Who doesn’t remember the Summer of 2016? It was the season of Pokémon GO, and not only did the game have us catching them all around our cities, but it also caught the attention of the entire world with its Pokéballs.
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
This is an iconic quote from Arthur C. Clarke, and Pokémon GO’s experience lived up to that. Discovering Pokémon living in the real world, catching them with friends, taking down legendaries in your hometown—it’s magical. Its utilization of augmented reality (AR) was incredible, and the game let everyone live out their Pokémon trainer fantasies.
Pokémon GO has evolved since 2016, becoming an absolute behemoth and kick-starting companies investing in augmented reality. It has also spawned other games mimicking the geolocation, AR-based gameplay.
Here are the 10 best games like Pokémon GO to play today.
The Witcher: Monster Slayer
Available on Android and iOS.
CD Projekt Red struck a gold mine when they decided to fuse their flagship franchise with map-based augmented reality gameplay. It’s perfect if you wanted more RPG elements from Pokémon GO.
Monster Slayer is an augmented reality title that combines the best of Pokémon GO and Witcher 3. It turns our world into a high-fantasy adventure, and you even get to create your own Witcher. This is the first time in The Witcher series where you get to create your own character. Monster Slayer even has a deep leveling and equipment system.
As you’d expect from games like Pokémon GO, this has you exploring the real world tracking down monsters and completing quests. However, Monster Slayer is a more action-focused take.
Combat in The Witcher: Monster Slayer is fast-paced and real-time. It’s similar to the mobile Infinity Blade series. You’ll swipe your finger to attack, time blocks/parries, and even cast signs.
Visually, the game captures The Witcher’s aesthetic perfectly. The in-game map turns our world into a gritty, medieval universe. The user interface is also well-designed and responsive.
Along with the skill trees and leveling system, where Monster Slayer shines above Pokémon GO is with its questing. They’re more than just “catch X Pokémon” and there’s a proper main storyline.
Unlike Pokémon GO, this game incorporates augmented reality into actual gameplay mechanics. For example, in a quest, you might have to search for clues in the real world with your camera.
If you enjoy games like Pokémon GO and wanted to try something new with an RPG flavor, you’re sure to fall in love with this game.
TemTem
Available on PC, PS5, Xbox Series, and Nintendo Switch.
While it isn’t an augmented reality title, if you want more games like Pokémon GO, it might be worth checking out TemTem. It offers the same creature-catching gameplay and social elements.
One of Pokémon GO’s best attributes is its socialization. It’s an always-online game that brings people together, gets you going out with friends, and meeting new people during events.
Many systems in Pokémon GO take from the MMO genre, and focus on getting players to interact with each other. If you loved that, you’ll enjoy how TemTem fosters socializing.
TemTem is an MMORPG that draws heavily from the earlier Pokémon titles, like Ruby and Sapphire, for its core gameplay. There are also over a hundred different creatures to collect. Being an MMO, the game offers plenty in the way of meeting new people and adventuring with friends. There are guild systems, and you can party up with friends.
If you love socializing online, you should give our titles like Black Desert Online list a read. It is filled with other games that share Pokémon GO and TemTem’s MMO elements.
If you’re a huge fan of the mainline Pokémon JRPGs too, you’ll feel right at home with TemTem. The game is a blend of the online elements from GO with the mainline formula.
The monster designs are also just as cute. The creatures and world of TemTem have a very soft, pastel aesthetic that is full of personality and color.
Also, if you enjoy styling your avatar in Pokémon GO, don’t worry – TemTem has you covered. It offers great character customization and even goes a step further—you get your own house, too.
Orna RPG
Available on Android and iOS.
What would you get if you crossed an old-school RPG with Pokémon GO? The outcome would be Orna. It combines the classic RPG experience with the best that location-based games have to offer.
If you absolutely loved the old Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy games, this is a must-play. The game’s RPG mechanics are incredibly deep, and the battle system is reminiscent of them.
It features classic turn-based combat, which is a nostalgia punch. The variety is incredible, too. There are over 50 character classes, 100 items, and 300 monster types. Missing your cute Pokémon companion? Don’t fret, there are over 100 different pets and companions. They battle alongside you, and also have their own progression.
At times, Orna even feels like an early 2000s MMO in the best way. Like Old School RuneScape or the early days of EverQuest.
When it comes to the location-based elements it shares with Pokémon GO, Orna does it better. IT transforms the entire world into a pixel art map to journey through.
