Pokemon: Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee Review - Don't Catch This One

Pokemon Let's Go Eevee Review By Ashley Bowman Alright let’s face it. It’s a Pokemon game. You’re going to buy it regardless of what I say over the next few minutes. But if you’ve come here for some kind of validation, then buckle up Kantonians, cause here we go. Pokemon LGPE is the most confusing game of 2018. Certainly not because of its gameplay, which very clearly leans toward the…lets say ‘user friendly’ side of gaming – but moreso because its hard to gauge whether you’re having fun or not half the time. For 20+ years, the Pokemon game series has been one that seldom changes with each new installment. New, albeit small, additions are made with each installment slowly building to something better... But this game, rather than adding anything new, has flayed the series of any of its additional features and left nothing but the bare minimum. That and, of course, the capturing system from the now two-year-old free-to-play cellphone game. It’s really hard to tell who this game is for. The simplicity, handholding and general sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows tone, would lead you to believe its for a new, much younger audience, yet the fact that they’ve chosen to take the nostalgia route and appeal to the genwunners with it being a nigh 1:1 remake of Pokemon yellow would suggest otherwise. That said though, the game is obviously performing very well, and if you’re the type of person that can’t get enough of those pocket monsters, you’re obviously going to love it. It’s an exceptionally easy game to switch on and sink a lot of time in if you’re not in the mood to play something too rich in story, deep gameplay mechanics, or general challenge, with the catching components being quite addictive. Though my judgement so far may seem a little harsh, there are definitely some plus sides to this game, so lets dig into those before I come across as a miserable sod. The feature of having Pokemon appear on the map rather than having to scurry through bushes and such to hit a random encounter is something we can only hope will be in the next mainline Pokemon game, next year. It feels like a necessary step forward for the JRPG genre, as evidenced by things like Dragon Quest 11, and it really cuts the tedium out of looking for your favourites. The soundtrack also goes hard as hell, being a wonderful collection of remixes of the original. And while the visuals may not be up-to-par with other current-gen games that were released just this month, seeing the Kanto region in 3D is such a heartwarming, and welcome sight – with the short cutscenes really adding a lot to the experience. So hows about that prized capturing system the game prides itself on? Well yeah, its actually pretty fun. If you’re absolutely nothing like me, and can actually competently harness the powers of the switches’ motion controls, then you’re likely to have fun expertly throwing the balls at their darling little faces. Fortunately, if you are like me, playing the game in handheld is far, far easier – so you can breathe a sigh of relief there. The thing is, with the capturing system being kind-of-fun, it makes trainer battles feel all the more dull. Not only do they feel slow and sluggish, but the fact that most trainers have only one pokemon, presenting no challenge, and that the battles yield far less experience than capture encounters, it may lead you to actively try to avoid some battles. There are these master trainers that are optional and supposedly more difficult, but even they can be easily shoved into a locker by the ultimate killing machine you are gifted should you be wise enough to choose ‘let’s go Eevee’. You literally do not have to use anything other than Eevee in this game, since it’s a genetic freak. You talk to a dude in cerulean city’s Pokemon center who can teach it a number of elemental attacks, all of which are completely broken. I’m not even joking, you could probably beat the entire game simply by using the brown, fluffy, menace. Eevee is a total chad, and with upgrade system, which requires you to capture dozens of the exact same pokemon, liquidize them into candy, and feed them to the ones you want to use in order to make them competent in battle being such a lengthy process, you might ends well just stick with your starter. He’s a sick fuck. Curiously, though the ‘size’ of the Pokemon seems to be a major feature, with them being marked on the map as such, when it comes to actually battling with these pokemon they are just… the exact same size as any other. Honestly not a big deal, but still. What’s the point? All I can say is that if you’re not satisfied with fluff like petting your Eevee, there’s not much more to this. I could end the video here, but I’m not going to because I’m bitter. The game’s shallow nature could be forgiven if not for its full price tag. The game costs the same as something like Red Dead Redemption 2, and does little more than satiate your hunger for more Pokemon content, or justify you owning a switch in throughout 2018. This year, Dragon Quest 11 proved that you can stay loyal to a multi-decade spanning series’ roots, and still create absolute magic – a feat that Let’s Go honestly does not. The ray of hope here is that we’ve been promised an actual mainline game in the series in 2019 – which may mean they’re saving the best for then. We can only hope that Game Freak looks at the criticisms longtime fans have this title, and don’t make watered down, hand-holding installments the new norm. There is a reason why the metacritic has suffered so greatly on the user side after all. I’ve heard a lot of people suggest that its time to just pass Pokemon onto the next generation…but isn’t the draw of Pokemon that its something everyone can enjoy? Shouldn’t children be challenged to employ critical thinking and task solving skills like we all were when we played Red and Blue for the first time? Is making Pokemon too easy really the best course of action? Also can everyone stop saying creepy shit at the end of battles?