Pokemon: Let's Go, Eevee!

 Switch
User Score
6.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 1097 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 600 out of 1097
  2. Mixed: 170 out of 1097
  3. Negative: 327 out of 1097
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  1. LastOrigin21
    Nov 16, 2018
    2
    Only 153 Pokemon, and a few alternate forms despite previous remake FRLG having all Pokemon from Gen 1-3
    No Sevii Islands despite FRLG having them
    Is for kids, but requires them to pay $50 and/or $20 and/or walk several miles with a phone draining battery app that also needs cellular data to 100% the game (Super Sonic being $2 doesn’t seem so bad now) Despite an annual subscription for    Only 153 Pokemon, and a few alternate forms despite previous remake FRLG having all Pokemon from Gen 1-3
    No Sevii Islands despite FRLG having them
    Is for kids, but requires them to pay $50 and/or $20 and/or walk several miles with a phone draining battery app that also needs cellular data to 100% the game (Super Sonic being $2 doesn’t seem so bad now)
    Despite an annual subscription for online play, there are less features than the 3DS games such as wonder trade, battle spot, and the GTS
    No wild battles
    No Safari
    No games at the game corner, just text
    Animations are completely recycled from USUM, including the walking animations for Pokemon
    Blastoise shoots Hydro Pump from its forehead
    Gym Requirements force you to have an advantage over the gym
    They also made traditional nuzlocke rules impossible
    Exp share can not be turned off
    Lance uses Seadra simply because Kingdra isn’t in the game, as with the case with many bosses
    The champion has no Pokemon with 4 moves
    Red himself uses a Fire Blast Machamp without No Guard or Specs
    AVs increase stats beyond what stats normally can be and can be maxed out in every stat, making Mega Slowbro+Chansey Core nearly unbreakable
    Btw Megas don’t require items since no Pokemon can hold items
    No abilities either
    They didn’t bother making a skeleton aerodactyl for the museum
    Co op is wasted potential with it making battle 2v1s with P1’s team and no other functions
    Following Pokemon and Co-op will likely be dropped in Gen 8    … Expand
  2. kickedUp
    Nov 16, 2018
    2
    i used to have unwavering faith in the franchise, went in almost blind expecting great things from this lastest new installation. Not anymore. All that waited me was a washed out experience of a game I already played removing and worsening the mechanics of the games I fell in love with as a child. Do we actually need pokemon go catching, what was wrong with the previous method. This justi used to have unwavering faith in the franchise, went in almost blind expecting great things from this lastest new installation. Not anymore. All that waited me was a washed out experience of a game I already played removing and worsening the mechanics of the games I fell in love with as a child. Do we actually need pokemon go catching, what was wrong with the previous method. This just feels like getting rewarded for minimum effort, which is what masuda and game freak expect this game to do honestly. Bring back traditional pokemon, if anybody wanted mechanics from the mobile game they'd play the mobile game. Please reconsider gamefreak.… Expand
  3. JBPoke
    Nov 16, 2018
    2
    Obnoxiously easy. Not really meant for the nostalgic audience. This game was made for toddlers and loses all the challenge and excitement from the original games. I just want to battle Pokemon, not feed them berries. I beat the first gym using 1 Pokemon (Butterfree...Butterfree really????). I do not care about online Nintendo and I will not pay to play. How do you go from Breath of theObnoxiously easy. Not really meant for the nostalgic audience. This game was made for toddlers and loses all the challenge and excitement from the original games. I just want to battle Pokemon, not feed them berries. I beat the first gym using 1 Pokemon (Butterfree...Butterfree really????). I do not care about online Nintendo and I will not pay to play. How do you go from Breath of the Wild and Mario Odyssey to this?… Expand
  4. crybadge
    Nov 17, 2018
    2
    I was kind of excited for the games when the first trailer dropped even though we were going back to Kanto for the millionth time, but I was really excited to see a whole lot of the newer Pokemon running around in Kanto. I'm a veteran player, I've played all of the main games many times over and most of the side games as well. I've been playing since I was a toddler (I'm 20), so I'veI was kind of excited for the games when the first trailer dropped even though we were going back to Kanto for the millionth time, but I was really excited to see a whole lot of the newer Pokemon running around in Kanto. I'm a veteran player, I've played all of the main games many times over and most of the side games as well. I've been playing since I was a toddler (I'm 20), so I've really matured with these games and have become familiar with all of the deeper mechanics as I've grown. Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee have cut out a lot of these mechanics, and I mean a lot. Anyone who has ever played a main game has experienced a wild Pokemon battle, which these games cut out. Of course, they're inspired by Pokemon Go, so I can respect that. I actually kind of enjoyed the wild Pokemon running around, and not having to use Repels anymore. However, the games also cut out abilities, held items, hundreds of moves, and every Pokemon after the original 151 except for Meltan and Melmetal. The thing I was looking forward to most, seeing new Pokemon in Kanto, was done..