Unlike Pokémon GO, where the creatures will just stand still, this game is more immersive. Other characters and monsters will actually move around the map too in Orna.
The game also has plenty in the way of social features and a strong, dedicated community. There are player-created guilds in the form of Kingdoms and raids you can do together.
The user interface and design are also top-tier. The menus are intuitive and speedy, especially compared to GO. If you find this game’s old-school charm cool, we have other classic RPGs in our Kingdom Hearts 3 list.
Dragon Quest Tact
Available on Android and iOS.
If you want games with similar features to Pokémon GO’s creature catching and battling, it’s worth checking out Dragon Quest Tact. It features monster designs from Japan’s other iconic JRPG series.
Dragon Quest Tact takes the cute monsters we all know and love from the renowned series, and turns it into a tactical RPG. The game’s anime visuals are cute, and the gameplay is addicting.
While being a spin-off, it lives up to the fame of the mainline Dragon Quest series brought about. Also, its deeper, tactical combat might also be a fresh change from Pokémon GO’s simple tap to attack.
In Dragon Quest Tact, you control a party of monsters on a grid-based map to take out enemies. It’s actually pretty engaging, and while earlier battles seem easy, it gets challenging.
The story is also cheesy in the best way. In-between your strategy battles, the narrative will unfold in quirky cutscenes and charming dialogue—the cast are really likable.
Worried because you’ve never played a Dragon Quest game before? You don’t need to. Dragon Quest Tact is completely standalone when it comes to the story. It’s also free-to-play, so it won’t cost you a cent to try. Collecting the game’s creatures can be done in two ways: either through Gacha or by recruiting them.
Dragon Quest is the only other franchise with monster designs as iconic and instantly recognizable on the level of Pokémon GO. Also, if you’re a fan of Dragon Ball Z, all the designs in this are by Akira Toriyama!
Jurassic World Alive
Available on Android and iOS.
Searching for more games like Pokémon GO? You should play its prehistoric sister, Jurassic World Alive. While it seemed like a quick cash-grab at first, the game evolved and carved out its own identity.
Based on the iconic Jurassic Park/World franchise, the game features all of your favorite dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures. Best of all, this is an augmented reality game.
The dinosaurs are out roaming our world, and you can collect their DNA to create your own! Jurassic World Alive’s gameplay is akin to Pokémon GO.
It is location-based, and you go around collecting monsters—in this case, shooting them from a top-down perspective with darts, to collect their DNA. If you have enough, you can create your own.
You can even get chaotic and create hybrid dinos. The fun doesn’t stop there either, though, the game features a combat system that, honestly, puts Pokémon GO to shame.
Battles in Jurassic World Alive are closer to the mainline Pokémon games than GO is. On top of that, the animations are better and more varied. It also, similarly, features PvP and raids.
Jurassic World Alive is constantly adding in new dinosaurs to collect and hosting events. It’s free-to-play, so definitely worth checking out if you want more location-based games.
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin
Available on PC and Nintendo Switch.
Finding games like Pokémon GO is tough, especially if you want a title on PC or console platforms. The creature-catching genre is pretty scarce—but we know the perfect solution.
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin is a monster battling and hatching experience that not only puts GO to shame, but Pokémon mainline titles too.
It is a Monster Hunter spin-off title that lets you fight, collect—and even ride the series’ iconic dragons and beasts. It is a full-fledged, AAA JRPG experience and the quality shows.
The game is perfect for scratching the Pokémon GO itch, and for people wanting a rich combat experience—it delivers. If you’re feeling left out and wanted a game that you can take on the go…
The first Monster Hunter Stories game is available on mobile platforms. Wings of Ruin’s multiplayer features might not be as expansive as Pokémon GO, but it’s still there.
You can’t raid with a huge group of other players, but you can go questing with a friend in co-op. There’s also a versus mode, where you can battle against each other’s teams.
What really makes Wings of Ruin stand out in its genre is its strong storytelling and narrative. The game features a rich single-player campaign, which is rare for monster-catching titles. The game has over 80 monsters you collect, with huge inspiration drawn from dinosaurs. There’s also more mythical creatures like dragons, too.
Angry Birds AR: Isle of Pigs
Available on Android and iOS.
If you want a game that really utilizes the potential of augmented reality, give Angry Birds AR: Isle of Pigs a play. It translates the series’ signature gameplay to AR and executes it expertly.
Isle of Pigs features your usual Angry Birds gameplay and story. The greedy pigs have stolen some eggs yet again, and it’s down to you and your feathered friends to save them.The game is a puzzle title, where you’ll use a slingshot to shoot birds to (hopefully) take out the pigs. Unlike your usual Angry Birds, however, this time it’s in full 3D and in first-person.
