Aniimo is Fishing For Pokemon Fans in a Crowded Sea

Pawprint Studio unveiled Aniimo at the recent Xbox Games Showcase, and it’s looking like a decidedly familiar concept. Indeed, the game shares more than a little DNA with Pokémon and its myriad spiritual successors, with executive producer Jovi Zhang even describing it as “a game that exists that makes all our dreams come true”—an ostensible reference to the drought of more experimental and ambitious creature-collecting games on the market.

But that thinking is a little faulty. The reality is, while Game Freak itself may have settled into a regular and comfortable pattern with its Pokémon series, the so-called Pokémon-like genre has actually been exploding in recent years. The indie space has a particular penchant for the creature-collecting gameplay loop, with the likes of Palworld even attracting the attention of Nintendo’s ever-litigious legal team. The landscape of Pokémon-inspired games has thus been growing exponentially, despite Nintendo’s enthusiasm for enforcing its perceived copyright claims, which could spell trouble for Aniimo and its ilk: they are emerging into a remarkably crowded market.

Aniimo Is Playing with the Same Fire as Palworld

Aniimo has the makings of a potentially viral game, but it also faces the same legal complications of last year’s viral sensation Palworld.

Aniimo Is Facing Off Against Some Stiff Genre Competition

There Are a Lot of Pokemon-Influenced Games Vying for Gamers’ Time and Money

Aniimo is clearly targeting a desirable genre space, joining countless other monster-collecting-and-battling titles, the most prominent of which include:

Palworld
Casette Beasts
Temtem
Monster Sanctuary
Ooblets
Monster Hunter Stories
Coromon
Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince
Nexomon: Extinction

It doesn’t look like there’s going to be a lull in this space anytime soon, either. Palworld is still in early access, constantly evolving and expanding with new content, and Nintendo itself is pushing full-steam ahead with Pokémon Legends: Z-A, which is slated for an October 2025 release. Fans of these games might also be keeping an eye out for the likes of Skyclimbers, Kindred Fates, and Aethermancer, which are releasing in 2026 and beyond.

Of course, some of these games stretch the definition of “Pokemon-like” quite a bit, mixing in unique gameplay, visual, and narrative elements to feel distinct despite the similarities in their broad-strokes premises. But some, like Nexomon: Extinction and the upcoming Skyclimbers, look an awful lot like Pokémon, playing in the same gray areas as Palworld, which often has an uncanny likeness to its Nintendo inspirations. Aniimo is splashing around in these same waters, boasting an art style that could easily invite Palworld-esque lawsuits. But aside from potential legal risks, Aniimo could struggle by virtue of its sheer similarity to its competition, at least in terms of aesthetics. Hopefully, this won’t turn out to be the case.

Why Aniimo Still Has a Chance in a Packed Market

As an open-world monster-collecting RPG, Aniimo has a lot in common with the aforementioned games, but some of its more unique gameplay elements promise to keep it engaging and refreshing throughout. Specifically, Aniimo boasts a “Twining” mechanic, which allows players to merge with their collected monsters for novel combat and traversal abilities, like a supercharged roll into an enemy, or a gust of wind that creates ice platforms atop bodies of water. If these special abilities feel good to use, and are implemented in an engaging way, then Amiino could certainly rise above the noise to be something truly special.

But that’s a big if: ultimately, it’s impossible to know how the Twining mechanic will work in practice without actually playing the game. Aniimo‘s brief reveal trailer has also drawn some skepticism from audiences wary of free-to-play open-world games, which tend to favor gacha features and other problematic monetization methods that can cannibalize their fun factor. Aniimo‘s closed PC beta is planned to drop later this summer, so that may give players a clearer picture of how the final product will shake out.