Monster Sanctuary is an indie RPG that recently fully released for the PC, Switch, Xbox One, and PS4. It’s a 16-bit colorful sprite game that combines monster catching, battling, and platforming. The best way to describe it is “Metroidvania meets Pokemon”. The game is a lot of fun and is surprisingly deep. In The Aggregate: Monster Sanctuary, I’ll be listing a lot of common info to help you traverse the sanctuary on your way to be Keeper Master.
The best resource for this game is the very meticulously detailed wiki.
Information posted on The Aggregate: Monster Sanctuary is subject to change in the event that the current game state changes.
Table of Contents
Personally, I’ve put over a hundred hours into the game through exploring, 5-6 starring champion battles, and collecting every monster.
Currently there is endgame content in the form of monsters that are essentially superbosses. Eventually, a new game plus mode will be added that will allow you to carry over your items (sans upgrades) and monsters.
Your monsters will retain their light/dark shifts, but will be reduced to level one. You will not be able to use their exploration ability until you could encounter that monster during your current playthrough.
The Spectral Toad is honestly the best, by far. You can use the toad for the entirety of the game without worrying about it falling off. It can also be used in the postgame to 5-star the champion battles (getting higher scores gives better rewards). If you chose a different starter, that’s ok. Every monster in this game is usable.
You can obtain every monster. You can also obtain all four of the starters in the postgame.
A few of the monsters can evolve. You can generally obtain their evolution item from their evolved forms, or from reward boxes. You can then use the evolution item (catalyst) on the monster at the Tree of Evolution in the Ancient Woods.
Keep in mind that evolving isn’t a strict upgrade like in Pokemon. Evolved forms will generally have different abilities, weaknesses, skills, stats, etc.
Here’s the list of monsters who can evolve:
You can generally find one of each item in the game, but fret not, you can obtain extra copies from reward boxes. If you’re trying to farm reward boxes, be aware that there are quite a few possible prizes, so be patient.
Aim for 45%-55%. It gets easier to add DR as your monster’s level increases, so don’t worry if it’s low early on.
All weapons and equipment can be upgraded to level 5.
There isn’t necessarily a one-size-fits-all loadout, but some items are quite good and should be considered. Don’t be afraid to upgrade your basic weapons and accessories. If you’re short on upgrade materials and can’t get the drops from encounters, then keep in mind that you can also buy the needed items, though they are a bit expensive.
Nearly all of the unique items are useful, but obviously you can only use so many of them at a time. Yeah, it would be great to have an Abyssal Sword on each monster, but you won’t get one until late game.
Here are a few of the unique weapons and accessories I actually used that really shined for me:
Weapons:
Many of the other unique weapons are gated behind late or postgame boss fights so I didn’t get as much of a chance to use them, unfortunately.
Accessories:
You can feed a monster up to three food items. These provide additional stats. Think of it like EV training in Pokemon. A monster will remember the last three meals it ate. Don’t be afraid to use better foods as you find them.
Realistically, you’ll go through so many bananas and peanuts that it’ll look like a Donkey Kong level after you’re done.
Monsters gain an additional perk when you shift them to Light or Dark. In some cases, the optimal shift for a monster will be obvious.
Let’s use Mad Eye, for example.
Mad Eye just has to look at the enemy the wrong way and they’re covered in debuffs. Once you grab one of these guys, it’s smooth sailing through the rest of the game. While Supremacy does sound useful, Debuff Mastery is where it’s at for this monster.
Many of the shifts are useful, but you need to take into account the monster’s role. A good example of this is Caraglow.
You might see Critical Apex and think “wow, I’m going to use this cat for DPS”. In actuality, not only are there two other cats in the game that are better for DPS (Spectral Lion and Catzerker), Light-shifted Caraglow excels as a healer/buffer. There is even a strategy that involves using Caraglow to generate charge stacks so that you can KO champion monsters in a single turn.
