Coromon Review: Time to Switch Things Up!

I’ve been a fan of Coromon since it was first announced. And even though HPP’s PC review wasn’t as glowing as I might have hoped, I was still eager for a chance to cover the Switch version of the game. After a longer wait than I might have wanted, the Switch version finally released. Now that I’ve spent a good 30 or so hours with the game, I was curious if I still felt the title was worth the wait. This Coromon review will show that, while the primary answer is yes, there’s still a little room for improvement.

Fun fact – hunting for mushrooms can be pretty darned addictive!

Real quickly, let me say that I have a ton of respect and appreciation for the author who reviewed the PC edition of the game. But there’s no reason two reasonable people can’t have differing opinions about something, as much as our current political climate might suggest otherwise. As such, many of my perspectives and opinions will vary from HPP’s original review, though I’m sure Kenny and I feel quite similarly about the game overall. With that out of the way, let’s show why Pokémon fans, in particular, should check this game out on Nintendo Switch.

Before You Go…

Now, while Coromon is a ton of fun once you get going, there was a small issue that slowed me down from actually starting the game. The first thing it wanted me to do was sign into my Nintendo account, despite the fact I have my Switch set up to do that automatically. I was really perplexed because it didn’t accept my password, and essentially forced me to adjust my settings so I could even log into the game and get going. Once I got past that hurdle, which likely is meant to allow cross-platform play between PC and Switch, I started to enjoy myself much more.

A lot of gamers have grown up with Pokémon, but I’m so ancient I got started with the very first entry. And though I love that series overall, I started to get really tired over the years with the incredibly minuscule updates GameFreak made with each subsequent release. There were lots of minor tweaks, but not much profound new creation. Worse, I found that the several of the games phoned it in, doing as little as possible and often selling us a souped-up version of an older game, which brings us to Coromon. I could tell from my early experience with the game that it would not be satisfied with doing the least amount necessary. No, it was clear TRAGsoft and Freedom Games were dedicated to appealing to old Pokémon fans with tons of innovative ideas and a distinct focus on actual challenge.

A Whole New World

Here, you play a Battle Researcher for Lux Solis. They’re a massive company doing research for the betterment of mankind, and most of their ideas stem from research on the titular creatures. While this structure may sound familiar and remind some of the whole Pokémon League and Gyms, I can profess it’s pretty different. For one thing, Coromon is dedicated to telling a story about the Velua region. For another, there are god-like entities called Titans, which are a lot more interesting than mere Legendary Pokémon. If that wasn’t enough, things quickly get complicated by the presence of devious aliens with devastating technology. Their goals will become clear over time, but until then, they provide a massive threat to the stability of all you love and hold dear.

There are a lot of similarities between Coromon and Pokémon, but there are a lot of key differences too. Sure, your critters level up and evolve, but there are great conveniences that keep things fresh. Like how if your Coromon is defeated in battle, it’ll still get a share of experience once you finish the battle. One of my favorite things about the game is that there are legitimate boss battles against the Titans themselves. They’re not just stoic beasts, they are intelligent and dangerous. The Titans talk and can do things like afflict your entire team with status ailments, and some even summon minions to fight for them. It makes Coromon feel much more like a traditional RPG than the series that inspired it, which I personally appreciated. Best of all, when you finish a boss battle, your whole team will gain experience.

As you might expect, there are several different types of Coromon, and some are weak or effective against others. Some of these were really easy to understand, like Electric destroying Water, but there are also some delightfully weird types. Take Normal, which are murdered by Poison. Or how Cut demolishes Electric. There are also the true oddities, such as Magic, Foul and Heavy types. I will say, while I appreciated the creativity present in the game, the matchups weren’t quite as intuitive as in Pokémon. Though, in fairness, that series has been around for years and years, so I’m sure that probably played a contributing factor in my improved understanding.

