Preview: Chronomon Blends Pokemon and Farming Life Sims

I enjoy seeing what independent developers can achieve with smaller projects. There might be unusual takes on genres or experimentations with genres and ideas. Chronomon is one of these types of titles, as Stone Golem Studios is attempting to fuse popular genres such as Pokemon style creature capturing and Stardew Valley sorts of farming. It’s still early days, and of course there’s clunkiness in such small things, but the idea seems like a promising one. Chronomon begins with our avatars awaking in a bunker. Someone else living there, named Kyral, lets you know that some creatures ended up being successfully trapped last night. After choosing a “starter” and using a CIM card to get its data, the worst happens. Members of the Epoch Syndicate show up and force a retreat. Worse, since they might breach the underground base, Kyral helps you escape, as well as learn how to use a Chronomon to flip switches to escape. Fortunately, a farm has been prepared. It’s dilapidated and in need of repairs, but we have a chance to regroup, establish ourselves, make connections with villages, and perhaps start to rebuild and fight back. Granted, since this is early access, we don’t have all of that yet, but we can make a start. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1893iLup-nA&ab_channel=StoneGolemStudios I really like the initial approach in Chronomon, and it does feel like a mix of Pokemon monster-raising JRPGsand Stardew Valley style life sims in a way that similar sorts of games like Moonstone Island doesn’t. There’s a very dark atmosphere that fits the dystopian tone, yet also a sense of hope since we are fighting back and connecting with other people and a village. The feedback look is pretty strong at the moment, especially with farming, though I do think improved controls will help that in time. It also pulls from games like Marvelous’ Rune Factory in that every type of action you’re undertaking shapes your character and progress, so it feels like choosing to farm, fish, or battle with monsters each carries weight. Farming comes down to clearing land, tilling soil, planting crops, and waiting to harvest. Monster battling and catching entails heading out into the world and going through turn-based fights. As an early access title, I did notice some elements of Chronomon do feel like they need a bit of touching up. The thing that initially bothered me most, so much so that I ended up restarting, is during the first selection of your monster ally, the execution, controls, and menu meant that I selected a character I didn’t want when I was just attempting to check the stats. Said control issues are currently a problem throughout my sessions, as I went through it on a Legion Go and couldn’t try and go with a mix of switching to keyboard and mouse if I found things weren’t ideal. This is compounded by, at the moment, the UI being a bit cumbersome. Considering how heavy of a focus crafting and character management is, I wish it was a bit clearer and easier to parse. However, keep in mind this is a game isn’t even one month into early access as I write this and, on May 13, 2025, Stone Golem Studios created a Steam Discussions thread specifically looking to address the controls issue. Another early issue has to do with balance in Chronomon. Which, again, I think we will see addressed over the coming weeks and months. At the moment, I feel like the goal is to really make this feel like a post-apocalyptic adventure with odds stacked against you. It takes a while for your creatures to level up, even when they’re under level 5 or 10. Enemy creatures can be incredibly strong. If you die, you’re both losing items in your inventory and money. I found it quite daunting, especially in the first three hours I played. I’m not sure if the answer is implementing some difficulty options or eventual balancing patches or adding items that adjust earned experience and influence stats. But again, it’s early on and things could change. Images via Stone Golem Studios I do think the one thing I’d like most from Chronomon is something that we might not see happen over the course of development. The game and its concept possess a really strong identity, and you can see that from the outset. Stone Golem Studios seems like it has a really strong idea of what it wants to do, the story it is going to tell, and an approach to pairing farming and a life sim with monster catching and battling. However, I feel like sometimes it visually doesn’t always match that. I wish the character designs for the monsters, NPCs, and our avatars stood out a bit more. Especially since there will be a relationship element with friendship systems. I’d love to see the major NPCs look more unique and some of the Chronomon stand out more as development continues. I even feel like this ties into the UI issue I mentioned earlier. Some adjustments to define the game’s visual identity so it leaves the same sort of impression as the gameplay concepts wou

May 30, 2025 - 17:20

Preview: Chronomon Blends Pokemon and Farming Life Sims

I enjoy seeing what independent developers can achieve with smaller projects. There might be unusual takes on genres or experimentations with genres and ideas. Chronomon is one of these types of titles, as Stone Golem Studios is attempting to fuse popular genres such as Pokemon style creature capturing and Stardew Valley sorts of farming. It’s still early days, and of course there’s clunkiness in such small things, but the idea seems like a promising one.

