Surprise! A Brand New Pokémon Puzzle Game Is Available Now On Mobile And Switch

Exciting news!!😐

Remember when Pokémon spin-offs were things like Super Pokémon Rumble? Or Ranger?

Will it be free on Switch too?

Pokemon with Layton puzzles sounds kinda sweet. I don't have any daily puzzle games in my rotation recently after being tired of Wordle & Disney Spellstruck, so I can see myself getting into this on the regular.

I am downloading and trying this out right now, really excited!

Yes, another corporate and soulless mobile game, woo. It's been over 4 years since the last good Pokemon spinoff game in Pokemon Snap 2 and it barely seems like a priority for the company to even develop any more spinoffs.

It's ok, I suppose. Feels like 100 menus to get to 2 seconds of puzzle, though. I prefer things to be the other way around.
Game first, waffle later!

@Kyloctopus https://playfivewords.com/ ?

They really are on a roll with the interesting mobile apps:
2023: Pokémon Sleep
2024: Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket
I've played both of these daily, Pokémon Sleep since April 2024 and Pokémon TCG Pocket since launch day. I'm hoping that Pokémon Friends is fun as well!

Could have gotten a Pokemon Conquest or Mystery Dungeon quality spinoff but we got a Pokemon Dash quality one instead...This could have been an email.

I went to the game’s eshop page and it’s 10$ on the switch while the mobile version is free. Why? My sister will probably like this since she loves plush’s

"Your device isn't compatible with this version." - Google Play

...Really? It didn't look like it'd be particularly demanding.

Looks like the cheap shallow kind of crap N specifically went out of their way to not make during their mobile phone days. E: Yes Gamefreak is different company and so on.

Oh wow, this seemed like a really tame, child focused ad then out of nowhere a kid gets crushed to death in the back seat of a car!

@Greatluigi To buy all the DLC on the iPhone edition, it's £34.99 as a complete bundle.
Does the Switch edition have any DLC...?

I might give this a download on mobile sometime. I like puzzle games, and this seems like a good time waster for lines.

@HeadPirate To be fair, I'd take "crushed by Pokemon" over a myriad of other deaths out there. XD _{Unless it's Wailord or Snorlax.}

@Mana_Knight it isn't

@Jayenkai, I just checked the eShop and the Switch version stuff is priced at the following costs:
Base game: $10 (it's free on mobile)
Dlc packs: $15 each, or $26 for the bundle with both
The combo with the base game and both dlcs: $35

Hope this helps!

I wish they would sell the IP to Nintendo so that they can make these generic ***** app games and an actual good company can make great Pokemon games for the real fans.

Not inly does it cost soemthing on the switch but the "DLC" is even more expensive than the base game. Well done TPC. Your pricing is insane. Oh and the game.itself looks.like shovelware too so nice bonus

@ShieldHero @Greatluigi @Mana_Knight The base game ISN'T free on mobile... you have to pay for the Basic Pack that comes with the Switch version. The mobile version is only "free to start" It's basically a demo.

@RupeeClock I mean you make Pokemon Plush with it and the puzzles seem to based around their powers, you could say the same about any branded puzzle game really? Like a lot of the the Mario, Yoshi and Kirby ones of the past or Pokemon Puzzle League.

That certainly is the Nintendo way of saying "YEAH! YOU WANT "THOSE GAMES," RIGHT? SO HERE YOU GO! NOW, LET'S SEE YOU CLEAR THEM!"

@Suketoudara ah ok so it’s like Mario run.
Still kinda wished it was free to start on the switch too. Especially since I just bought Dave the diver on sale yesterday.

@Simu001 Oh, well. There goes my interest! Hah.

cool downloading on my switch now
Edit: its not free to play its free to download then you have to pay. That's really crappy.

@Suketoudara, thanks for correcting me!

but will this have 120hz mode on the Switch2

@beltmenot "free to download" needs to be a well established genre.🤑

Maybe the article can be edited to say that, just need to add 2 words.😝

The article needs to be updated, it’s not free on Switch, it’s $9.99 in the US

@Greatluigi well technically the game is not free if you buy the DLC which is very overpriced

@nessisonett holy ***** pokemon ranger was so peak

@AmanPikon Guardian Signs is genuinely one of the best games on the DS. It’s sad that there are games which pretty much can’t get sequels on current hardware due to requiring the touchscreen of the DS.

@nessisonett Well, we have gotten ports of DS games already. Etrian Odyssey Collection(?) and the Castlevania Dominus Collection. So it could be possible. But are they motivated to do it??

AU$54 is obscenely overpriced for a digital exclusive of this quality. I'd happily pay AU$60 for a complete physical edition (and many would still argue that's too expensive for such a basic puzzle game), but for a mere download? No freaking way. What a shame, as I'd be all over this otherwise.

