Pokémon Unite

It’s been a bit of time since Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield released on the Switch. It was a fun new generation, complete with some actually interesting DLC and a lot of anger about the Pokédex. So naturally, the next step for The Pokémon Company was to team up with TiMi and Tencent to release a MOBA, right? Well, it’s not exactly what we wanted, but we got it anyway, so let’s see if Pokémon Un...

Pokemon Unite is a fascinating spin on both Pokemon and the MOBA genre that simultaneously exhibits the best and worst of both of those ideas.

Pokemon Unite is a fun, streamlined entry in the MOBA genre. It has something to offer both long-time franchise fans, as well as MOBA players who may be looking for something fun and rewarding, while not demanding their all to keep up with. And since it’s free, if what you have read sounds at all enticing why not give it a try. You don’t even need the Nintendo Switch Online service to play!

For long-time Pokemon fans, Pokemon Unite will be an enjoyable, if simple, adventure into the world of MOBAs. Even those who are intimately familiar with MOBAs may find Unite’s quick and approachable matches to be a nice palate cleanse. Unfortunately, at launch, it’s limited roster, simplicity, and hidden pay-to-win nature leaves it not being the very best.

Pokemon Unite makes enough stumbles that it's not a total home run; however, the core concept is sound and engaging, and given proper long term support, Unite could evolve into being a fixture of the genre.

Pokémon Unite is a fun entry point for those new to the MOBA genre thanks to its short games, but longtime League of Legends or DotA fans will be left unsatisfied.

I can’t stop playing Pokemon Unite and chain-queuing games because it’s so fun, but these issues are going to drive some people away and need to be addressed. It’s a shame a few of these problems exist with the monetization skeleton because they’re so easily fixable, and while targeting whales is a classic mobile strategy, I don’t think the general audience for Pokemon is going to stand for it lon...

It is difficult to recommend Pokémon Unite to 'free' players unless they're truly in it for the long haul. The gameplay is engaging, with a large roster of Pokémon that can be tried out in offline modes, but owning iconic Pokémon such as Lucario or Garchomp to play in Ranked will require an immense amount of Aeos Coins or paid-for Aeos Gems. A lot of joy is to be found in Quick Matches due to dail...

An addictive and accessible MOBA which takes advantage of the Pokémon license to great effect but is hampered by an abundance of free-to-play irritations.

A little over a year ago, I wrote a piece about how Pokémon Unite was the right game at the right time. A year has passed, and Pokémon Unite launched a little over a week ago. The question is if I was right when I said Pokémon Unite was the right game at the right time, and then I need to answer the simple question of "should I play Pokémon Unite?" while looking at the issues that generally surrou...