Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, Nintendo’s new free-to-play Pokémon mobile game, has finally, officially fully released. You can switch your VPN from New Zealand to something else now guys, it’s ok.
After slowly releasing across several different territories yesterday, Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket has already managed to amass a genuinely impressive amount of positive player feedback.
The free-to-play game is being praised for its (mostly) anti-pay-to-win system, as all of the cards in the game are available for every player through a daily pull system.
The player feedback has been so positive in fact, that the game is rated 4.8/5 on the Google Play Store (with over 150,000 reviews as of writing) and 4.9/5 on the Apple App Store (with over 16,000 ratings).
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There have even been a few reviews posted by different outlets, such as an 8/10 review from Pocket Gamer’s Jupiter Hadley and a 7/10 review from Nintendo Life’s Lowell Bell.
Hadley noted that “a lot of thought was put into everything”, and described the game as “a fun experience” with a bunch of “juicy movements that make everything feel satisfying.”
Bell praised “the kinetic feeling of opening packs and pulling gorgeous cards of your favourite Pokémon”, although they did take issue with how there are “about six too many currencies to keep track of”.
One thing Bell wasn’t too much of a fan of is Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket’s competitive side, as the PVP modes “currently lack the competitive or strategic edge to invest a lot of time into them”.
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This is something that I have seen people online both praising and critiquing, as the more simplified nature of Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket’s battles are supposed to serve as a quicker, less complex version of the actual physical Pokémon TCG.
Ultimately it seems like it’s something newer players are a fan of, but veteran Pokémon TCG players aren’t vibing with, so temper your expectations if you’re already familiar with how TCG battles work.