15 years ago, Pokemon-likes were a thing that happened but not a luxury to be taken for granted. Nowadays, independent developers have made the monster catch-and-trains into a subgenre of their own. Many of them are pretty good and some less so, but for me, a longtime Pokemon enjoyer, I unfortunately see many of these monster collectors as samey and a bit disposable. Usually either Diet Old Pokemon or “What if Pokemon was this other genre?”

Monster Crown: Sin Eater follows up the original Monster Crown, a game that had some good ideas but suffered from technical issues and much unrealized potential. Sin Eater realizes some of that potential, and is a game that I think captures the old magic more than most of its contemporaries.

You play as Asur, a farmer boy that lives under the cruel, oppressive rule of the Crown Nation’s strange government. When your brother is executed for attempting to rebel against his oppressors, you are inspired to take up arms (and a team of monsters) to dismantle the government and defeat each of its leaders.

The story and dialogue are edgy bordering on sophomoric, but there’s some really good world building at play. The world is harrowing; monster herds trample through communities and decimate townspeople, death is around every corner, and monsters are bought and sold like objects that can be used and discarded.

The battle system is fairly straightforward Pokemoning with several different types that are more or less weak against different types. You can use a number of moves, level up, you get the idea. But it differs in key ways too. For example, the primary means of “evolving” the monsters you tame come in the form of research centers where you fuse monsters together into more powerful ones. It’s addicting to take two creatures you’re not sure about on their own before seeing the real freaks you can create. You can also create eggs which also fuse monsters (albeit with no experience gained) but don’t require discarding the base creatures.

You can tell this stands apart from Pokemon in some good ways, but Monster Crown stands apart in less-good ways too. There’s an aggressive level curve and some bizarre spikes that don’t feel earned, but difficulty settings and a generous number of high-EXP random encounters made it not too bad.

Sin Eater’s true success lies in its exploration. You can tackle any of its four main regions, and the oppressive leaders within, in any order. Inside of these regions are also optional dungeons which you stumble into and often have extremely powerful monsters waiting at the end. Many of these dungeons also have secret paths with some strange, awesome, almost shocking nods to the old Pokemon playing experience.

This is the first time I’ve played a non-Pokemon game that captures the feeling of discovery those games used to give me, and the very good sprite work that evokes Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal feeds that feeling further. As you play, you also get special abilities that feed the experience and let you climb up walls or surf over the water; in this freeform structure, Sin Eater plays like a strange-yet-functional fusion between old Pokemon and old Zelda.

Monster Crown: Sin Eater is the very definition of a “rough diamond.” I could name plenty of small-to-medium things that didn’t quite work for me in the 10 hours it took to reach credits, yet the look, feel, and sense of discovery make it stand apart from nearly every other indie monster collector I’ve ever played. If they make a Monster Crown 3 some day, it’ll really be something to watch.