Play Monster Lab Online

Monster Lab came out on the Nintendo DS in 2008, developed by Backbone Entertainment and published by Eidos. It was a time when the DS library was full of quirky, experimental titles that used both screens and the stylus in clever ways, and this game fit right into that inventive spirit without trying to be a blockbuster.

You play as a young apprentice to a trio of mad scientists, and your main goal is to build an army of custom monsters to defeat an evil Baron. The core loop involves exploring the world map, gathering monster parts from defeated foes or the environment, and then using the touch screen to assemble them in your lab. Combat is turn-based, with you selecting attacks from a wheel of abilities that depend on the parts you've equipped; a laser cannon arm fires a beam, while a spring-loaded foot lets you stomp. The pacing is methodical, focused more on collection and creation than on frantic action. It feels like solving a bizarre, ever-changing puzzle where your success depends entirely on how well you can build a monster to counter whatever the game throws at you next.