As a longtime MOBA player, I have complex feelings about Pokemon Unite. I think distilled down to the core gameplay, there's a pretty great game here. There are loads of pokemon with varied methods of gameplay and it does a good job of enabling that power fantasy of fucking shit up as a Pokemon. I think that's the best thing I can say about it, and that's a really good thing. Playing as a team and coordinating big plays is a ton of fun with your favorite Pokemon. The ping system is fine and the community in general feels alright compared to most MOBAs especially since there's an absence of voice or team chat in-game. The biggest flaw with the actual gameplay is the comeback mechanics are really powerful, meaning you can roll the first eight minutes of a game only to coinflip it at the endgame objective and make 80% of the game feel pointless.
Once examined any deeper beyond the core gameplay in comparisons to its contemporaries, this is a deeply flawed and cynical product. Acquiring new pokemon either takes weeks of grinding (capped so you have to come back every week) or you can buy them for somewhat inoffensive amounts of real money. The Emblem system is a terrible rehash of the Lol Runes system that's based on lucky draws getting what you want. The item system in theory provides dynamic customization for your loadout but getting new items or leveling current ones is excruciating. Of course you can speed all this up by spending buyable currency or purchasing emblem rerolls through the energy system, creating a horribly unbalanced experience if you don't want to fork out the cash and spend hours grinding. You can get SOME skins by grinding out the battle pass or by paying ridiculous amounts (we're talking 20 to 40 bones) for them.
But most importantly, the HUD for the menus is some of the most offensive shit imaginable. It's cluttered, filled with events designed to bait you and play longer, filled with their own individual currencies that yes, you can pay to speed up if you want. As somebody with ADHD, my brain glazes over every time I log into this game.
As I said, there's a good game here, but it's buried underneath FOMO cashgrab grinding that's hard to separate from the experience, but since that system works for their wallets I doubt they'll really change any of it, which is the depressing part. You could have a legitimate LoL or DOTA contender here if it just wasn't such a cynical product designed to make money rather than a good gameplay experience.
Once examined any deeper beyond the core gameplay in comparisons to its contemporaries, this is a deeply flawed and cynical product. Acquiring new pokemon either takes weeks of grinding (capped so you have to come back every week) or you can buy them for somewhat inoffensive amounts of real money. The Emblem system is a terrible rehash of the Lol Runes system that's based on lucky draws getting what you want. The item system in theory provides dynamic customization for your loadout but getting new items or leveling current ones is excruciating. Of course you can speed all this up by spending buyable currency or purchasing emblem rerolls through the energy system, creating a horribly unbalanced experience if you don't want to fork out the cash and spend hours grinding. You can get SOME skins by grinding out the battle pass or by paying ridiculous amounts (we're talking 20 to 40 bones) for them.
But most importantly, the HUD for the menus is some of the most offensive shit imaginable. It's cluttered, filled with events designed to bait you and play longer, filled with their own individual currencies that yes, you can pay to speed up if you want. As somebody with ADHD, my brain glazes over every time I log into this game.
As I said, there's a good game here, but it's buried underneath FOMO cashgrab grinding that's hard to separate from the experience, but since that system works for their wallets I doubt they'll really change any of it, which is the depressing part. You could have a legitimate LoL or DOTA contender here if it just wasn't such a cynical product designed to make money rather than a good gameplay experience.