Cassette Beasts

App Store Editors’ Notes

Overall a good game but a few issues

The games concept is a good turn on its genre, some of the puzzles are interesting and I enjoy the battle system but these physics based puzzles are genuinely the worst. being able to push something around is fair since its more of a minor unconvenience but these magnetic ability puzzles are awful. the box flying at you can cause it to fall out of the activation radius or straight up LAUCH itself across the map or over a cliff and make you have to reload the area which is awful to do repeatedly. I also did encounter a bug that caused fast travel to teleport me into tje ground of harbortown but that was fixed with just exiting and reopening so also just a minor inconvenience.

Love the Game, Disappointing Port

I love this game however the port is missing features and buggy. There is no multiplayer so no trading or PvP. Which is something that should probably be mentioned in the description. The game also has some features that are bugged like monsters not changing colors along with their element. For example, a bootleg Plant type Traffikrab being the normal Traffikrab orange color instead of green in the overworld, in battle and in the stats screen. Also, monsters aren’t changing colors when struck by an attack that alters their element or when using elemental coatings. The element icon does change so players can rely on that, but that was my favorite visual feature that I enjoyed about the game. For those who may not know. If you see a monster walking around in the overworld with a glitchy, static effect, you should definitely try to catch it. The other issue is stickers being able to be put on any monsters even if it’s states the sticker is incompatible. Currently the game is single player so it’s not too much of issue, but it feels like the port is incomplete or wasn’t tested before release(?). I’ve also had crashes on IPad Pro, 3rd gen, although it’s been rare. Aside from bugs, missing features and unfortunate crashes, it’s playable depending on your device. I’m really hoping there will be patch fix soon. I loved playing this on Xbox and was hyped to see it released for iOS.

Love this Port of Cassette Beast but BEWARE….

Cassette Beasts is a fantastic game with so much to love. The soundtrack is phenomenal, adding a vibrant energy to every battle and exploration. The gameplay is engaging and creative, with a unique twist on monster collection that keeps things fresh. The monsters are well-designed, and fusing them is a blast—it’s exciting to see what combinations you can come up with. That said, the experience is heavily impacted by frequent crashing. I understand my older iPhone might be part of the issue, but it’s frustrating when the game closes unexpectedly, forcing me to redo progress over and over. It’s a shame because the game itself is so enjoyable, but this technical issue makes it hard to stay invested for long sessions. If the developers can address these stability issues, this would easily be a must-play for fans of monster collection games. For now, it’s a great game hindered by technical hiccups.

LOVE this game. but several bugs/issues

Okay so first of all, I really enjoy playing this game. It’s challenging without being overly stressful, the music is lovely (I prefer without vocals), it has character customization, and I am actually invested in the story. I think the mechanics are just reminiscent enough of other monster collecting RPGs while remaining unique. The main issues I have are as follows: - I paid the $6.99 for the full game (+ $0.99 for the cosplay DLC because of course I did) and every now and then it’ll act as though I am still playing the free trial—I’ll leave a building and it’ll say “that’s all, please purchase the full version to continue playing!” however, it doesn’t send me back to the title screen, it just glitches if I try to fast travel, etc. Last time, deleting the app in the background, reopening it and clicking restore purchases worked, but this past time I had to do that and then basically pretend to re-buy the packs. It didn’t charge me, but still, it’s mildly annoying. - The magnet feature. Cool concept, nearly impossible to complete the puzzles with the mechanics of iOS. Idk what it’s like on PC/console, but I can’t glide and turn on magnetics at the same time, and if i turn it on before gliding it will attach me to the wrong pole. Also, I did a block puzzle purely by luck because it threw the block all over the place, you can’t be holding the block while trying to levitate, and there is no way to actually aim the block mid air. Really cool concept, incredibly confusing in practice lol. Overall, I love this game and I plan to keep playing!! Just wanted to share some of my frustrations :)