Streamlined Simplicity

Now, I am not a competitive Pokémon player by any means. I don’t have the patience to spend hours upon hours to catch the best critter with the most potential stats. Luckily, Coromon was made just for folks like me. They effectively mixed the IV system with the Shiny varieties to create the Potential system. Basically, each Coromon has three different versions – Standard, Potent and Perfect. Not only do they have different coats of paint to differentiate them, but they are capable of more growth depending on the version. While Standard and Potent are capable of individual growth each time you level up a secondary meter, Perfect has the most chances to do so. I caught tons of Standard, a handful of Potent, and one lonely Perfect. This system does a good job of streamlining an otherwise overly complex and difficult system from Pokémon.

All that is great, but now we come to some of my absolute favorite aspects of the game. One is that you don’t need to rely on items to recover SP. You’re welcome to use them, but you can also have any of your Coromon spend a turn to rest and recover half their SP. This kept me from needing to buy a ton of items in the game, which is good since I never felt like I was flush with cash. But even better is that your Coromon never have to forget moves to learn new ones. Instead, you can enable or disable any move they’ve previously learned, and can only have four equipped at a time. That is a perfect system, and it helped me avoid the stress of worrying if I erased a great move in a fit of stupidity. Which is definitely something that’s happened a time or two in the past.

The game also does a good job of keeping the primary UI easy to understand. There’s one main screen when you pause the game, and it has clearly marked tabs for things like Logbook, which keeps you focused on how to progress the plot. It also lets you check items, your Coromon database, and plenty more. If you send a Coromon into storage, their equipped item even returns to your inventory by default, which was very helpful. And if you are at a healing center, you’ll find helpful facilities to play around with your inherent Traits, potential, and more. Hell, you’ll even come across checkpoints in dungeons that let you return to floors you’ve already completed for faster exploration. Even better, instead of your Coromon needing to learn weak moves to explore your environment, you have a gauntlet that can equip different modules to accomplish the same basic result. It’s no exaggeration to say TRAGsoft spent a ton of hard work making this game streamlined and very easy to understand, at least for the most part.

Everything I previously said wouldn’t much matter if Coromon wasn’t fun. But as I’m sure you can guess by now, I had a ton of fun playing through the adventure. Sure, it’s pretty linear, but it also has a very compelling plot and fascinating world. Battles were fast-paced and easy to parse, and I never felt overwhelmed or unsure of what to do next. There are even sidequests to keep you busy, and you can accrue milestones as you play that reward you with extra items and cash. Honestly, my only small complaint is that the main story isn’t overly long, and once you’re done, there’s not much to do other than play others online. But if millions of Pokémon fans can look past that issue, I can forgive Coromon for following suit.

GBA Gorgeous

Visually, Coromon looks like a time-lost Pokémon from the GBA era. It’s colorful and full of great little details. Though I wanted more overall creatures to collect, there’s a respectable variety of amazing Coromon, from lunar wolves to hideous swamp beasts and even ice-cold polar bear cubs. Each environment in the game offers a lot of eye candy, from waterlogged islands to mysterious forests and dangerous caverns full of mine carts. Musically, the game has some catchy tunes that don’t distract you from the action, and get you pumped up for the epic boss battles. Also, I have to commend TRAGsoft for their writing, which is often humorous and full of charm.

A Little Bit of Chaos

I

have very few issues with the game, but here’s some to cover quickly. Though most everything in the game is very easy to understand, I was perplexed how they would often reference pressing secondary keys or other buttons to accomplish things, but not clarifying what those buttons actually were. Hell, you can’t even bring up a manual showing what keys do what to clarify it. Other than that, I think the game is very solid and easy to recommend.

Catch a Winner

It’s clear that Coromon was worth the wait, even if it didn’t quite live up to my hype as the game that dethroned Pokémon. That said, this is a beautiful and creative adventure full of heart, with hours of gameplay to keep you going and plenty of reasons for hardcore players to pay attention. Sure, I might have wanted more optional content, but what’s here is hard to dismiss. If you’re a fan of monster-hunting games and want a new portable adventure on Switch, look no further.

Final Verdict: 4/5

Available on: Nintendo Switch (reviewed), PC; Publisher: Freedom Games; Developer: TRAGsoft; Players: 1 or 2(online); Released: July 21, 2022; ESRB: Everyone 10+ – Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Mild Blood; MSRP: $19.99

Editor’s note: The publisher provided a review copy to Hey Poor Player.