Pokémon Quest First Impressions

After the Pokémon presentation last night where Pokémon Quest was revealed, I quickly hopped onto the Nintendo eShop and downloaded the game right away and took it for a spin. As a completely different aesthetic experience than any past Pokémon titles – outside of perhaps Pokémon Rumble – I wasn’t sure what to expect! Where my early impressions of this free-to-start experience good? Let’s dive in!

Pokémon Quest is something my son is really going to enjoy, and something I’ll use to pass the time while watching TV. When watching shows with my wife, I tend to want to pay attention to what is happening on the TV, and don’t have a ton of time to spend looking down at a screen. Pokémon Quest is the perfect game to pair with a show I really want to watch. Outside of that, however, there are other games on Nintendo Switch that I would much rather play.

Ultimately, I’m going to like this experience more when I can get it on my smartphone in June!

Still, the gameplay loop is pretty addicting. Early on, you will get to choose a starter Pokémon from a decent variety which includes Eevee, Pikachu, Charmander and others. My obvious choice was Charmander, and with him on my team, I began to explore the island. Pokémon will auto walk around the map, and you simply need to press the various attack icons when fighting wild Pokémon. The wild Pokémon I initially encountered were no match for my Charmanders moves, so I quickly made it through the first 3 levels and boss fight.

Between roaming the map, you can return to your base camp where you can create food recipes that will attract certain kinds of Pokémon. Using items you’ve collected on the world map, a variety of different items can be produced in your large pot at base camp. My first food item attracted a Pidgey and Rattata, who was quickly replaced after my second food item completed by the visiting Vulpix.

The early going was very quick, and for the most part, I enjoyed my first hour. For more on Pokémon Quest, check out this video from our good friend Abdallah!

Are you picking up Pokémon Quest? The free-to-start experience is available now on the Nintendo eShop!