Big Brain Academy on Switch (which looks extremely similar to this) retailed for only AU$50 with a retail release.

@AussieMcBucket I don’t really see a control scheme for Ranger that would work with the Switch!

How is this not on Switch 2 with Mouse mode??

@nessisonett No? That's a shame. I'm not familiar with it, so I couldn't say. It'd be great to find a way to have DS/3DS games as part of Nintendo Classics. I hope that is their eventual goal for all their consoles.

@nessisonett I see it was released on Wii U's Virtual Console, so we could see it again!

@nessisonett Mouse Mode at best for Switch 2, maybe Gyro aiming, a la Metroid Prime Remastered, for Switch 1?

@Tyranexx

Especially in the Pokémon world. Getting crushed in a car just means you can't have your soul sucked out by a murder balloon, trapped in eternal torment by a demon candle, or have your lifeforce sucked out by a ghost dog. It's a blessing, really.

@HammerGalladeBro @AussieMcBucket The main issue is Nintendo really really don’t like mandating handheld mode, when that would be a perfect way to do DS games that require the stylus. Ironically enough, emulation of certain Wii and DS games is more hassle than tracking down original hardware. I play a lot of older games just emulated but I’ll grab the 3DS if I wanna play something that heavily uses the touchscreen.

@HeadPirate Exactly! And that's not including all the world ending phenomena that happens in the games and anime....Oh wait, some kids routinely put a stop to all that, so we're good!...Right?

Well. At least it doesn't seem to have micro transactions...

If it ever goes on sale, DLC included, for under €15, I may get it. This doesn't seem to be worth a cent more, imho.

10€ is fair enough I suppose, but the pricing of those DLC packs is insane. The game looks fine, but nothing particularly exciting.

The kind of puzzles you'd expect on the back of cereal boxes, now with ads or a wild price tag!

...We're never getting a new New Pokemon Snap are we? T.T

@nessisonett Oh, that's true. It does kinda break the "Switch" promise. Still, I'm confident they will come up with some crazy workaround, like how they did for Splatoon voice chat on Switch 1! XD

@Joeynator3000 I wouldn't say we've passed the point of possibility. It was at least a million-seller, wasn't it? I still need to play it.

I am happy to pay for games to keep them ad free, but $34 is pretty high for a puzzle game. I might wishlist this and see if the Switch version goes on sale.

@AussieMcBucket I dunno, but yeah it did get some free content updates, but they stopped after that. Was really hoping for more, or a new sequel...or a Switch 2 update or...something. lol

Pokemon Picross was free to play on 3DS, and you could finish the entire game for free... eventually. I recall it took me something like 10 months to earn the available free daily Picrites (and that was remembering to play the one permitted "training" session every day) to collect enough to unlock all the progression.
They really wanted you to pay for Picrites to progress at non-glacial speed (though Nintendo was at least then kind enough to put a total spending cap on the game. I have no idea about what they'd do now).

@Joeynator3000 Yeah, that is disappointing. But I feel like any of those things could still happen. I wish we had an indication of their plans for that stuff. Like, are they going to do more updates? I definitely appreciate surprises - they are fun - but to some extent, I'm holding back on some titles in anticipation of possible updates. I'm hesitant to try and find all the stuff in Mario Kart World, because I'm worried that they'll release a system to help you track everything after I've already done it. Like they did with Breath of the Wild. Twice. Though I haven't finished that; I'm mostly thinking of the precedent.

@KingMike I played that game daily for months or years, trying to slowly add up the resources. Then I came to find out that I really should have focused my upgrades on that one thing you mention. Haha. It was a very well-made game though. I quite enjoyed it. The challenges added some nice variety and sort-of strategy.

@nessisonett I agree there, I wish there were a few more handheld-only first-party games (or Nintendo-related).
The only ones I can think of are Pokémon Café ReMix and Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training for Nintendo Switch (for the most part, as it has a mode that can be played on the TV).

That would bring back some possibilities from the DS/3DS days. I miss some of those games.

"This item isn't available in your country."

why?

@AussieMcBucket I also abused the sleep mode, which I have a feeling was an intentional feature.
The timer for how long you solve the puzzle is based on how long you are actually playing the game, but Energy is restored based on system clock time. So you can just close the system and leave it in sleep mode for a couple hours to recharge your Energy.
I figure it was intentional because the game tells you if you don't logically have enough Energy to solve a puzzle before you start but asks if you want to play anyways. It's possible for that to save having to wait a day or whatever longer for a Legendary respawn.

@KingMike Hahaha. I also enjoyed that Twilight Princess Picross they made as like a Club Nintendo thing, I believe. I hope they do more of these!

Okay, so I'm probably in the minority. I got more excited by this than the next, PS2-looking main series game.
Quality puzzles of simple, old but gold concepts are hard to find. This is that. But they also twisted the formula a little, to make it fresh.
Loving it so far.