If you haven’t heard yet, Pokemon Unite is coming to Nintendo Switch next month, and mobile devices in September. It’s a Pokemon MOBA, blending the world of Pokemon with the massively enjoyable gameplay of League of Legends, and it looks incredible. Pokemon level up and evolve throughout the match, learning new abilities as they go, and players compete for points by trying to score in the opposing team’s goal. the frantic combination of leveling and trying to defend looks like it’s almost too much to bear, but I quite like that you’re forced to spread your focus. I can see myself sinking a good few hundred hours into this title.
MOBAs generally aren’t my cup of tea. I like the gameplay, but they’re all so well established at this point that it feels pointless even trying to play. Most players tell newbies that they need hundreds of hours of experience to even come close to competing, and that amount of time investment is just too much. It’s not worth it, so you move onto something else. Or I do at least. Here we have a new one though. There is no pro league full of toxic players telling you that you need hundreds of hours of experience. Everyone’s on a level playing field, that’s why it’s worth getting into.
You can pour hundreds of hours into Pokemon Unite and be one of the best players in the world if you start playing on day one. There’s nothing to say that you can’t. You’re only limited by the amount of time you have, and how much interest you have in the game. If you’re even vaguely into Pokemon, this is a title to play, but it’s an essential one if you like both Pokemon and MOBAs.
Pokemon Unite has enough going on to keep it interesting for a very long time. I can see new Pokemon being added over years, and the game being relevant for its entire life cycle. This is a title that will spawn a massive community, an eSports league, and so much more. It’s going to be hard to get into in a year or so, but right now we all have a prime opportunity to take it by the reins and master it from day one.