KemonoMix Re Review

KemonoMix Re is an “exploration, monster-raising simulation game” developed and published by Rocket Studio Inc.. As indicated by the “Re” in the title, it’s actually a remake of KemonoMix, a Japan-exclusive game released back in 2010. Now, over 16 years later, we have a new version of it available in English and on Steam and Nintendo Switch (no Nintendo Switch 2 version), when all the other games were only on Nintendo systems.

From what I can tell, there are three games in the series, and only one made it to Western shores in the form of KemonoMix Plus on the 3DS… which was apparently not good according to the one review I found. This will be interesting, to say the least!

You play as an astronaut who is sent to a newly discovered planet. However, a rough landing has scattered the parts of your ship across the world. Not all hope is lost, though, as a native creature, dubbed a “Kemono”, is more than willing to help you retrieve those lost parts so you can return back to Earth safely. Oh, and you’ve got 2,000 days to do it before you're fired. No pressure!

The story isn’t anything special, just nothing more than a setup for all the creature raising and cannibalism you’ll need to perform throughout your playtime. There are five different endings to see depending on your performance, which does encourage some replayability. I don’t think everyone will be able to get the good ending on their first playthrough after all.

As for the look of the game, I found it quite cute. The areas you explore aren’t the most interesting, but the Kemono are really well-done, looking more like plushies that I’d probably buy for my younger sisters, especially when you can mix and match body parts to create your own crime against nature.

But enough of that, you have five and a half years to get off this planet, so let's get mixing! Although it may seem like a long time, every action you take will cost at least one day, so time management is key here. You’d be surprised how fast you can burn through a year.

As mentioned before, in order to get off this rock, you’ll need to retrieve all eight ship parts that have been scattered throughout the planet. You’ll need to send your pet out to explore the planet for items to support future endeavours and new Kemono to battle and capture. This is an automatic process, so all you have to do is sit back and relax or just hit the skip button. The more you explore, the more areas become unlocked. This is the least interesting yet simultaneously the most important part of the game, as you’ll need to constantly do this to progress, even though it has the least amount of interactivity. Still, I did find myself feeling rather proud when my Kemono had a particularly good run.

However, with the many challenges that await you and the Kemono, you’ll need them at their best. That’s why you can increase their stats through five different training courses, each one focusing on different stats. The higher your pet’s HP, attack, defence, intelligence, and agility are, the better they do while out on the feed. You’ll also need to watch your Kemono’s mood, as it’ll affect their training and exploration efforts.

But eventually, your buddy will hit a limit where they can't get any stronger, however that can be rectified rather quickly. Kemono are special in that if they eat another creature, they’ll gain the abilities and appearance of the food, which is… disturbing but useful! This process of mixing these creatures together is necessary if you want to create one that is best suited for the area and tasks you want to perform, as mixing them will increase the cap on their stats. You can't just mix randomly, though, as you’ll need to take into account their abilities, mood, and blood type in order to bring out their full potential.

There are over 60 Kemono available to mix together, and there are some wild combinations you can get from experimenting with the fusion system. You may even discover some new ones you might not get until later in the game, like… a yellow blob that seems to hate you. Oops, mixed too much there.

I should mention that you can only raise one Kemono. The ones you capture simply become the ingredients needed to feed your main cute abomination, which feels a little weird. It made mixing a little bit more frustrating than I would like, especially since the preview you’re shown might not be the result you actually get. I did find it rather exciting to stumble across a new type of Kemono by accident, but it often led to me losing the abilities I wanted to keep.

Unfortunately, the tutorials can be a little lacking in places. It won’t explain everything you might need to know, and some of your knowledge will need to be obtained through guesswork and experimentation. You’ll feel pretty good about yourself for figuring out O blood types will fully copy abilities, but I will recommend finding a guide to help fill in the gaps of knowledge.

Onto technical performance, and I didn’t run into anything worthy of note. No glitches to confuse or ruin the fun, and no dips or stutters in the framerate to make things worse. If you want to criticise the game, it’ll need to be about its gameplay… and although it’s not my cup of tea, I can see how someone could get hooked onto KemonoMix Re. This would be the perfect game to play while on the go, either through an undocked Switch or on a Steam Deck.

KemonoMix Re is a pretty decent creature-raising game that’s best played in short bursts. I quite liked raising my Kemono to be the best living thing on the planet, but you’ll probably need a guide to help get you through the trickier parts of the game. It’s not bad, but it’s not for everyone and that’s okay.