September just got more exciting and nostalgic for both regular and avid Pokémon fans as Pokémon Unite–Pokémon Company and TiMi Studio's first-ever multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) game launched its way into everyone’s Android and iOS devices on Sept. 22.
Pokémon Unite is an advanced yet less complicated version of a Pokémon game in the form of a free-to-play Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) game. It is a person-versus-person team game where players must score points through catching energy by defeating opponents.
Only a week before its launch on mobile, the game already reached more than nine million downloads on the Nintendo Switch and surpassed more than 30 million downloads on Google Play and Apple App Store within its first week. The game offers cross-platform support and optional in-game purchase.
To keep the premise of a Pokémon game, players will not be representing the Pokémon creatures they use during Unite battles. Rather, they are introduced as Pokémon trainers who will catch, train, and battle alongside their Pokémon. Trainers are customizable depending on the user’s preferred appearance and outfit.
Matches are tagged as Unite battles consisting of two teams with five players each. As of now, the roster is composed of 26 Pokémon but only 12 can be obtained for free. They are divided into five battle types: Attacker, Defender, Speedster, Supporter, or All-Arounder. The Attacker specializes in long-ranged attacks, endurance for the All-rounder, and mobility and offense for the Speedster. Meanwhile, the Defender provides protection and defense to the team while the Supporter provides buffs and heals to allies. As the match progresses, Pokémon evolve together with their abilities.
A better MOBA game experience
Deviating from the usual MOBA break-the-opponent’s-base gameplay, Pokémon Unite’s win system revolves around a glowing yellow sphere called Aeos Energy–a mysterious energy that has been invading Aeos Island. Aeos Energy can be collected during Unite Battles by defeating enemies or wild Pokémon bots. It will be dropped by knocked out bots or opponents and can be acquired by players from the opposing team.
The maps are divided into two lanes on each side that consist of goal zones, a central area, a legendary pit, and a base for each team. Opponent’s goal zones are spots where players can shoot their Aeos energy to net points while the team’s goal zones can be used to recover health. Once time runs out, the team who scored the most points on the opponent's goal zones gets the victory.
Currently, four maps for different match types are available; Remoat Stadium for standard and ranked five-on-five matches, Mer Stadium and Shivre City for quick five-minute four-on-four matches, and Auroma Park for three-minute three-on-three matches.
Finally, the game stripped the flexible game duration being offered by some of its leading competitors like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and League of Legends: Wild Rift. Unite battles have a time limit of 10 minutes per match, and which team bags greater points will be declared as the winner. In the event wherein the game ends with a draw, the first team to reach the same tied score gets the victory.
From graphics, sound effects, animations, down to gameplay, Pokémon Unite has caught the hearts of newcomers and veterans to the world of MOBA, more so in the Pokémon community. It brings the MOBA game experience to a whole new level with its simple mechanics, tenderfoot-friendly approach, and fixed game duration. Everything that one needs to know from the get-go is pretty much spoon-fed during the two-minute tutorial of the game.
Missed hits and chances
Like every free-to-play game, in order to enjoy everything that Pokémon Unite has to offer, one might need to drop a penny or two. Just a week after its release on Nintendo Switch, several users criticized the game’s pay-to-win model and how it undermines the game experience of some.
All Pokémon can be obtained for free, but at the expense of sacrificing a whopping amount of time participating in Unite battles to earn Aeos coins–the standard currency of the game. In case one wishes to escape the hassle of grinding for Aeos coins, Aeos gems are available to purchase using real-world money. Aeos gem is the game’s premium currency which can be used to purchase Pokémon Unite licenses, Pokémon and trainer skills, held items, and battle passes.
With just three months in the limelight, the franchise’s first MOBA game has a lot to improve such as lack of in-game custom chat feature, absence of other Pokémon, and unhealthy measures to obtain a Pokémon for free. But that just means that the best version of the game is yet to come.
Nevertheless, Pokémon Unite definitely caught the fun, thrill, and nostalgia of the Pokémon game that generations loved.
Rating: 4/5
