buy the whole game just yet, I couldn’t recommend the demo enough, and they just released a significant update to that demo in celebration of this Steam fest.
One last game you may not expect to see here
Cult of the Lamb, from developer Massive Monster and publisher Devolver Digital, is one of the most successful indie games of the last few years. Since its launch in 2022, Cult of the Lamb has received at least five major updates, giving players plenty of reasons to keep coming back. But you may be surprised to see this game taking part in Steam’s Creature Collector Fest. I don’t blame you, because it took me by surprise too, but then I thought about it a little longer.
Considering the Lamb’s cult to be “creatures” that are to be collected fits quite well with this game’s aesthetic. Mechanically, while much darker than most of the games on this list, it does work. As your cult grows, you task each of them with assignments and care for them. The most significant difference is that they can also fall out of line rather than being eternally loyal and faithful to you, which might lead to sacrifices. Cult of the Lamb is currently 50% off, so if you haven’t ed the cult yet, now is a great time.
In many ways, this shows how varied this genre really can be. I don’t see the Pokémon Company trying to sue Cult of the Lamb anytime soon. As a fanbase, we do need to learn to stop seeing Pokémon as THE creature collecting game. It might be the most successful, but plenty of other games are doing amazing things, too.
