Video game review: "Pokémon Friends"
Aug. 7th, 2025 08:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
soc_puppetPokémon Friends is a game about solving Pokémon-themed puzzles. Unlike previous titles Pokémon Trozei and Pokémon Shuffle, it's not a "match three" kind of game overall; there's a lot of 3D shape matching and identifying, some pattern making, some counting things, some "do things in the right order" kind of stuff. A general mishmash of logic puzzles.
The reviews for the app version are abysmal, probably because the free version of the app has very limited play time. Which is why I went for the whole Switch bundle, and also since I generally like these kinds of puzzles.
So far it's been okay? A lot of it feels very much like it's designed to be a phone app and was only later that someone said, "We should probably put this on the Switch, too; some people might buy both!" Probably the biggest thing is that you don't pick the puzzles you get to do to earn yarn; the game picks them for you, at random.
For the Switch version at the very least, and preferably for the app as well, I think the game would be vastly improved by the ability to pick a specific puzzle game to work on, and have that game linked to a specific yarn to earn. Or even a small selection of yarns! If the games and the yarn you earn by playing the games and the plushies you make with the yarn you earn are all randomized (which, look at that, they are), that's some Tauros manure right there. Especially since you sometimes need specific plushies to finish the townspeople quests (though the game doesn't tell you which ones, only whether you have a plush that fits the bill).
Overall, more frustrating than Those Games, if with less random gender essentialist nonsense. I'm not going to say no gender essentialist nonsense yet, since Pokémon has a track record, but so far nothing really jumps out at me.
Something to note for the Switch version is that it can work with either the Switch controls or with the touchscreen; I found that I preferred one or the other for various games. For example, "Don't Slip Up, Piplup", I preferred the controls, because the phone/touchscreen version has you literally tilting your device in the direction you want Piplup to go. Similar with the Spheal Spinner, IIRC.
I would say that the one major selling point over Those Games is the house/store where you do most of your gameplay; there are little Pokémon decorations that you can interact with! A Dodrio trio of those sippy-birds, a Wingull hanging from the ceiling that will make a noise and swoop gently around, a Sunflora equivalent of those dancing cacti things, and a Baltoy gravity toy/mobile thing. There are even some real Pokémon that can show up! Once in a while, a Spinarak will appear in the storefront, hanging from a line of silk; if you tap on it, it will drop to the floor, and if you tap it again, it will scurry away! Meanwhile, if you tap on the window three-plus times, it'll eventually open and a Cottonee will float over to take a peek inside. It's pretty cute!
If you're looking for a good set of puzzle games to chill out to on your Switch, though, you'd probably be better off just buying Those Games.
The reviews for the app version are abysmal, probably because the free version of the app has very limited play time. Which is why I went for the whole Switch bundle, and also since I generally like these kinds of puzzles.
So far it's been okay? A lot of it feels very much like it's designed to be a phone app and was only later that someone said, "We should probably put this on the Switch, too; some people might buy both!" Probably the biggest thing is that you don't pick the puzzles you get to do to earn yarn; the game picks them for you, at random.
For the Switch version at the very least, and preferably for the app as well, I think the game would be vastly improved by the ability to pick a specific puzzle game to work on, and have that game linked to a specific yarn to earn. Or even a small selection of yarns! If the games and the yarn you earn by playing the games and the plushies you make with the yarn you earn are all randomized (which, look at that, they are), that's some Tauros manure right there. Especially since you sometimes need specific plushies to finish the townspeople quests (though the game doesn't tell you which ones, only whether you have a plush that fits the bill).
Overall, more frustrating than Those Games, if with less random gender essentialist nonsense. I'm not going to say no gender essentialist nonsense yet, since Pokémon has a track record, but so far nothing really jumps out at me.
Something to note for the Switch version is that it can work with either the Switch controls or with the touchscreen; I found that I preferred one or the other for various games. For example, "Don't Slip Up, Piplup", I preferred the controls, because the phone/touchscreen version has you literally tilting your device in the direction you want Piplup to go. Similar with the Spheal Spinner, IIRC.
I would say that the one major selling point over Those Games is the house/store where you do most of your gameplay; there are little Pokémon decorations that you can interact with! A Dodrio trio of those sippy-birds, a Wingull hanging from the ceiling that will make a noise and swoop gently around, a Sunflora equivalent of those dancing cacti things, and a Baltoy gravity toy/mobile thing. There are even some real Pokémon that can show up! Once in a while, a Spinarak will appear in the storefront, hanging from a line of silk; if you tap on it, it will drop to the floor, and if you tap it again, it will scurry away! Meanwhile, if you tap on the window three-plus times, it'll eventually open and a Cottonee will float over to take a peek inside. It's pretty cute!
If you're looking for a good set of puzzle games to chill out to on your Switch, though, you'd probably be better off just buying Those Games.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-09 12:22 am (UTC)The 3d visualization and pathing puzzles are entertaining, but I'm with you in wishing I could get a certain type of yarn on demand. On Android, at least, you can tap a "?" button to get which plush you're aiming for.
...although, "aiming" isn't really the right word with the double-gacha mechanic. It annoys me that you have to have TWO of a given type of yarn to get a specific plush, rather than just two yarn of any flavor.
I expect I'll play this for a few months and then wander off. So far it's managed not to be weirdly gendered, and fingers crossed it keeps it up.
no subject
Date: 2025-08-09 01:29 am (UTC)Huh, I haven't tried that yet; I know there's the catalog feature, which also takes double yarn, but it only works for plushes you've already made once. I'll have to investigate that, because if it's the same for Switch, I may be able to advance at least one quest slightly more easily...
I can understand needing two, but not when which yarns you get are entirely up to chance. Hell, if we could pick which yarn and plush we're aiming for, I might even consent to using three!
Same! The only Pokémon game I'm aware of that's horribly blatant about it is, IIRC, Pokken Tournament, where the only major quests starring female NPCs are about... Who is the most beautiful woman/girl here 🤦♀️ I get that being beautiful can win a lot of points in a marriage contest, and that marriage was a pretty big deal for women and girls at the time, but surely at least a few of them had additional priorities!