Transferring save data + Crashes

As many other reviews have stated, the game crashes a lot. For me, it’s like a 50% chance that after every trainer battle, the game crashes and I lose that progress. There are certain trainers who will ALWAYS result in a crash at the end of the battle. I have never been so stressed out battling in a game where I have a 100% win rate, lol. However, while I still think that this level of crashing is a little crazy, my device doesn’t meet the required specs, that’s on me. But there is no way to back up your save data or transfer it to another device. Straight up, the games’ mechanics and designs are incredible and I’ve liked it a lot! But it’s basically unplayable for me on this device, and there’s no way for me to keep the progress I’ve already gained! If you could add a way to transfer save data, it would bump this game up another star for me, because it would at least offer something of a solution to the issue. I’ve also heard that the game tends to crash even on devices that meet the requirements listed, so I don’t think this is an issue entirely on the consumer, y’know? Again, beyond the crashing, the game has gorgeous visuals, a fun storyline, and intriguing mechanics. That, unfortunately, doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement.

Good game with some controller support issues

Update: Just another note, even if you buy the game, it does that annoying thing where the in app purchase does not register offline, so it will keep showing the demo block. Hopefully that gets fixed in an update cause I really want to like the game but I’m not going to be online all the time to play it This game is pretty nice. It’s a Raw Fury game, so I knew it was gonna be good. The retro cassette era aesthetic really fits. The battle/ mid-battle fusion mechanic is pretty interesting and the battles are fun. The tutorial is the demo, and it’s not super long. Gameplay feels like a mix of Pokemon and Digital Devil Saga in a way. It does have controller support, however one gripe I had with it is the controller support is a bit buggy. In the menu if you go into the options, the back button does not activate and when using gliding abilities, it just defaults to sprint. Hopefully that gets fixed.

So much more than a “Pokémon clone”

I have not specifically played the mobile version (even though I have it installed on my phone), but I have played and beat the Switch version and have 65 hours logged into that save. I’m rating it 5 stars to counteract the usual review-bombing that happens with try before you buy games from little kids that expect the entire game to be free. I’m sorry bytten, you don’t deserve that. Now for the actual review. I can’t say much due to it being spoilers, but this game is SO much more than just a “pokemon clone”, and is much more than meets the eye. You WILL be surprised and shocked. You earn the lore and backstory of New Wirral, the characters, the beasts and the [REDACTED], and it gets deeper and deeper. I’ve loved this game since it came out for switch in May 2023, and a lot of heart and soul has been put into it. By the way, the entire game was made by just two people—Jay Baylis and Tom Coxon. The soundtrack, composed by Joel Baylis (one of the dev’s brother) and performed by Shelby Harvey, is almost universally loved by anyone I’ve seen play CB. The feeling of “when the vocals kick in” when you fuse is a feeling revered by the CB fans. Two songs particularly loved are a post game spoiler, so I can’t say the name, and Wherever We Are Now (the song that plays in Harbourtown, it WILL get stuck in your head). My personal favorite song is Same Old Story (the [REDACTED] battle theme) with a spoiler song (the main antagonist’s battle theme) being a close second. By the way, if you loved Cassette Beasts, check out Lenna’s Inception on Steam by the same developers. There are some lore tidbits in that game that helps you make more sense of the lore in its spiritual successor (this game). TL:DR it’s not pokemon it’s its own thing. buy the full game NOW 🫵

More transparency with updates

To preface my review, I just want to say that I honestly love this game. The style, the music, the tone, and the atmosphere are all truly refreshing. This is particularly true for a genre that seemed all but on life support before any studios decided to both challenge and reimagine the formula that Pokémon stumbled upon all those years ago. However, as someone who owns this game on both mobile and PC—and who is very tired of the Steam Link app as well as all of its requirements—I believe I can speak for the community when I say we would greatly appreciate more transparency with regard to future updates. In the same breath, I’ll also say that we want the Gauntlet/Sunshine update.