My Time at Sandrock is already a jam-packed game filled with tons of mechanics, from crafting to desert farming to dungeon delving to Yakmel rearing to – you get the picture. The game’s newest DLC, Monster Whisperer, adds another mechanic in the form of catching and taming monsters, which can then be raised as pets. It’s not the most content-rich DLC out there, but it’s a fun new addition, and the (very much needed) element of sending monster pets out to perform hunting and gathering tasks for you is extremely useful given My Time At Sandrock’s near-constant resource grind.
Unlike the already friendly cats, dogs, and other adoptable critters roaming Sandrock, monsters need to be tamed before you can make them your pets. You do this by throwing Meatball items at them in combat. As you hit them with Meatballs, the creature’s catch meter increases. Max out the catch meter, and the monster becomes your new best friend. Attacking the monster with non-Meatball weapons, getting too far away from the monster, and, of course, dying in combat against the monster can all cause the catch meter to stop increasing or go down. While you can throw Meatballs at multiple monsters over the course of a single fight, keep in mind that monsters you are trying to catch will still attack you until their meters are maxed out, so keep an eye on your health and bring a few healing items with you.
Once a monster has been caught and tamed, you’ll need a structure called a Pet Apartment to house it. You get one Pet Apartment for free with purchase of the DLC, and more can be bought at the new “Boutique Store” in City Hall. However, the Boutique Store uses a new currency called Pet Coins that are dropped by monsters – your Gols are no good here! From there, you can give the pet gifts, name it via the Pet Brand item, interact with it, view its stats, and send it out to perform tasks like digging or water collecting. And, of course, the monsters are combat-capable creatures with a full set of stats, so you can also send them off to fight enemies OR have them battle at your side. As your bond with the monster pets increases, they will even provide special bonuses when accompanying you!
There are 21 types of monsters currently available to catch. If you have the space and the Pet Coins to build enough Pet Apartments, this really adds up in terms of the amount of resources they are delivering. I highly recommend that you get started with monster catching and raising early, as having a bunch of monsters all able to collect water for you is invaluable during certain story beats. While the monsters themselves are cute and fun to interact with, I think their ability to harvest resources is my favorite part of the DLC simply because it is so desperately needed. Life in the desert is hard, and My Time at Sandrock asks a lot of you in terms of food, materials, water, and more. Having monsters on your side helping you out can definitely make the grind a LOT more tolerable, especially early on.
That does, however, lead to my one major complaint with Monster Whisperer. The Pet Apartments that are needed to house the monster pets take up SO MUCH SPACE. And each one fits five monsters, so you need multiple if you want to catch and raise all of the different monster types available. Space in your house and yard is at a premium, especially early in the game, and it is frustrating to have to sacrifice so much for Pet Apartments. The frustration is compounded because several of the animals you can catch, like Bumble Ants and Yakmels, are fairly low level and hang around your farm, just waiting to be caught – but you might not have enough space for them for quite some time! I think Pet Apartments definitely need to be shrunk in size, at least a little.
However, overall, I really like the monster catching mechanic. The monsters in My Time at Sandrock have really fun designs, and it’s nice to see them serve some function in the story other than just as enemies you can beat up. There are currently 21 types of monster that can be caught, and I’d love to see more in future updates. However, rest assured, the best and most important monster has already been made catchable.
Yes, I’m talking about none other than the adorable PENSKY, those penguin-husky fusions that you can find wandering around the Eufaula Desert. My first priority upon getting the DLC was catching a veritable army of Pensky, and I am thrilled to report that they are JUST as adorable and affectionate as pets as you would imagine. Truly the goodest boys in ALL the desert! Did I run out of Pet Apartment space because I caught so many Penskies? Yes. Do I regret it? NOT AT ALL!
Monster Whisperer doesn’t add a whole ton of new stuff to My Time at Sandrock – it’s not a major story expansion or anything. But the catching mechanic is fun, and the option to have monsters collect resources for you is greatly appreciated. This DLC is definitely worth picking up, whether you’re grabbing My Time at Sandrock for the first time or you’re an established desert resident with hundreds of hours in the game.
Other than the space-hungry Pet Apartments, I don’t have any complaints and was thrilled to see this fun new content. Monster catching adds a new dimension to life in Sandrock that is not too complicated and brings in tons of fun. I’d welcome any more Sandrock DLC in the future, including story DLC should developer Pathea Games be so inclined. Now, if you don’t mind, I’ll be getting back to expanding my Pensky army!
Kate played My Time at Sandrock and the Monster Whisperer DLC on PC using a provided review code.
The Monster Whisperer DLC is a solid addition to My Time at Sandrock that cleverly addresses the constant resource grind and shines a new spotlight on the game's uniquely designed monsters as you can now make them your pets.
- Kate Recommends My Time at Sandrock's Monster Whisperer DLC
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