Pokémon-inspired monster-taming RPGs are a genre all their own, and the best among them are the ones that try something new while honoring the franchise they’re drawing from. Encrypted, a cryptid-themed creature collector game developed by Autumn Knight, aims to do just that by embracing Pokémon’s long-neglected potential for horror.
Encryptid turns creature collecting into analog horror
Unveiled during The Horror Game Awards Showcase 2026, Encryptid is wearing its influences on its sleeve. The game’s pixelated, black-and-white art style is a clear homage to Pokémon Red & Blue, and the first few seconds of its trailer play out exactly like the start of a 90s monster tamer, introducing you to resident cryptid expert Professor Pine.
And then Autumn Knight pulls the rug. At eight seconds in, Encrypid’s trailer smash-cuts to eerie FMV footage of a live-action Professor Pine wandering the wilderness, snapping pictures, before revealing he’s vanished. The only thing left behind is his camera, and the most recent footage is—pause for effect—encrypted, so it’s up to you, Pine’s young apprentice, to figure out who, or what, took him before you become their next victim.
Based on the trailer, Encyptid‘s take on the monster-taming formula is outside the norm. Instead of combing through long grass waiting for monsters to come to you, you’ll be picking through Professor Pine’s camera for clues to help you hunt cryptids down on their home turf. And that camera has some freaky stuff on it.
Taken with the actual Game Boy Camera accessory Nintendo rolled out in 1998, these photos and videos are raw analog horror gold. Creatures and environments move with an uncanny choppiness, and it’s disgustingly clear the game’s gonna play with the camera’s poor capture quality to hide spooky things in plain sight.
When you aren’t combing through camera footage, you’ll be tracking cryptids out in the field, gathering intel by chatting with locals or tuning into phantom radio signals. Or, as the trailer shows, some cryptids will bring the hunt right to you.
Encryptid realizes Pokémon’s potential for horror
If there’s one thing fans agree on, it’s that the world of Pokémon is actually a terrifying place when you stop to think about it. Friendly as they seem, many ‘mon are more than capable of killing you or inflicting on you a fate worse than death. We’ve also got areas like Lavender Town, a locale so infamously eerie it inspired one of the most persistent internet rumors of all time.
However, outside of a few exceptions, Nintendo has never really embraced this aspect of Pokémon’s universe. By embracing the series’s darker side, Encryptid may finally give Pokémon fans the horror fix they’ve been aching for. The game’s set to launch sometime later this year for PC and, apparently, the Game Boy, so if you still have one, it might be time to dust it off.