There are four different bird types you can launch at the pigs—all with their own special abilities. The pigs reside on structures on each level which you can also destroy.
Seeing the wood and glass explode and crumble in the Angry Birds games has always been a delight. Seeing it all happen in augmented reality, however? It’s even more fun-filled.
There is a sort of novelty to seeing it all happen in your backyard (or wherever you decide to play). Moving around and actually controlling the slingshot yourself is also way more immersive.
Isle of Pigs is a great example of how interactive AR games could be. It takes the foundations and ideas Pokémon GO set at its release, and builds upon them.
Nexomon: Extinction
Available on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Android, and iOS.
Love Pokémon GO, but missing the rich RPG experience from the mainline titles? We recommend giving Nexomon: Extinction a go, and it’s also on mobile, so you can play anywhere.
Nexomon Extinction features hundreds of diverse, bright and colorful creatures to collect. From cute cactus monsters with anime eyes to big-brained octopus-like animals.
Just like in Pokémon, the game also offers evolution trees. Monsters in Nexomon have a level-driven progression system, and are categorized by elements, which are comparable to types.
Nexomon’s visuals are a modernized throwback to the original, sprite-based Pokémon games. It feels like a love letter to the franchise, and a what-if GameFreak stuck to the 2D top-down style.
The game’s user interface and controls are similar to the classic Pokémon titles. The world is traversed through the same, simple top-down view.
Combat in the game draws from earlier Pokémon games, too, but adds much-needed quality of life and modern improvements. The animation flow and graphics are also fast and fluid.
If you wanted a more in-depth monster JRPG on mobile, this delivers a rich experience compared to Pokémon GO. However, it lacks augmented reality and location-based gameplay features.
Nexomon Extinction also doesn’t have any multiplayer/social features, unfortunately. Instead, it has a heavier focus on challenging, single-player content.
Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation Dx2
Available on Android and iOS.
Turn the real world into the post-apocalypse. If you want monster-collecting gameplay on your phone, Shin Megami Tensei is a great choice and has a darker, mature aesthetic.
The game actually added augmented reality features because of the success of Pokémon GO. You can summon the monsters you catch and pose them for photos around the real world.
Instead of cute, cuddly animals—Shin Megami Tensei offers you Demons to battle with instead. Their designs range from horrifying to sexy and absolutely wicked. Shin Megami Tensei draws inspiration from all kinds of supernatural beings, whether it be biblical demons or deities. If you’re a huge nerd for mythology, you’ll love the designs.
The battle system in SMT is somewhat similar to Pokémon GO, in the way that it’s team-centric and turn-based. There’s also a PvP mode, where you can battle other players online.
Parties in this game consist of four demons, and a liberator. Liberators are human party leaders, which you unlock more as you progress through the game.
You can either summon demons with a Gacha-styled system, or negotiate with them to join your team after a battle. Convincing a demon to join your team? It’s a very different, interesting twist in the monster-catching genre.
Shin Megami Tensei is similarly played in a portrait mode, so you’ll find the UI familiar. It also has a huge focus on story, with a diverse range of characters and gripping plot to play through.
Pikmin Bloom
Available on Android and iOS.
A games like Pokémon GO list wouldn’t be complete without one of Niantic’s other AR titles. Pikmin Bloom was made in collaboration with Nintendo, and has a social/fitness focus.
While another Niantic game seems like an obvious recommendation, Pikmin Bloom’s entire release was just kind of silent. Compared to Ingress, people didn’t realize it existed.
Pikmin Bloom has a similar location-based style to Pokémon GO, and turns our world into a cute, cheerier place to explore. The main goal of the game is to just plant flowers. How adorable, right?
For people who loved the collect-a-thon aspect of the GO Pokédex, you’ll find this game a dream. In Pikmin Bloom, you collect Pikmin – plant-based creatures which look downright precious.
You’ll collect them by finding seedlings as you play and grow them. They come in a range of different colors, ranging from pink to red and guess what? They also get outfits!
This is where Pikmin Bloom is a step ahead of Pokémon GO. It adds more to the collection and augmented reality aspect by tying its creatures to the location you found them.
Depending on where you find a seedling, it’ll change the outfit the Pikmin wears when it’s fully grown. For example, find it at an airport? It’ll have a toy plane outfit! It’s ridiculously cute, and one of the best games like Pokémon GO on the market.
