Aethermancer is one of those games that sound better on paper than they initially feel in your hands. “Monster taming meets roguelite” the description says. That’s the kind of phrase that makes Pokémon fans’ eyes widen and roguelike addicts start sharpening their keyboards. But after several days with it, I can say that Aethermancer isn’t really about collecting creatures — it’s about understanding them. Or more precisely, it’s about building a team that works despite your own incompetence.
Aethermancer is a 3v3 turn-based battler where your monsters generate Aether (mana) to fuel skills. It sounds familiar, but it plays sharper than expected. Every action feels deliberate, and every misstep costs you a creature. The game gives you all the info you need — you can see enemy moves, damage types, and turn order — and still, you’ll manage to get one-shot by some smug lizard with a glowing AoE. The beauty here is in the decision-making: do you spend your turn buffing defenses, or take a risky swing hoping to stagger the enemy before they delete your healer?
Combat moves fast, and that’s a blessing. Deaths are frequent, but not meaningless — you can recruit new monsters between fights, and your team quickly becomes a chaotic mix of creatures you barely remember catching. It’s not elegant, but it keeps the runs fresh. The semi-randomized skill progression also ensures no two creatures grow the same way. That’s a small thing, but it matters when every battle feels like a puzzle with slightly different pieces.
Then there’s Corruption. Oh boy. Imagine your monsters losing chunks of their max HP just for getting hit too often. That’s Corruption — a system clearly invented by someone who wanted players to suffer for being alive. It punishes healing, rewards aggression, and often leads to moments where you just sigh and accept that your favorite companion is now permanently half-dead. Yes, you can tweak it in the options menu, but it’s such an unnecessary frustration that it almost feels like a developer prank.
Still, there’s something undeniably engaging about Aethermancer’s rhythm. You win, you die, you try again, and slowly your brain starts seeing patterns. The roguelite structure makes repetition part of the experience — but the problem is, it can feel repetitive. Each zone recycles the same few monsters, and the bosses don’t change between runs. Even with strong combat design, predictability creeps in faster than it should.
The presentation, though, is phenomenal. Every monster animation is handcrafted and bursting with personality. They don’t just attack — they perform. Watching them move is a joy, and I found myself replaying fights just to see how a certain skill looked. The art direction carries the whole experience, and the music, while not memorable enough to hum later, fits perfectly during battles. It’s clear that Moi Rai Studios (of Monster Sanctuary fame) still knows how to make their worlds feel alive.
But here’s the hard truth: Aethermancer feels like an early-access promise more than a full game. The story is buried under cryptic dialogue fragments, your character feels like a cardboard cutout with mana, and balance swings wildly between “too easy” and “why did I even try”. Some fights are over in seconds; others make you question your life choices. And yet… I can’t stop playing.
There’s this quiet satisfaction when a plan works. When your monster barely survives a hit and lands the final blow, or when you finally build a synergy that melts bosses like butter. It’s the kind of joy that only a game with heart can offer, even if that heart sometimes beats irregularly.
Aethermancer: So, would I recommend Aethermancer? Yes – but only if you know what you’re getting into. It’s rough, occasionally unfair, and definitely not finished. But it’s also ambitious, stylish, and full of potential. If you loved Monster Sanctuary and don’t mind a bit of chaos in your strategy, it’s worth the ticket. – Alicia
Just don’t get too attached to your monsters. They’re going to die. A lot.