Keep in mind that you don’t have to shift your monsters if neither shift works for you. There is even an item that provides a ton of stats (Gray Pearl) that can only be equipped to unshifted monsters.
This isn’t an issue. You can earn more shift and switch stones throughout the game. Eventually, you’ll also obtain eggs that are already light or dark shifted, saving you time (and shift stones) later on.
Not an issue. You can use a skill resetter, which are relatively easy to find and can be purchased from a merchant.
The game doesn’t do a great job of explaining how to get across certain areas. Here’s a brief list of how to cross some of these obstacles.
If you are underwater, you’ll need a monster with Swimming, or Improved Swimming, which allows you to cross the bubbles.
Trying to get high up? You need a monster with Flying, or Improved Flying, which allows you to go even further.
Need to squeeze into a small tunnel? You need to enter Blob Form or Morph Ball to enter it. You can also fit into small crevices on walls.
If it’s a large rock that needs to be lifted, you’ll need the Levitate ability. This is also a postgame ability.
If there are little glittering platforms that you can’t jump on, you need the Secret Vision ability.
Grab onto little hanging ceiling claw points with the Grapple ability.
Pressure plates on the ground that need something heavy to weigh them down can be activated with Summon Rock, Summon Mushroom, or Summon Big Rock.
You can light up dark rooms with the Sonar or Light abilities.
Certain areas require you to move fast before the floor collapses. Cross the gap by riding a monster with the Mount ability.
Every monster in the game is potentially useful, and there aren’t any trash mons like in other monster games.
However, you can’t just have three DPS monsters and hope to steamroll the enemy. Some of the boss fights are definite wakeup calls, and there are some big difficulty spikes.
Depending on your playstyle, you’ll either prefer direct damage or debuffs. Both are equally viable.
If you choose direct damage, you’ll want your main DPS monster, as well as your buffers/shielders/healers. Some monsters do both, so keep that in mind when building your team.
For debuff teams, choose monsters that can consistently rack up multiple stacks of debuffs on a target. Monsters that can cause burn, chill, or poison are your friend here. Good examples include Mad Eye, Vasuki, Specter, Imori, Grummy, G’rulu, or the blobs.
Again, I want to reiterate that even early game monsters can remain useful, and you don’t necessarily have to swap them out. It’s more important to have a cohesive theme or strategy than to worry about swapping monsters because you reach a new area. There are some difficulty spikes in the game, so don’t freak out if you’re having a tough time in certain areas.
This is not an exhaustive list. Teambuilding is incredibly flexible in this game, so this is a very small sample. If you’re struggling to find a team composition that works for you, here are a few suggestions.
Chill teams
Yowie, Spectral Wolf, Ice Blob, Imori, Shockhopper, Arachlich, Frosty
Burn teams:
Spectral Lion, Polterofen, Magmapillar, Gryphonix
Buff + big DPS
Caraglow, Brutus/Catzerker, Targoat/Dodo
Debuffs:
Mad Eye, Vasuki, Specter, Spectral Toad, Imori
Badass Birds
Silvaero, Dodo, Spectral Eagle
This goes along with making sure that your team has synergy. There are some difficulty spikes when you reach certain areas. There are also a few bosses that will slap you if your team isn’t prepared. You don’t ever need to grind in this game, but there are things you can do to get ready.
Here’s the TL;DR:
Eventually you’ll need to rematch Old Buran. If you win, he’ll give you the Blob Key. Use the key at the Blob statues in Stronghold Dungeon, Sun Palace, and Mystical Workshop to unlock Blob Burg.
You must find the three statues before Old Buran will rematch you.
The console versions are a patch behind. Some platforms, like the Switch, take longer to approve patches. A bigger update is planned, but at this time there isn’t a concrete release date for the patch.
We’d love to see your thoughts in the comments below, or feel free to join us on the official Aggregator Reviews Discord! We want to build a community, and we’re looking for members, content creators, and moderators.
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