Montabi Wiki
Montabi is a creature-collector roguelike deckbuilder from Indonesian developer Mankibo, published by Akupara Games. It launches August 6, 2026 on PC via Steam, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2 -- no PlayStation version is currently planned. A free Steam demo is already available, with an updated build released for Steam Next Fest in June 2026.
The Premise
A city is under siege by the mysterious X-Gang, and it's up to you and your team of Montabi -- tamed, trainable creatures -- to fight back. Recruit and train Montabi, build a deck around their unique abilities, and battle across tactical, grid-based encounters to save the city.
Choosing Your Starter and Building a Deck
You start by picking one of 22 confirmed starter Montabi, each belonging to its own evolutionary line with a genuinely distinct card deck -- meaning your starter choice shapes your entire early playstyle, not just your creature's stats. With 500+ cards across the full roster, deck-building variety is a core selling point rather than an afterthought.
Tactical 3x3 Grid Combat
Battles play out on a 3x3 grid rather than a simple linear turn order, adding real positioning considerations to each encounter. As in traditional creature-collector games, if your Trainer (the player character) is defeated, the run ends -- similar to losing the king in chess, your Trainer is the piece that can't be allowed to fall.
Evolution and Equipment
Training your Montabi levels them up and eventually triggers evolution into more powerful forms, unlocking new card abilities and expanding your tactical toolkit. Equipment and charms collected during runs add another customization layer on top of your deck and creature choices.
Roguelike Difficulty: Ascension
A named difficulty-scaling system called Ascension (up to at least Ascension 10, confirmed via official materials) lets experienced players progressively raise the challenge on repeat runs, in the same tradition as other roguelike deckbuilders.
Music and Art
The official soundtrack ships with 22 original tracks, including "Montarap," a hip-hop song from the reveal trailer that lists out Montabi species by name. A 156-page digital artbook, The Art of Montabi, releases alongside the game, covering creature design, world-building, and development materials.