September 23, 2021, 10:32 AM
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The much anticipated Pokemon Unite launched on Wednesday (Sep. 22) for mobile and Switch.
Real time arena
That's me, Cheesewaffle.
Pokémon Unite is a MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) game where players battle it out in an online arena in real-time.
Other popular games in the category are Dota 2 and Mobile Legends.
MOBA battles usually consist of a 5v5 formation, making it a total of 10 players on the map. Typically, the objective of the game is to invade the enemy team's base to destroy a structure.
For Pokémon Unite, however, the goal of the game is to score more points than your opponents within a set time. The "heroes" (characters that players choose to battle as) will be Pokemon characters as well.
You'll have to buy the character's Unite License to use it for battle, in the same way you have to purchase heroes in a typical MOBA game.
Not a lot of heroes are available at the moment.
As the game progresses, your Pokémon will level up, learn new moves, and evolve.
The scoreboard is displayed at the end of each battle. Shoutout to Ashketrom I guess.
Gameplay
After setting up an account, customising your trainer's avatar and sitting through two tutorials, you're good to go.
The straightforward mechanism makes it easy to immerse yourself in battle, even for those who are new to MOBA games.
Basically, attack, score, level up, and don't die.
But players who are used to MOBA games might find Pokemon Unite too simplistic for their liking.
The map itself is less convoluted, with two lanes instead of three.
Another jarring difference is that there are no item shops on the map or in your home base, which means you cannot experiment with weapon builds.
Instead, you can choose between skills when you level up, but it doesn't really make up for the lack of build customisation.
When you've reached the prerequisite level, your Pokemon will be able to access its Held Item and Battle Item slots, allowing you to carry items that increase your stats like damage or healing, essentially strengthening your hero.
Advanced players can also use this upgrade to alter their hero's roles (e.g. a support character can also become a damage dealer).
Defeating Zapdos will give your team a boost.
One good thing about the game is that you can restore HP along your lane, in the goal area. This means you don't have to travel back to base or stock up on pots.
From our preliminary experience, Pokemon Unite is a fun game that's good for catching a break with, but lacks the complexity and strategy that makes a MOBA game addictive.
Since its only the first iteration, however, things will probably get better from here.
Top images via Pokemon Unite
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