Pokemon Quest

Genre: Action-RPG

Players: 1

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Review:

WARNING: THIS GAME HEAVILY PUSHES MICROTRANSACTIONS AND WAIT MECHANICS

Pokemon Quest is a Free-To-Play Action-RPG that was ported to the Switch from smartphones, and it feels very much like a smartphone game. The controls are simple, the gameplay is repetitive, and there are ticking clocks attached to multiple types of progression in the game that make you wait to progress… unless you’re willing to plunk down some real-life cash.

As for the game itself, players collect Pokemon and bring three of them at a time into wild areas where they automatically seek out other Pokemon to fight, with your only interaction with them being activating special moves as they become available. It’s really stripped-down and rudimentary, but since you have to weigh not only the types of attack but also the sort of area they cover, there is some strategy to it.

In addition to this, you also get to work on upgrading your Pokemon at base camp, and concocting recipes to attract other Pokemon to your team. It’s oddly satisfying to grind your way up in the ranks, building up your team to venture into harder areas.

But then, of course, the fun police step in, the clock steps up and says “no more playing the game for a while unless you pay a fee”, and you remember why smartphone games get such a bad rep. I absolutely get that the folks behind the game need to get paid, but I’d feel much better about things if they just asked for an honest up-front payment.

As it is, Pokemon Quest is a surprisingly compelling but simple game that is depressingly brought down by its monetization. If that’s not the sort of thing that bothers you, definitely give it a try. But most players are better off sticking with one of the other Pokemon games on the Switch

tl;dr – Pokemon Quest is an Action-RPG that’s an extremely simple yet compelling experience… until the wait mechanics kick in and the game pushes you to fork over money for microtransactions or not be able to play the game for an arbitrary length of time. You’re probably better off with another Pokemon game on the Switch.

Grade: C-

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