Pokémon Quest is a brand new free-to-start video game for mobile

But will it be as hot as Pokémon Go?

Who doesn’t love the Pokémon video games? They have been around since what feels like forever, with the originals of the species, Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green, hitting our shelves all the way back in 1996.

The brand has a productive working relationship with Nintendo, with most of their titles appearing on the Japanese organization’s platforms. Most of us who grew up during that period recall playing at least one of the games on some form of Game Boy.

The latest title coming from the Pokémon stable is the upcoming Pokémon Quest. It will appear on the Nintendo Switch initially, but it will also be available on mobile and it is a ‘free-to-start’ game.

On first look, it is clear that the brand is going for something a little different. Its design has more of a Minecraft feel to it than any of the older Pokémon games have had.

Quest was announced at the Pokémon 2018 Video Game Press Conference in Japan this week.

The decision to follow the ‘free-to-start’ model is an interesting one. This model was made popular for mainstream games by the likes of ‘Fortnite Battle Royale.’

This finance model means that the player doesn’t have to hand over any cash at the start of the game, but they may have to purchase in-game packages to progress through it.

If you fancy going on an expedition on Pokémon Quest, then you can currently choose from nine packages.

Here is how much each one costs – 

Expedition Pack ($4.99)
Great Expedition Pack ($9.99)
Ultra Expedition Pack (17.99)
Broadburst Stone ($2.99 USD) Scattershot Stone ($2.99)
Sharing Stone ($2.99)
Stay Strong Stone ($2.99)
Wait Less Stone ($2.99)
Whack-Whack Stone ($2.99)

At this point, the gameplay of the Pokémon video games is a well-trodden path; you capture the creatures, you battle with the creatures and you explore the game’s landscape.

Pokemon Quest

There’s not a whole lot new here, asides from the ‘free-to-start’ model being used and a drastically different design. That being said, the old adage of ‘if it’s not broke, then don’t fix it’ might apply.

Pokemon Quest is available now on Nintendo Switch and will be available on mobile phones in June.