Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity

In and of itself, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity is a fun experience that big-time Pokemon fans (especially younger ones) should enjoy. As a first-time Mystery Dungeon player, I can also recommend the game to anyone who might be on the fence about jumping in and exploring some dungeons. Not everyone will enjoy it, mind you, because it’s not the Pokemon they know and love.

Much like the previous games, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity is a rather niche title despite having the mighty Pokémon franchise behind it, as the dungeon-crawling gameplay and huge focus on an innocent, yet charming story don't have anywhere near as much mass appeal as the main series.

Gates to Infinity is a fun, charming roguelike with beautiful presentation, accessible mechanics, and the warm, fuzzy feeling that can only come from playing as Pokémon.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity is a fun game, there’s no doubt about that. However, the difficulty is kind of low for the most part and the dungeon layouts, while random, will get repetitive very quickly. Still, it’s worth a play through if you’re a fan of Pokemon or of the past Pokemon Mystery Dungeon games.

Although it may not be the best game in the franchise, Gates to Infinity is still an enjoyable dungeon crawl, and a beautiful-looking game to boot. So long as you can deal with an easier adventure, this is another mystery worth solving.

Though the gameplay is mostly unchanged, Spike Chunsoft has gone to great lengths to streamline what didn't work well in previous games and dramatically improve areas that were already good. Consequently, in spite of a low Pokémon count, Gates to Infinity provides the best PMD experience yet. If you're a Pokémon fan who has always been a little skeptical of the PMD series, it might be worth giving Gates to Infinity a shot.

There are so many fun improvements and interactive places outside the dungeons. It's when you enter those caverns that things get dreary.

If you are looking to play this game without having to go through the story, the Magnagate feature is a great way of hopping into a dungeon just for fun. Be sure to have good lighting, though, otherwise getting the feature to work can be a little hit or miss.

Building the paradise up is so motivating, that you beat the dungeons over and over again, even though they are repetitive.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity is a great dungeon-crawler for kids, but the older generations will find it too watered down.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity is easily the weakest of the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon titles. It goes for streamlining but achieves simplicity instead.

At the end of the day ‘Pokéholics’ will enjoy this game, and that is the audience that counts here, but even though I consider myself one, I can’t help but think that this game could have been even more.

The battles are fun, but sitting through cutscenes quickly becomes tiresome. [June 2013, p.72]

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity struggles with its simple dungeon exploration. The levels are never complicated or interesting, and combat offers very few tactical options. Outside of the dungeons however, the game shines with an interesting world, cast of Pokémon characters, and even its sugary-sweet story geared towards a younger audience.

Good for fans. Outdated for everyone else.

If you like to read your way through a game this is something for you. If you don't this could be an agonising adventure. It is a cute game to keep you busy till Pokémon X and Y come into view.

Having played the previous Pokémon Mystery Dungeon title, I found Gates to Infinity a cut down version of traditional Japanese RPG titles, especially the roguelike genre which seems like it has been watered down. The premise of the game is definitely there but it seriously needs some tweaking and additional Q&A which is a shame as the Pokémon franchise is so fun.

On the one side it's a fast-paced, pretty, turn-based Pokémon game filled with random dungeons that provide many hours of entertainment. On the other side though, is has a dull story, stacked with uninteresting conventions that can't be skipped. Because of this, Gates of Infinity is a less serious, and even somewhat childish successor to its predecessors.

While the content is reduced compared to its’ DS-brethren, the series’ 3DS premiere shines when it comes to visual presentation. Pikachu and friends look cuter than ever.

Perfect for some and hellish for others. You know the phrase "know your audience"? Make sure you know you're that audience before getting this.

Infinity does not make major changes to the formula of the franchise, underlining all the advantages but also the defects seen in previous episodes.

Simplification and removal of some key components harms the game, though there’s still some great stuff here for younger gamers and those willing to grind their way to it through the tedious story.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon is a strange series and this chapter is no exception. That you love it or hate it, this is a game made of contradiction. It associates very good graphics with 8-year old gameplay, with no innovation nor changes, not even with the potential of the little Nintendo game console. It appears to be a decent game by the way, something that one who love the series could find very entertaining for a few hours, for everyone else, better wait for Pokemon X/Y.

Coming from someone who loves Pokemon and has enjoyed plenty of dungeon crawlers in the past, Gates to Infinity is just plain boring.

It's obviously aimed at a determined audience, but it's not a great Pokémon game nor a dungeon crawler. If you want some Pokémon on 3DS, you should probably wait for the new editions to come out.

Even if putting the "Pokemon" name on a mediocre product could make that product sell a couple million copies, that doesn't make it a better game. Good only if you have to make a present to the nephew or the younger son.

Not a very good game either for kids or hardcore Pokémon fans. The problem is in the core of the mechanic, extremely simple -even more than its predecessors-, that makes the game boring to play. It's not a complete disaster, but we expect much more from a game with "Pokémon" on the title, even if it is -like this one- just a spin-off.

With a complete lack of game design, uninspired dialogue, and sub-par technical performance I can safely say that Nintendo phoned it in on this one.

Even though Gates to Infinity presents a striking 3D world and a nice cast of Pokémon, the game experience suffers from tedious and simple dungeon design, and a childish and boring story.

Unless you must play every Pokemon title you’re probably better off simply waiting for the release of X and Y later in the year.

Good graphics are not enough to hide the fact that its design lacks diversity and can be really boring.

While an enjoyable story awaits the dedicated, many will struggle to move past the uninspired design, repetitive puzzles and simplified combat that makes up the bulk of the game's content. [Issue#135, p.113]

Despite these inventions, the abiding sense is of a lack of variety and a game that fails to fully express its best ideas.

It's as cute as a button, but dull, simplistic dungeon exploration drags Gates to Infinity into mediocrity.

At its best, players might enjoy stepping into the paws of a Pokémon they've commanded for 15 years. At its worst, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity lobotomizes the franchise. While Pokémon Masters rely on their friends to be the best, Chunsoft pulled a Team Rocket, using Pokémon as tools to sell boring gameplay.

There are moments of fun to be had with the game, particularly when the narrative hits its stride, but with little variety in the quests you’ll be taking on, and no real depth to the combat, the experience grows old very quickly, making it a difficult recommendation.

Gates to Infinity fails as both a Pokémon and a Mystery Dungeon game, and reaching its meatiest content requires playing through hours and hours of tedium.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity is a limited and basic game that does not take advantage of the powerful mark on which it is based.

Makes me go to sleep - and dream of a real Pokémon game.

While I love the idea of Pokémon spin-offs that try to add a new layer of depth to the tried-and-true formula, Gates to Infinity leaves a lot to be desired. It definitely will have its audience and those who are willing to overlook many of the game's major flaws, but there are plenty of more interesting dungeon crawlers out there to explore.

Because of poor design choices, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity is tedious to play, and it ultimately wastes the player’s time.

The overall journey drags on in mind-numbing fashion, until you just wish someone would drop a giant Pokéball on your head and end it all.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to Infinity will not be the one to up the series. This first episode of Mystery Dungeon running on the 3DS simplified its gameplay so much that it's become even duller than previous episodes, making it the weakest of an already not-so-great saga.

In spite of being the sixth game in the series, Gates to Infinity shows little to no improvement over its predecessors. Dungeons are straight forward and lacking in content, and the story itself takes ages to really get going. The mechanic of creating a Pokémon paradise seems like a good idea at first, but it fails to add any significant impact to the overall gameplay.