Pokémon Duel

Critic reviews

• DDestructoid

  CJ Andriessen · Feb 01, 2017

  6.0

  Shocking as it may seem, Pokémon Duel hasn't had the smoothest first couple of days. The program has gone down, blocking access of any kind. Maintenance has felt like a near daily issue and connecting to an opponent has been real spotty at times since I first downloaded the app.

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• ARAndroid Rundown

  Tre Lawrence · Jan 31, 2017

  7.5

  In retrospect, the tutorial feels detailed, but probably won’t be nearly enough to get a good understanding of the game. Thankfully, there is a training portal that uses challenges to help bridge the gap; the game becomes much more enjoyable much quicker with this.
• GGamezebo

  Nick Tylwalk · Jan 27, 2017

  7.0

  In terms of pure gameplay, there’s no question that Pokemon Duel is superior to Pokemon Go. The competitive nature of it also means it’ll be less faddish and more likely to get better with age. It’s simply too imperfect in its current form to be as fun as it could be, so if you want to dive into it while it goes through its growing pains, be prepared for more lulls than LOLs.

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• 1148Apps

  Campbell Bird · Jan 26, 2017

  7.0

  When you're actively in a match of Pokémon Duel, it's a solidly strategic board game that effectively evokes Pokémon. Unfortunately, there's a boatload of garbage you have to sift through every time you want to get to this part of the game. In its current state, this trade-off is hardly worth it, but I can easily see an update or two cleaning up a lot of the rough edges to make Pokémon Duel not only more playable, but a pretty great experience in general.

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• CCubed3

  David Lovato · Sep 04, 2017

  7.0

  Pokémon Duel is a solid endeavour for any Pokémon fan—collectors will want to catch 'em all, while battlers will have some fun rooting out the game's strategies. Unfortunately, there are few of these that really work, and the gameplay is based more on luck of the spin and who just happens to have objectively better figures to battle with than it is on strategy or tactics, something that doesn't quite do the Pokémon name justice.

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• NNintendoLife

  Joe Merrick · Jan 31, 2017

  6.0

  Pokémon Duel is an odd game. It's a smart, strategic board game that also has questionable design choices, a reliance on in-app purchases and a battle system that relies too heavily on luck. It has the potential to be so much more, and it could fulfil that latent promise with future updates; despite its design issues it is oddly compelling and we found ourselves coming back to it as a result. It's a mixed bag, all told, and in the context of the grand nature of the Pokémon brand that's a disappointment - improvements are needed for it to stand tall within the franchise.

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