When we normally think about RTS games, we think of complex warscapes and complicated strategies most fitting for people born before the 90s. But there remains one game that breaks that mold so much that we nearly overlooked it entirely: Pokémon Quest.
Releasing just last year, Pokémon Quest is a free to play game on Nintendo Switch and mobile devices. Featuring a blocky and colorful art style, it has the player form a three-man team to take on a small map, full of enemies in real time. You can build and level up your units, intelligently choosing the ones with the right strengths and special abilities to take on the target. Most places classify it as an action adventure game.
But what if it isn’t?
Forming teams from units, traveling a landscape to fight enemy units, tactically using skills and abilities (with cool-downs) on a top-down map? This is an RTS game.
Sure, you could argue that there’s enough reasons to say it isn’t one as much as there is evidence to the claim. You are limited to a team of three, you don’t actually control your squad’s pathway, etc. But there’s a fair reason for it: it’s a kid’s game.
If you were to drop a 10-year old into a game of Age of Empires 2, they’d have a bad time. It’s an older game developed for older audiences. It introduces more complicated ideas more casually because it knows its fanbase is smart enough. An unfamiliar child, however, would be overwhelmed and uninterested.
But Pokémon Quest, that’s easy! It’s colorful, it’s simple, it’s easy to play.
If you have kids that you want to engage in the same interests as you, you might be better off having them try Pokémon Quest than the political intrigue of Civilization. Or hey, try it for yourself. Why not, it’s free.
For more information, visit the official website.
