If you are a Pokémon lover, who particularly likes the battling and stats side of Pokémon, then I have a game for you.
NeoDuel: Backpack Monsters, is a inventory auto-battler, but instead of items in you pack, you’ll fill it up with Cosimons.
In this article, we’ll be giving a full review of the game and ranking it from decaf to fully caffeinated.
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GAMEPLAY
NeoDuel is full to the brim of action, and doesn’t really have a story, so we’re going to dive straight into the gameplay for this one. I have to admit, I think this is the first auto battler game I’ve played, and for a first timer, I really enjoyed the games fast paced nature.
NeoDuel is tournament based, and PvP, so each run sees you go into a new tournament with a completely fresh inventory ready to fill up with monsters which are called Cosimons. The tournaments each have X rounds, and you’ll go up against a different opponent in each one, usually matched up with someone on the same level as you. Each round you’ll have a certain number of cents to spend, and a randomly generated pool of Cosimons and energies to spend your cents on.
The shop has 5 things in it, and can be resolved for 1 cent. You can also right click to lock items saving them from being rerolled. There’s 4 main types of things you can buy: Cosimons that attack, Cosimons that have special abilities, energies, and inventory spaces.
Cosimons and energies are all sorted into different elemental categories, featuring a typical line up of fore, water, nature, air, electricity, magic and so on. There’s tons of different Cosimons, and as you progress you’ll have more rare Cosimons make appearances, with the rarer ones generally having better abilities, and each Cosimon has different stats.
If a Cosimon is an offensive Cosimon, it’ll have attack stats, as well as an energy cost, recharge time, and special abilities you can unlock via linking. Certain Cosimons attacks will also have certain buffs like burn, or poison, that reduce the opponents attacks or have positive effects on your own Cosimons. If a Cosimon is a defensive or special ability Cosimon, it’ll have a recharge time, as well as details of its special abilities, which can range from upping your shields, to powering up linked Cosimons, to providing healing. Generally special abilities are triggered by being linked to certain elements, and these can be either Cosimons or energy balls themselves. Link your Cosimons strategically and you can make them pretty OP, and give yourself the advantage when you go into battle. Certain Cosimons can be evolved by putting them next to certain energies or Cosimons, allowing non-elemental Cosimons being to be transformed into elemental ones, and of course giving them an upgrade too, granting them extra abilities or better attacks. To evolve them you do need to make sure the required item is right next to the Cosimon, and then go into a battle, with the Cosimon evolving at it’s conclusion – regardless of whether you win or lose.
Generally speaking, the better the Cosimon, the bigger it is, so you’ll need to purchase inventory spots when they pop up in the shop section. Some inventory parts can also have abilities, granting extra strength or abilities to specific Cosimons, making inventory arrangement even more complex. Linking your Cosimons up is the most effective way to boost you attack and defense, and there’s literally thousands of different ways to approach your inventory management. This is definitely a game packed with a ton of strategy, with your choices of Cosimons, elemental focus, and inventory placement all having a massive effect on your chances of winning. As you progress through the tournament you’ll also unlock some perks, and are given the choice of 3 different randomly generated perks to choose from. These can range for earning extra cents, to boosting your shields, to granting you extra poison points, and can be really useful for your run.
This is an auto battler, so the battle side is pretty passive, you basically have to set yourself up as best you can and then cross your fingers that it will be enough. You can hover over different Cosimons to check out their attacks and abilities, so studying you opponent can be useful, but other than that it’s just a matter of seeing who will win. You get five lives in each run, so you can take a few losses and still come out on top, but you don’t progress up a level until you win. Make it all the way to the end and win the final battle to take home the tournament trophy.
If I had to use one word to describe this game, it’s addictive. The fast paced nature of the game makes it feel like you can take risks, particularly early on in your run, and with nothing carrying through, it really feels like everyone is on equal footing in each tournament.
There’s an in depth guidebook accessible from the main menu, that allows you to see stats for all the Cosimons, and goes into details about what each buff, ability, or perk can do. And you can also change your character from the main menu, unlocking more the more you play. There’s so much to learn about each of the Cosimons and so many different ways to approach your game. I definitely had a lot of fun trying out different elemental focuses, and seeing what each different evolution is like. It’s easy to go deep into the stats and ideal inventory layouts, but the randomness of the shop generations functions as an equalizer, and it’s just as easy to be successful without looking into the numbers, well at least not too closely.
This is certainly a game that packs a punch, and is a really great one to play for a short time or a long one. The gameplay loop draws you in, and there’s enough detail to each Cosimon and layers with the different buffs and abilities, that the game feels complex and interesting.
This is a game that is executed well, and is just fun to play, so for gameplay, I’m rating NeoDuel: Backpack Monsters as Fully Caffeinated.
DESIGN
NeoDuel has as cool anime-esque design style, that is packed with colour.
The Cosimons all have cute illustrations, and the theming for the different elements is conveyed pretty well, really allowing you to see at a glance what each Cosimon is.
The UI felt really well communicated in this one, giving you a ton of information with a quick mouse over, and as someone who like to check stats, I really appreciated this feature.
The music is very suited to the battle arena style gameplay, but I couldn’t really get behind the voiceover and his cheesy comments – this is purely personal preference though.
Overall, NeoDuel is a game that has a really fun and upbeat vibe, which perfectly compliments the gameplay, and creates a fun game atmosphere,
so for Design, I’m rating NeoDuel: Backpack Monsters as Fully Caffeinated.
ORIGINALITY
NeoDuel is one of those games that you can see is clearly inspired by some more well known games. There’s definitely similarities to other elemental creature collector type games, and even the energies could be compared to games like Pokemon and Palworld.
That being said, the game doesn’t feel like a replica, as it establishes itself in a completely different genre, with very different gameplay. I actually feel like it’s more similar to Digimon than any of the other more well known creature collectors, but it hits on the nostalgia of those older TV shows and games, rather than feeling like it’s ripping it off.
As I mentioned before, I haven’t really played a lot of these auto battler style games, so I’d love to know if you think it’s similar to any other games in that genre, so drop a comment below with your thoughts.
For me, this game feels familiar, but still unique, so for Originality, I’m rating NeoDuel: Backpack Monsters as Buzzed.
THE FINAL BREW
I honestly wasn’t too sure if I was going to enjoy this style of game, but I was pleasantly surprised by NeoDuel and just how fun the gameplay is.
The colourful style, combined with the fast gameplay is fun and perfect for beginners or experienced battlers alike, and I really loved the monster theme, with it hitting just the right note of familiar yet different.
We’ve ground the beans, we’ve carefully weighed and pressed the grinds, and brewed this game down. Now it’s time for a taste test…NeoDuel: Backpack Monsters is Buzzed.
NeoDuel: Backpack Monsters is available on Steam now. You can find more info here
Until next time, stay caffeinated!
