At the recently held “Bilibili Game First Look” event in Shanghai, AUTOMATON China had the opportunity to check out the early build of Monster Fantasy and talk to its developers at JOTOYO. Drawing influence from the Monster Hunter and Animal Crossing series, Monster Fantasy is an upcoming RPG that aims to blend hardcore hunting gameplay with cozy, slow life sim elements. While the demo primarily focused on the title’s combat, showcasing the four available classes and their respective fighting styles, we asked the devs about what players can expect from the “cozy village life” side of the game.
Since Monster Fantasy’s appeal lies in bringing together two genres that rarely overlap (and tend to have different playerbases), one of our first questions was whether players who prefer life sim gameplay would be forced to engage with the action. According to JOTOYO, the answer is no. The developers say it will be entirely possible to play the game without fighting monsters yourself, thanks to the village’s NPC system.
Villagers are designed to feel like “friends” that players can customize by assigning them different classes. This means you can have NPCs accompany you into battle to help out, or even send them out to hunt monsters and gather crafting materials in your stead. This allows you to avoid combat and instead focus on running the village. As an example, the devs say you can live as a blacksmith while relying on combat-specialized NPCs to do the hunting.
The life sim side of Monster Fantasy is also centered around making villagers feel more like living people instead of traditional NPCs. According to the developers, each character follows their own daily routine, behaves differently depending on the time of day, and comes with a rapport/affinity system. The goal is to raise the game’s appeal as a cozy life title by introducing NPCs that players can get emotionally attached to. If you get close to say, a shopkeeper, they might give you discounts or even the occasional gift.
While the devs plan to add dozens of NPCs throughout the game, you’ll be able to choose your favorite ones to live in your village and gradually build friendships with them. The demo shown at Bilibili Game First Look depicted a settlement that was already well established, but in the full game, players will begin with an undeveloped area, constructing houses and commercial buildings before inviting NPCs to move in.
For those curious, the developers also confirmed that romance is something they are considering, though they stressed that they have not yet decided whether romantic relationships with NPCs will make it into the final release.
When it comes to the difficulty level of combat, rather than implementing difficulty settings, JOTOYO’s current plan is to let players adjust the challenge through character progression and crafting. Stronger equipment will make hunts easier, and notably, not all gear will require you to defeat monsters. The team says some powerful equipment will instead be obtainable through non-combat activities such as minigames, giving players who are there for the game’s slower-paced content alternative ways to strengthen their characters.
As for the game’s overall scope, JOTOYO says Monster Fantasy’s length will largely depend on how you engage with it. Those looking to experience everything, including the main story, combat, resource gathering, crafting, and villager interactions, can expect more than 50 hours of gameplay. On the other hand, players focused on mastering the action systems, are likely to get even more playtime out of the game. At launch, the developers are currently planning to include around 50 boss monsters.
Monster Fantasy is currently in development for PC (Steam).
