AsPokemoncelebrates its 25th anniversary, the series had seen its fair share of branching out over the quarter-century, experimenting with various genres outside of its RPG-adventure origins. Some of its titles that break away from its traditional gameplay often become classics in their own right, like theNew Pokemon Snaptaking an on-rails “shooter” approach.
The Switch announcement ofPokemon Unitewould come as a little surprise for fans to see thePokemonfranchise tread new ground, specifically a genre as popular as the MOBA, or Multiplayer Online Battle Arena. Combining the ideas of leveling up your monsters to grow stronger and complete objectives with traditionalPokemongameplay, Tencent Games' TiMi Studios aims to “unite” the two genres in a way that’s accessible for both veterans and newcomers in its newest trailer.
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Pokemon Unite’s new trailer serves as both a cinematic and a gameplay trailer, featuring teams of 5led by team captains Pikachuand Scorbunny respectively. Throughout the trailer, several game mechanics are featured including Pikachu and Scorbunny at one point battling wild Pokemon, in the latter’s case, it’s enough for Scorbunny to evolve into Raboot. Teamwork is also a key element as a powered-up Absol easily dispatches a Fletchling, allowing a friendly Lucario to make the save for Pikachu who was its next target.
The gameplay half of the trailer expands upon the cinematic half by showing trainers a summary of the objectives needed to win a match ofPokemon Unitevia a point system. As players battle opposing and wild Pokemon, they collect Aeos energy, named after the regionUniteis located in. With the Aeos energy from defeated Pokemon in tow, trainers will have to deposit the energy in the enemy’s goalposts to score points. The team with the most points wins the game which means every fight counts.
Players who wish to try thePokemonMOBA won’t have to wait too long, especially for those who were unableto participate in the beta this year. At the end of the trailer,Uniteformally announced a release on the Switch just in time for the Summer, a season that’s expected to be a successful one for the Switch with titles includingMonster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin.
WhileUnitewill release on the Switch alongside mobile platforms, the game’s free-to-play model offers services expected from similar games, including cosmetics for both trainer and Pokemon. During the Canada-only beta earlier this year, leakershave revealed a battle pass systemfor the MOBA, which has historically been a premium service in other similar titles although it is uncertain if this will meanUnitewill be “pay-to-win.”
Pokemon Unitereleases in July 2021 for the Switch and September 2021 on mobile devices.
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