Pokémon UNITE is a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) cross-platform game recently released on mobile that emphasizes dunking for points in the opposing team’s goals rather than kills and destroying towers, giving both the new and old generation of fans a game to love and compete with their favorite creatures from the beloved franchise and possibly a future for tournaments.
The pocket creatures are given a variety of skills, two attacks, and one ultimate ability, very much like Blizzard’s Heroes of the Storm and roles that fit them with their elemental types like how Fire Type Charizard is given an aggressive Attacker playstyle or Water/Psychic Type Slowbro being given defensive yet supportive capturing and area denial abilities.
It does not entirely remake the entire mechanics of the 5v5 genre that we know and love like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Arena of Valor, or League of Legends: Wild Rift. However, Pokémon UNITE gives us a new meaning in battle, since kills are not emphasized, scoring points gathered from wild Pokémon are.
Kills may look good at the end of the game, but a 12-kill, 12-assist, 60-point game means nothing if the opposing team outscored you by 200 points. Pokémon UNITE makes sure that matches are short, sweet, and to the point, giving people who have never touched a MOBA a crash course in its simplicity. Iconic monsters such as Pikachu, Blastoise, and Snorlax have been fan favorites since the franchise’s first game and introduce other creatures from the current generation like Cinderace to share the spotlight. Recently, Mamoswine was just added, giving Pokéfans the possibility that their favorite creature will join the roster.
In this current era of competitive gaming, what gives a game an edge is its high replayability and how accessible it is. This is why free-to-play (F2P) games can shine bright because the only investment you put in would be your time. The money can come later through microtransactions. These features, combined with fans all over the world, give UNITE some leverage with other MOBAs today, getting things right even before it entered mobile, thanks partially to the Nintendo Switch.
At the end of the day, UNITE will be able to stand tall as a game that many fans have been waiting for and with it the potential to be featured in international stages like the ASEAN Games, which recently listed the titles that esports players may compete in for 2021.
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