Pokemon

Another Saturday has crept into view, with yet another chance for us to discuss our weekend gaming plans. Just like last week, you can expect plenty of Pokémon entries from Team Nintendo Life this time around, although we also have a healthy dose of competitive online play and even world domination to attend to. So make sure to give our thoughts a read before leaving your own in the comments below. Oh, and join in the fun in our poll, too. Enjoy!

Ryan Craddock, staff writer

I find myself quite torn this week. If I had to place a bet on which game I'll end up playing over the next couple of days, it would probably have to be Pokémon: Let's Go, but I'm not exactly sure how far to go with it. Playing through the main story and beating the Elite Four was a wonderful nostalgic adventure, but I'm actually finding the idea of beating every single Master Trainer too daunting. Similarly, I'm not sure if I can really be bothered enough to put all the effort into completing the Pokédex, but that probably says more about me and the general lack of free time we have than the game itself.

I've really started to understand the desire for quick and easy games that don't take up too much of your time in recent years; as a child, I'd love nothing more than sinking countless hours into huge games, but nowadays there are far too many games and nowhere near enough time. Slightly shorter, but top-tier quality adventures, are certainly more my thing now, so perhaps I should allow myself to resist beating every single aspect the game has to offer?

Gonçalo Lopes, contributing writer

It's wombo-combo weekend for Splatoon 2 and ARMS events in Europe, and I'll be doing my finest to represent my choices on both playing fields. Starlink: Battle for Atlas is out (sequel, please!), Warframe is in. Did not take much to figure a game featuring space ninjas would be up my alley. Valkyria Chronicles 4 is firmly on the road for a climatic ending but I am unsure I will be able to clear the final chapters this weekend alone… but it won’t be for the lack of trying. Now I only need to figure out where I will be able to sneak in a few Road Redemption fatalities and GRIP races in here.

My game of the week goes to SNK 40th Anniversary Collection. Bit of a cheat since its a compilation of several classic games from the '80s but there has never been any better way to revisit the formative years of SNK prior to Neo Geo hardware than this delightful Switch exclusive.

Gavin Lane, contributing writer

Assuming I can tear myself away from Civilization VI, I plan to check out the snazzy gold edition of Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle this weekend. After picking up Dark Souls, Inside and Night in the Woods, I thought I was set until Christmas… but the Cyber Sale (and that Grant Kirkhope score) proved too tempting. My Banjo-Kazooie Totaku figure also arrived this week, so I’ll spend a significant amount of time holding that while wearing a big grin.

Ditching Civ is easier said than done, though. Teddy Roosevelt, that culture vulture, stole victory from me last night – I wasn’t best pleased and he needs to be taught a lesson.

Glen Fox, guides editor

I haven't contributed in a while because I got hideously addicted to various PS4 titles - blasphemy aside though, I've actually dusted off my Switch this week to invest a bit of time into Pokémon: Let's Go. As Nintendo Life readers will be well aware by now, I'm not the biggest fan of Pokémon. So I can't tell you in intricate detail how it's not as good as Diamond and Pearl or whatever but as someone who's dipped their toe in the water with Pokémon GO, Sun and Moon, and X and Y, I do have an idea of what it does well and not so well.

The stuff I like mostly involves the streamlining. I like that you basically just leave your house and you're off on an adventure – no faff. I like that you can check a Pokémon's stats with ease and later pick up the 'Judge' ability to get a solid idea of how good your Pokémon is. I like that you can catch Pokémon in a chain to get a much higher chance of nabbing a 'mon with the best IVs. It all just seems to make sense and be accessible in a way Pokémon wasn't before and as a relative newcomer, I really appreciate that.

The stuff I don't like is pretty much related to the controls. Playing with a single Joy-Con is a fun little novelty at first and the motion controls (when they work, at least) do offer a nice new way to catch monsters. It's a bit annoying that you can't use your Pro Controller at all though – what's that about? Surely it could function in a similar manner to playing in handheld mode? I don't see myself investing a lot more time into it if I'm perfectly honest, as it feels a bit like a shell of a game. Battles seem pretty easy for the most part so I don't feel the need to go out and hunt stronger Pokémon and I don't really feel the need to dig into it after already playing Sun and Moon or X and Y. Just feels a lot like a retread.

Liam Doolan, news reporter

I’ll likely be playing Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! over the next few days. A week on and I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a huge fan of the latest entries. If anything, they’ve reinvigorated my interest in the long-running series. One aspect about these new games that I truly appreciate is how Pokémon are now visible in the wild. This cuts potentially hours out of the journey and the grind, and throws the random encounter system out the window – to some extent. It’s great when you’re searching for a particular pocket monster or you want to avoid the lot of them.

There are a lot of other ‘quality of life’ changes that I would like to see carry across to future entries as well. The fact the entire Pokémon Storage Box is no longer fixed to a computer terminal makes the adventure so much smoother. It has also encouraged me to switch my party up throughout the game, instead of sticking with a select six. Once again, I could carry on all day about everything I love in these new games, but you get the point – this weekend I’ll be exploring Kanto. Expect another update next week.

Dom Reseigh-Lincoln, reviewer

This weekend you can bet I'll be spending more time in Warframe. Check out my review if you haven't already - it's not perfect but it's the closest we're ever likely to get to having Destiny on Switch. I'll also be embracing some retro vibes in my next review, Rock Boshers: Director's Cut DX. Chiptunes for the win!

Which games are you playing this weekend? (308 votes)

  1. Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!26%
  2. Splatoon 28%
  3. ARMS4%
  4. Starlink: Battle for Atlas4%
  5. Warframe10%
  6. Valkyria Chronicles 42%
  7. Road Redemption  0.3%
  8. GRIP  0.7%
  9. SNK 40th Anniversary Collection2%
  10. Civilization VI6%
  11. Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle3%
  12. Dark Souls5%
  13. Inside  1%
  14. Night In The Woods  0.3%
  15. Something else (comment below)26%

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As always, thanks for reading! Make sure to leave a vote in the poll above and a comment below with your gaming choices over the next few days...