Towards the latter half of 2025, a certain game would constantly be in my feed garnering fanfare and praise online. This would go on for months on end with more details being revealed little by little. A monster catching ARPG was already present in the indies and gacha had multiple games under the genre’s umbrella but Aniimo was slowly climbing up there for me personally. This all changed during the Taipei Game Show when I finally got my hands on the title and with all honesty, after trying it out myself, Aniimo had become my number one.
A Hint of Familiarity
Trying out a different game with all the new titles being unveiled every so often would get tedious especially when titles would fall under the same genre like with ARPGs. While it could be repetitive, it does have a benefit in making generic game controls feel like second nature.
Playing Aniimo was an intuitive experience with movement and combat that felt great. The demo build I played wasn’t in a language that I understood but the UI presented had all the hints you needed to pick it up quickly. Even if you accidentally pressed a wrong key, you’d be welcomed by something new and what differentiated it among other games, which was the monster catching and combat, felt so seamless swapping between monsters having their own skills and ultimate attacks.
One with the Monster
To beat the monster you gotta be the monster and when I swapped controls from the player character to the monster on the field, that was when I knew that Aniimo was in its own league. These controls as a human translated to the monster and chaining combos from human to monster to monster and more had me feeling like I was starring in my own combo video. The dopamine rush of seeing all those numbers flying around had me pumped and when elements came into play, it felt like a certain monster collecting game with weaknesses and resistances adding another layer to the deeper complexities of combat waiting to be uncovered.
Diversity At Its Core
Having other means to enjoy a game adds to the experience and while combat may not be everyone’s cup of tea, monster collecting was definitely on the table. During the demo I stumbled on the party adjustment screen and the monsters that could have been used throughout the session. What had my interest piqued was how unique they all looked while still having enough personality to stand on their own whether it be through their looks or their combat prowess
Aniimo feels like what Pokemon should’ve been after all these with monster collecting reminiscent of the Pokemon Legends series and being able to fight as the Pokemon and not just through the trainer. Types and species and other aspects in between had me giddy with what else could be uncovered in the world of Aniimo and whether it be through the eyes of someone competitive or a casual, Aniimo would just constantly tick all those boxes.
Excited for the journey
While my time with Aniimo may have been short, the seamless controls, fast combat and diverse cast of monsters had me hooked. The latter half of 2026 can’t come fast enough and I for sure can’t wait to get my hands on the full game for more Aniimo goodness.
For more details on Aniimo, check out their official pages below:
Official Website: https://www.aniimo.com/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/playaniimo
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AniimoGL
TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@aniimo_na
X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/PlayAniimo
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Aniimo_EN
Discord community: https://discord.gg/FPNVHewU
