Off the AppStore: Don't be a Pokémon Master - be a Pokémon Overlord!

• Engage in a card-based Pokémon roguelike!
• Craft a deck of Pokémon cards to summon on the battlefield
• Change your group tactics on the fly and auto-battle, or take control

Welcome to Off The AppStore, a weekly feature with a twist. Namely, that while these - as with all the games we cover here - are games that you can play on your phone, they're ones that operate outside of the realms of the big two ways to play: The Google Play Store and the Apple AppStore.

That means that there might be a bit of work required in downloading alternative AppStores or APKs, or that the games can simply be played in your phone's browser. We'll make sure to detail that for each game, though. Anyway, read on to find a new game or experience to play Off The AppStore.

Pokémon has been going through a bit of a rough patch recently, with releasing new games before they're technically "finished" and patenting every mechanic they can get away with in the ongoing lawsuit with Palworld.

When things are dire for the parent company, it's the creative children who have to take the reins. We've seen so much portable and mobile activity from the Pokémon community, from extensive mods to entirely new experiences, and their enthusiasm for the popular IP perseveres.

This force is strong with the one known as Jab Lao, who has spun a new adventure in the dramatically titled Pokémon Overlord.

Taking some notes from the famed Adventure Time episode "Card Wars", Pokemon Overlord sees you battling with Pokemon cards that summon Pokemon the moment they're played. However, there's a fun little twist with the inclusion of roguelike elements, meaning that every shot you take at becoming an Overlord will be a different one.

Your Pokémon will change, opponents will change, their Pokémon will change, and so on. The challenge then becomes how quickly you can adapt and build a viable team from the cards you find.

Your deck consists of a limited number of Pokémon cards with the chance to win more and swap them out as you see fit. When in battle, you can determine how your card will be played and thus what formation your Pokémon will be in, affecting both their speed and likelihood of being attacked.

Another thing to keep in mind is that even though the Pokémon are summoned from cards, the Pokémon themselves can get hurt, knocked out, run out of moves, and, of course, level up from winning battles. These battles can be short and intense, ending after a few turns and rewarding the winner with the most health with money and possibly new cards.

Pokémon Overlord sees you taking a more serious approach to the world of Pokémon, where things aren't the same twice. It uses the base model of classic Pokémon games to create its world, but creates a whole new battlefield mechanic where you can manually or automatically battle, set your Pokémon's moves, and then choose your targets at will.

So, if you wanna be the very best like no one ever was, you'd better hit the deck with some dynamic cards.

Pokémon Overlord is available to download and play from its itch.io page!