If there’s one thing to know about me, it’s that I can’t resist a creature-collecting RPG. Despite that, the Dragon Quest Monsters spin-off series has somehow always managed to pass me by. But, with less than an hour played of Dragon Quest Monsters: The Withered World, I already know that I’m not going to let myself miss out for any longer come its December launch.

Dragon Quest games are never lacking in charm, and The Withered World is immediately full of it. Guided by a cute companion creature known as Fluffy, I’m quickly acquainted with the concept of befriending and battling with monsters and given a personality quiz to determine my first ally. Fluffy decides I’d be a perfect match for a Woebergine – the name speaks for itself. Not sure how I feel about that, to be honest, but it sure is cute, so I’ll take it.

Befriend ’em all

After this, I make quick work of recruiting all the nearby monsters I can – I’ve completed too many Pokedexes in my career to waste time here. You can attempt to ‘scout’ a monster at any time during battle by using a ‘show of force,’ but as genre veterans will expect, it’s more likely to work if you’ve weakened them first. I also find out the hard way that failing to scout a monster can leave you unable to try again in the same battle – you can’t approach it like Pokemon where you can just toss as many Pokeballs as you like until one works – something I’m glad I discovered in the game’s opening section rather than later on when a rarer, more desirable monster was on the line.

I say ‘more desirable,’ but right from the start, there are plenty of loveable creatures to encounter. I can’t overstate how delighted I am to encounter a Fat Rat, who – you’re not gonna believe this – is a rather rotund rodent. Very early on, I also run headfirst into a battle with a ‘super strong enemy’ – a Drakularge (shocker, a big dragon) – which immediately one-shots my entire team. Clearly, some things are meant to be returned to later.

With over 500 monsters to tame, you’re not just limited to scouting new allies in battles to expand your collection, either. In a different section of my hands-on, I’m given free rein of The Withered World’s synthesis system. A returning feature, synthesis allows you to merge two of your monsters together to form a new one, allowing you to pass on things like abilities in the process – think breeding for perfect IVs and Egg Moves in Pokemon.

Before synthesizing, you’re shown what monster you’re going to get, including whether or not they’ll be a special monster. Some of the pairs and their outcomes make more sense than others – blending a Slime and Platypunk gives me a special Mottle Slime, for example, which half tracks, unlike my Skeleton and Platypup producing a Guaardvark – but I know the countless combinations here are going to have me constantly coming back for more to see what possibilities my monsters hold.

While it’d be difficult to form a real bond with anything in under an hour – especially with the knowledge that I’ll be leaving it behind me in a room at Gamescom, never to be seen again – my main takeaway from my time with Dragon Quest: The Withered World is that I’m going to adore whatever my team of monsters ends up being. The punny names, the cute designs, the fact that your ragtag team follows you around as you explore the world – everything is designed to be as endearing as possible, and by god, it’s working. I will do whatever it takes to raise my Cruelcumber to be a strong, reliable ally, and fight proudly by their side – whatever The Withered World’s story has in store for me, well, that’s just a bonus.

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