Pokémon Let’s Go review – a re-imagining of Pokémon that’s great for everyone
Pokémon Let's Go is everything that's great about Pokémon and then some - whether you choose Pikachu or Eevee, Let's Go provides a fresh and engrossing new experience
PEGI 3, out on November 16 for Nintendo Switch
★★★★☆
POKÉMON Let's Go Pikachu and Pokémon Let's Go Eevee reinvent the franchise for the Pokémon Go generation, and the result is a fun, engaging game that is just as good for nostalgic Pokémon fans and kids who are just discovering the cute little beasties for the first time.
The drop-in co-op play makes it a perfect game to play with kids too -- and given it's been 20 years since the first game was released in the UK, plenty of those with love for the original now have kids of their own to help along through Kanto.
Fears that Let's Go is just a souped-up Pokémon Go masquerading as a dumbed-down RPG to make a quick buck off the millions of players of the mobile game turned out to be totally unfounded.
This is both a deep and engaging Pokémon RPG and a kid-friendly family game too, with much of the detail a little hidden away, ready to be discovered if you want to dig deeper.
- Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! Including Poké Ball Plus, £84.99 -
- Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! Including Poké Ball Plus, £84.99 -
- Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! (game only), £44.99 -
- Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! (game only), £44.99 -
The game wears its Pokémon Go influences on its sleeve. You can now see wild Pokémon running around as you travel around the world and can choose if you want to catch them or not, just like in Go.
The catching is just a matter of tossing PokéBalls at the wee beasties, as with Go, rather than battling with them as in previous main Pokémon games.
You can either do that with the joy-con's motion controls if you're playing it on a TV, or on screen in handheld mode.
There's also the option of using the new PokéBall plus controller, which you can use to control the entire game -- but more on that later.
This means you can speed through areas dodging encounters if you just want to get back to town, and adds a few new mechanics as well.
The story and map are essentially unchanged from the very first Pokémon games, though there are a few easter eggs and new additions that will delight or confuse veteran players.
There's one major addition that will provide many, many hours of replayability past the old end -- there are 151 new trainers scattered around the world, each devoted to one Pokémon species.
Finding them all is your first challenge -- and then beating them all is your final one.
You have to beat them at their own game, using a Pokémon of the same species as the one they have trained up to ridiculous heights.
Being able to pet and play with your partner Pokémon -- Eevee or Pikachu -- really builds on what makes Pokémon great, as does the ability to have a second Pokémon travel around with you.
Should you get the PokéBall Plus?
THE POKÉBALL Plus is a controller that works with Pokémon Let's Go games.
It also integrates with Pokémon go -- if you put a Pokémon from Let's Go in the ball and take it out with you, after connecting it up to your phone, that Pokémon will spin PokéStops for you.
It's sturdy but quite small -- it's not massively comfortable for even small adult hands for extended console play sessions.
It only has two buttons, and while some controls are mapped to a shake of the controller to give you a third option, there are still cases when navigating the game's menus and the like that you really need more.
That means it's just fine for younger players starting out, given there is no need for them to dive into the deeper reaches of the menu, but more advanced players will want to stick with the normal controller.
That having been said, picking it up off the side and giving it a shake while someone else is playing using a joycon lets you jump in their game to help out -- it's not true co-op, but it's a great way for a parent to just jump in and help when help is needed to catch a Pokémon or beat a troublesome trainer.
It's not a must-have by any means, but there is definitely fun to be had with it here and (one hopes) with the inevitable sequels to make it worth getting if you like the mobile features.
Smaller Pokémon like Vulpix or Tangela they just wander around with you, investigating shrubbery and finding the occasional hidden item while looking absurdly cute. Larger Pokémon like Arcanine, though, serve as mounts when you let them out, significantly speeding up your movement across the world.
Some, like Lapras, even let you reach previously inaccessible areas or make it easier to nab hard-to-catch Pokémon.
The game isn't perfect, though. The catching mechanic isn't perfectly transferred from Pokémon Go, leading to some buggy moments and some frustratingly hard-to-catch beasts.
MOST READ IN GAMING
- Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! Including Poké Ball Plus, £84.99 -
- Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! Including Poké Ball Plus, £84.99 -
- Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! (game only), £44.99 -
- Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! (game only), £44.99 -
A lot of the information in the game needs to be gleaned by trial and error or just reading random signs littered about the place--a little more optional signposting for newer players would really help, but these are minor niggles.
Pokémon Let's Go is a great Pokémon game full stop -- and a sign that there may be even brighter things to come in the future.
- We haven't been able to test out some of the game's more advanced features, such as online battles or Pokémon trading yet, or transferring Pokémon in from Pokémon Go as those features aren't available, but will update this review once we have.