- Publisher: Nintendo , The Pokemon Company
- Release Date: Jul 22, 2025
- Also On: iPhone/iPad
- Summary:
- Developer: Wonderfy
- Genre(s): Action, Puzzle
- Cheats: On GameFAQs
- More Details and Credits »
Score distribution:
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Positive: 1 out of 12
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Mixed: 11 out of 12
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Negative: 0 out of 12
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Jul 30, 2025Pokémon Friends is a refreshing experience in the Pokémon gaming landscape. Leaving behind the focus on battle and competitiveness, it offers a peaceful haven where you can craft plush toys and customize environments. With its intuitive gameplay, a myriad of fun activities, and a daily quest system that rewards persistence, Pokémon Friends is a game that will delight anyone seeking a more intimate, relaxing, and deeply rewarding Pokémon experience, but it's not for those seeking a more complex and in-depth challenge.
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Aug 6, 2025The minigames luckily do ramp up at least a bit in terms of challenge and offer a fun little distraction if you don't go in expecting anything groundbreaking. However, we can't overlook the steep pricing when comparing price vs. amount and quality of content. So only the most ardent Pokémon fans as well as smaller kids might really enjoy this for longer than a handful of hours.
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Aug 5, 2025I feel like the more I play Pokemon Friends and unlock higher difficulty levels of its puzzles, the more I enjoy it. It’s absolutely simple. Also, imagery aside, some of its puzzles have little to do with the series or characters. Not to mention getting the best scores means playing in handheld mode and switching between touchscreen and standard controls for maximum efficiency. But it is charming, in its way, and I find I had fun with it when I’d play for about 15 minutes each day.
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Jul 28, 2025I have absolutely enjoyed my time with Pokémon Friends. The puzzles are certainly enjoyable, particularly as the difficulty becomes more noticeable, and the entire experience is so pretty and cheerful that it is hard not to just smile. Sadly, even after just a couple of days of playing it, I found myself forgetting the game existed until I turned on my Switch 2, which is a bad omen for me continuing to play much more. Perhaps this would work better if I were playing it as a mobile game that is picked up in small bursts rather than a Switch 2 game.
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Aug 8, 2025Pokémon Friends offers daily brain-teasing challenges wrapped in the charm of collecting Pokémon plushies. It’s accessible, colorful, and perfect for short sessions, but its complete lack of online features and heavy reliance on randomness limit its long-term appeal.
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Jul 30, 2025Mini-games for younger players that easily connect parents and children through their shared love of adorable Pokémon, but the free game design interferes too much with enjoying the game, even with the paid version activated.
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Jul 28, 2025In the end, even the fun puzzles began to grow stale after only a few hours of play as they're so quick to complete and pop up so often, which dampened my enthusiasm for unlocking Mudkip and Jirachi plushies to decorate my rooms with. I have no desire to boot up Pokémon Friends daily for a few quick puzzles like how I rip packs in TCG Pocket, leaving me with the sense that this puzzle package will fade into the background with other casual spin-off titles, forgotten about until the next Pokémon Direct that announces a handful more overpriced puzzle packs instead of Generation X.