    .There is also no post-game to make up for any of this, only to beat the Master Trainers, where you face off with the same Pokemon 1v1, and it's very tedious, I haven't even finished yet. They didn't even include the Sevii Islands from the first Kanto remakes, FireRed and LeafGreen. So FireRed and LeafGreen not only have hold items, abilities, all the moves, and all of the other Pokemon that were around at the time, they have a far more in-depth post-game than these games, and they were released 14 years ago! And even though you couldn't evolve some Kanto Pokemon until the post-game in FireRed and LeafGreen, they at least included every Pokemon. I'm sad that Let's Go Eevee didn't at least include the cross-generational evolutions to the Kanto Pokemon, like Golbat's evolution Crobat, Eevee's evolutions, like Espeon and Sylveon, or Electabuzz's evolution, Electivire. They also could've included some Baby Pokemon, like Pichu, Pikachu's pre-evolution, or Magby, Magmar's pre-evolution. Speaking of evolutions, your starter Eevee, classified as the "Evolution Pokemon" in the Pokedex, can't even evolve, you have to find another Eevee (it's the same Let's Go Pikachu). Only the original 151 and Meltan exist in the game, and to evolve Meltan you have to be an avid Go player too. Not to mention you have to spend, what, $50 on the Pokeball Plus to get Mew? It's really unfortunate that a Pokemon literally costs so much money, you also can't trade the one from Go or trade one from another game, you have to buy your own...I do, however, really like walking with your Pokemon, and riding them, even though there aren't as many rideable Pokemon as I thought there'd be. Mega Evolutions are really cool and I'm glad to see them back, even though some are useless or even worse because of the lack of abilities. Same for Alola Forms, Alolan Nintetales is one of my absolute favorites, and they add at least some variety to the original 151. It's also nice to see Kanto in 3D, but I feel like the graphics are subpar for the Nintendo Switch and the games are also still on the primitive grid system, like they were made for the 3DS or something.

    Overall, I think the negatives really outweigh the positives. The games are $60, they really should be just $40. FireRed and LeafGreen literally have more content and all of the Pokemon, and you could easily find a copy cheap on eBay or something, I think it's more worth it to invest in them if you want a more full Kanto experience. If you were planning on buying a Switch just for these games, don't. It's really, definitely not worth $360 for the system and the titles. If you want to play Pokemon on the Switch, wait until the 2019 new Pokemon game, no matter how bad it is, at least it'll have more content than these games. Sad to say this is the first Pokemon game I probably won't touch again.    … Expand
  5. danjelu
    Nov 18, 2018
    2
    - motioncontrolls.
    - Locked content
    - cant do everything in the game if you are not playing in handheldmode.
    - FPS DROPS LIKE WTF!!!

    + pokemon

    cant play this game mopre than 1 hour. my hand hurts!
  6. Kaulu
    Nov 20, 2018
    2
    The let’s go games are to Pokemon what Mystic Quest is to Final Fantasy. A dumbed down pathetic excuse of a game that was designed to be more appealing to everyone, but that rejects what the core fans of the franchise love about it. It has some cute moments, and plenty of nostalgia, but standing on it’s own, it is the worst entry into the Pokemon franchise to date.

    The good: I love how    The let’s go games are to Pokemon what Mystic Quest is to Final Fantasy. A dumbed down pathetic excuse of a game that was designed to be more appealing to everyone, but that rejects what the core fans of the franchise love about it. It has some cute moments, and plenty of nostalgia, but standing on it’s own, it is the worst entry into the Pokemon franchise to date.

