Pokémon is one of those series that’s endlessly malleable — the cute creatures can work with almost any form of entertainment and video game genre. It’s practically a universal language; everyone can know and love the likes of Pikachu. That’s why it’s a genuine surprise to see something like Pokémon Friends, a brand-new puzzle game that looks like it crosses the creature collecting series with Professor Layton. It’s an ingenious idea that, when you see it, feels like it should have been made years ago. But while the game looks fantastic, there is, unfortunately, one big catch with its monetization.
The July Pokémon Presents livestream was a surprisingly low-key event, with a lack of substantial updates on any of the franchise’s big upcoming projects (although there was an adorable trailer for a new series by Aardman, the studio behind Wallace & Gromit). Pokémon Friends was the sole “new” announcement, and it looks adorable. It’s a brain-teaser game that gives players over 1,200 Pokémon-inspired puzzles to solve: in one, you might help Piplup navigate an ice maze, while in another, you connect mine cart tiles to help Sableye reach a pile of jewels. While some of these puzzles look quite simple, solving them means you’ll unlock increasingly difficult versions.
