Announced during a surprise Pokemon event today, Pokemon Quest is a free-to-play RPG for Nintendo Switch that you can play right now. But what's the game all about and how does it play? We grabbed the game from the eShop and did some exploring to help you get an idea about if the game is something you might be interested in.
Pokemon Quest takes players to Tumblecube Island, a mysterious land where the Pokemon you know and love have changed into block creatures that look like they're out of Minecraft. The art style is immediately striking, as it's a presentation technique that the Pokemon franchise has never seen before. It is very cute and endearing.
While the visuals are new, the gameplay loop will feel familiar. You begin by choosing a starting Pokemon (we chose you, Pikachu), and then you go out on adventures where you will battle Pokemon and add news ones to your roster. Pokemon Quest features all 150 of the original Pokemon to fight and collect.
On your journey, you'll discover and unlock Power Stones, which are essentially upgrade modules that you assign to your creatures to make them stronger and faster. You can see a number of these Stones and their upgrade attributes in the video above.
Also in the video we show off the game's base camp feature. This is your home base, which you can decorate with items that you unlock through normal gameplay or by spending real money. Right now, Pokemon Quest is exclusive to Switch, but a version of the game for iOS and Android devices will be released later.