Chronomon begins with our avatars awaking in a bunker. Someone else living there, named Kyral, lets you know that some creatures ended up being successfully trapped last night. After choosing a “starter” and using a CIM card to get its data, the worst happens. Members of the Epoch Syndicate show up and force a retreat. Worse, since they might breach the underground base, Kyral helps you escape, as well as learn how to use a Chronomon to flip switches to escape. Fortunately, a farm has been prepared. It’s dilapidated and in need of repairs, but we have a chance to regroup, establish ourselves, make connections with villages, and perhaps start to rebuild and fight back. Granted, since this is early access, we don’t have all of that yet, but we can make a start.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1893iLup-nA&ab_channel=StoneGolemStudios

I really like the initial approach in Chronomon, and it does feel like a mix of Pokemon monster-raising JRPGsand Stardew Valley style life sims in a way that similar sorts of games like Moonstone Island doesn’t. There’s a very dark atmosphere that fits the dystopian tone, yet also a sense of hope since we are fighting back and connecting with other people and a village. The feedback look is pretty strong at the moment, especially with farming, though I do think improved controls will help that in time. It also pulls from games like Marvelous’ Rune Factory in that every type of action you’re undertaking shapes your character and progress, so it feels like choosing to farm, fish, or battle with monsters each carries weight. Farming comes down to clearing land, tilling soil, planting crops, and waiting to harvest. Monster battling and catching entails heading out into the world and going through turn-based fights.

As an early access title, I did notice some elements of Chronomon do feel like they need a bit of touching up. The thing that initially bothered me most, so much so that I ended up restarting, is during the first selection of your monster ally, the execution, controls, and menu meant that I selected a character I didn’t want when I was just attempting to check the stats. Said control issues are currently a problem throughout my sessions, as I went through it on a Legion Go and couldn’t try and go with a mix of switching to keyboard and mouse if I found things weren’t ideal. This is compounded by, at the moment, the UI being a bit cumbersome. Considering how heavy of a focus crafting and character management is, I wish it was a bit clearer and easier to parse. However, keep in mind this is a game isn’t even one month into early access as I write this and, on May 13, 2025, Stone Golem Studios created a Steam Discussions thread specifically looking to address the controls issue.

Another early issue has to do with balance in Chronomon. Which, again, I think we will see addressed over the coming weeks and months. At the moment, I feel like the goal is to really make this feel like a post-apocalyptic adventure with odds stacked against you. It takes a while for your creatures to level up, even when they’re under level 5 or 10. Enemy creatures can be incredibly strong. If you die, you’re both losing items in your inventory and money. I found it quite daunting, especially in the first three hours I played. I’m not sure if the answer is implementing some difficulty options or eventual balancing patches or adding items that adjust earned experience and influence stats. But again, it’s early on and things could change.

I do think the one thing I’d like most from Chronomon is something that we might not see happen over the course of development. The game and its concept possess a really strong identity, and you can see that from the outset. Stone Golem Studios seems like it has a really strong idea of what it wants to do, the story it is going to tell, and an approach to pairing farming and a life sim with monster catching and battling. However, I feel like sometimes it visually doesn’t always match that. I wish the character designs for the monsters, NPCs, and our avatars stood out a bit more. Especially since there will be a relationship element with friendship systems. I’d love to see the major NPCs look more unique and some of the Chronomon stand out more as development continues. I even feel like this ties into the UI issue I mentioned earlier. Some adjustments to define the game’s visual identity so it leaves the same sort of impression as the gameplay concepts would be great.

Chronomon could be an indie to keep an eye on. The concept behind pairing a Pokemon like with Stardew Valley is sound. The initial loop is encouraging, and it seems like Stone Golem Studios is trying to use the idea of a post-apocalyptic world to explain its gameplay and narrative in a cohesive way. There are some minor issues at the moment, and I would love to see more defined character and UI designs to help it stand out. However, you have to expect that from an Early Access title. It might be worth watching in the weeks and months to come.

Chronomon is in early access on PCs via Steam.

The post Preview: Chronomon Blends Pokemon and Farming Life Sims appeared first on Siliconera.