Platform reviewed: Steam
Price: $11.99
I haven’t played many auto battlers; they never quite appealed to me. My experience with the few I’ve played has been mixed. However, when NeoDuel Backpack Monsters came across my desk, the premise and the art intrigued me enough to give this auto-battler a shot. I’m happy to say I enjoyed the game. Yes, a few features gave me pause, but overall, it’s a fun experience in a genre that usually has little player input.
The premise seems straightforward at first, but when I dove into the game, I felt a bit overwhelmed. The gameplay operates in a loop. The first phase involves buying Cosmions—short for Cosmic Monsters—which embody elements like fire, water, and electric. These creatures are clearly inspired by familiar pocket monsters, such as Pokémon. I'm constrained by limited starting funds, forcing significant choices based on the available options and my budget. Backpack space is also limited, though I can buy upgrades from the shop.
This leads to my least favorite part of the game: the reliance on chance. The shop’s offerings are random, and while I can pay to reroll the available items—a feature I used more frequently as the game progressed—it still feels like a gamble to get the Cosmions I needed.
One aspect of NeoDuel Backpack Monsters I particularly enjoy is the evolution and fusion features. Evolving Cosmions involves using elemental essences, which can be purchased from the store and placed adjacent to the corresponding Cosmions. Some Cosmions are neutral, and adding an essence to them grants special abilities. Additionally, combining two half-essence pieces creates a more powerful essence.
Fusing two Cosmions together creates epic versions of the monsters. I often found myself buying Cosmions and placing them in a staging area, waiting to fuse them with any duplicates I might acquire later.
The creatures also have linking abilities, which activate a secondary ability when linked. This feature adds an engaging layer of strategy, as you must carefully arrange the characters in your backpack to link them effectively and unlock their secondary abilities.
The next phase involves battling, and although I engage with other players' builds asynchronously—meaning I’m not fighting them in real-time—I still have the opportunity to observe and analyze their strategies. These insights have been invaluable for refining my builds, helping me identify effective combinations and high-damage strategies. I also discovered the critical importance of healing during battles and learned which Cosmions other players used for this purpose.
As an auto-battler, once I've prepared my backpack, I sit back and watch the battle play out. I can adjust the battle speed, so the observation process doesn't drag on. After several battles, I'm offered a choice of three upgrades, which provide buffs or new abilities, like starting with a shield or dealing extra damage when my health drops below a certain threshold.
The battles are intense, with my run ending either after achieving fifteen wins or suffering five losses—whichever comes first. Unfortunately, reaching five losses means starting over. Despite the challenge, the game’s fast pace ensures I don’t feel like my time is wasted when I lose. Additionally, the game tracks daily, weekly, and overall rankings, encouraging me to come back to the game often.
Final Grade: B
Among the auto-battlers I've played, NeoDuel Backpack Monsters stands out as one of the best. I appreciate the strategic depth it offers, allowing me to have greater influence over the outcomes. While there is an element of chance that occasionally complicates my strategies or forces me to adapt my original plans, I ultimately found my time with the game to be enjoyable.
Review code provided by The 4 Winds and Pirate PR.
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