Disclosure: I was provided with a review copy of this game, All opinions in this review are my own and have not been influenced or altered in any way by the developers.
Introduction
Developed by MercuryGameStudio, The Edge of Allegoria is a tactical RPG with clear inspiration from Pokémon Red & Blue, blending monster collecting with a darker, more narrative-driven world. Instead of a cheerful journey through gyms and leagues, players are thrown into a grim land where choices carry heavy consequences and survival takes precedence over friendship.
Gameplay
At its core, the game borrows the idea of building a team of creatures and sending them into battle, but here the fights are grid-based and tactical rather than turn-by-turn duels. Strategy is everything, positioning, terrain, and careful ability use determine victory. Unlike Pokémon, where grinding can cover mistakes, Allegoria is unforgiving and demands foresight. However, the game does start to feel repetitive after a while, with enemy encounters and progression loops that don’t always offer enough variety to stay fresh.
Presentation
Visually, the game opts for a gothic aesthetic, replacing Pokémon’s colorful sprites and cheery tone with moody backdrops and stylized character art. The choice of a puke-green palette reminiscent of the original DMG Game Boy adds a layer of nostalgia that fans of the 90s will immediately recognize. The soundtrack fits this darker world, though repetition sets in during extended play sessions. On Switch, the performance is stable both handheld and docked, with no noticeable slowdowns. One drawback is the heavy use of profanity in the dialogue, it feels forced at times, more for shock value than genuine storytelling, and it gets old fairly quickly. The story itself also lacks depth, with a plot that never fully lives up to the potential of its setting.
Final Thoughts
If Pokémon showed you the bright side of monster collecting, The Edge of Allegoria is its shadowy counterpart. It doesn’t reinvent the genre, but it offers a unique, atmospheric take that combines nostalgia with something new. Fans of early Pokémon who always wished for a darker, more mature spin may find exactly that here. Despite its flaws, from repetitive battles to a thin storyline and overuse of profanity, I still found it fun to play and overall enjoyed the experience.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ (3/5)