A new open-world project called Monster Fantasy has shown up on Steam, and it is going straight for a combination that plenty of players have been asking about for years: massive hunts against oversized beasts mixed with collecting and taming those same creatures. The developers describe the game as an action RPG with cozy life-sim elements, but the premise and visuals have already earned it comparisons to Monster Hunter and Palworld.
Fifty large creatures and four classes
Monster Fantasy drops you into an open-world map populated by 50 large-scale creatures that look a lot like classic boss encounters. Combat is split into melee and long-range approaches, and you pick from classes that each come with their own skill set:
- Mage
- Warrior
- Archer
- Martial Artist
Beating a creature hands you resources and materials, which feed directly into crafting better gear and weapons. In other words, the loop is familiar: hunt, harvest, upgrade, hunt something bigger.
You can capture defeated monsters and ride them
According to the developer, you will use a tool similar to Palworld’s Pal Spheres to capture monsters you have already knocked out. Captured creatures can then be tamed and used as mounts, and that is the single biggest point of overlap with Palworld. It is not clear yet whether every monster in the game can be ridden, but the trailers show both flying and land-bound creatures carrying the player around.
Crafting, fishing, mining and cooking between hunts
The life-sim half is meant to keep you busy when you are not chasing beasts. Monster Fantasy lets you craft, forage, mine, fish and cook, and most of those activities loop back into combat anyway. Crafting unlocks higher-level armor and weapons, while cooking produces buffs for fights or potions that heal you. The peaceful life with monsters is, fittingly, something you earn only after beating them first.
Release in 2027, playtest already ran on Steam
Monster Fantasy is planned for 2027, so there is clearly a long stretch of development ahead. Even so, a playtest started on Steam on September 22 and gave a group of players a look at one of the earliest builds. That version is unpolished and limited in terms of combat and gameplay features, but it does sketch out where the project is heading.
The playtest is not open to everyone. Access has to be requested through the game’s Steam page, and the developers reviewed incoming requests between September 22 and 25, granting access as needed.
Where to read more
We are following the project as it develops, and you can find everything we have published so far in our Monster Fantasy hub. If you want to compare the hunting side of the formula with the genre benchmark, the official page for Monster Hunter Wilds is the obvious starting point, and the game is also listed on Steam.
FAQ
The game is currently planned for 2027, which suggests development still has a long way to go.
The playtest began on September 22 and access had to be requested through the Steam page. The developers reviewed those requests between September 22 and 25 and granted access as needed.
Yes. The developer says you will use a tool similar to Palworld’s Pal Spheres to capture defeated monsters, tame them and use them as mounts. Trailers show both flying and ground-based creatures being ridden.
Monster Fantasy features Mage, Warrior, Archer and Martial Artist, each with its own skill set, split across melee and long-range combat.
You can craft, forage, mine, fish and cook. Crafting unlocks high-level armor and weapons, while cooking creates combat buffs and healing potions, so most of it feeds back into hunting.