    The good:
    I love how they've kept the ability to interact with your pokemon(well, at least with your evee/pikachu).
    I love how they've expanded on the idea of utilising your pokemon outside of battle. Riding around on a pokemon that I have caught and trained feels much more enjoyable than having limited choices, and not being able to use the pokemon set aside for transport in battle of the likes.

    The bad:
    No wild battles. Combined with the always enabled XP share, there is a severe lack of intimacy with one's pokemon, as there is very little need to train or care for anything more than the one given to you at the start.
    Catching mechanics. They remove any kind of real depth to catching pokemon. All it is now is throw a piece of candy, and then throw your best pokeball(which you'll have hundreds of without ever buying any).
    Your rival. He is possibly the worst part of the game. In the original first generation games, your rival was obnoxious, and was always pushing you to be your best, in the hope of beating him. Now, your rival is a pathetic coward, who does nothing but praise you at every step. He is somebody to be pitied. Not somebody to challenge yourself against.
    Movesets. In every second or third city, you can find an individual who will teach your evee some stupidly powerful moves, which will ensure you never need to use any other pokemon, ever.
    Difficulty, or the lack of it. Along with cutting out the need for HMs(though this was removed from S/M as well), the always enabled XP share, XP for catching pokemon being more than XP gained from battles a lot of the time, "story puzzles" being solved by NPCs for you, free revives and other items being handed to you all the time, and the powerful moves given to your starter, the game seriously lacks any kind of difficulty, or depth.    … Expand
  7. Cafe_8bits
    Dec 26, 2019
    2
    As a long term Pokémon fan, i really, really, really tried to give this title a chance. At the first moment i only got it borrowed to evolve my Meltan in GO, but then i started to play more to see how it was. Gosh it was an awful time. I never felt this way in any mainline Pokémon games, not even the worst of them for me. This game has zero engaging, zero compromising with what Pokémon isAs a long term Pokémon fan, i really, really, really tried to give this title a chance. At the first moment i only got it borrowed to evolve my Meltan in GO, but then i started to play more to see how it was. Gosh it was an awful time. I never felt this way in any mainline Pokémon games, not even the worst of them for me. This game has zero engaging, zero compromising with what Pokémon is meant to be. This is a insult to any Pokémon lover out there, thought the gameplay COULD be fun and all, and seeing Kanto in HD its kinda nice, this is by far the worst Pokémon game ever developed. Way too easy, forgetable mechanics, limited Pokédex, limited features, dated visuals, a terrible ''battle'' system, terrible new characters. Its just a cheap cashgrab, don´t buy it. You deserve better.… Expand
  8. sathvik_
    Aug 1, 2023
    2
    I Quit after Cinnabar gym. These guys tried combing the normal pokemon way with freaking pokemon go, a game i already freaking hate. U cant even pay me to go back to this game and complete it
  9. Danik882010
    Nov 19, 2018
    1
    I like the graphics and the game is nastalgic but I don't like this game because it's too basic and easy. I think this game was made for children as the target demographic and it doesn't work for me as an adult. I also don't like the capture Pokemon system because it feels too receptive and shallow.
  10. SammyHauguth
    Sep 16, 2020
    1
    When catching Pokémon, It's not like the originals. It retarded, everybody knows that you first have to battle a Pokémon to make it easier to catch, but in Let's Go you can only throw balls at them, which we all know from the anime is not effective.. I would like an option to turn this Pokémon Go feature off...
  11. hasman49
    Nov 16, 2018
    1
    Very disappointed. Thought that throwing the Pokeball was going to be a fun gimmick not the primary mechanic of the entire game. You can only level up by catching pokemon. You get some experience for battling but you get 2-3x that experience just catching 1 pokemon in a Pokemon Go style.
    The world feels more like a real pokemon world, but with primary mechanic of the game changed, it    Very disappointed. Thought that throwing the Pokeball was going to be a fun gimmick not the primary mechanic of the entire game. You can only level up by catching pokemon. You get some experience for battling but you get 2-3x that experience just catching 1 pokemon in a Pokemon Go style.
    The world feels more like a real pokemon world, but with primary mechanic of the game changed, it kills the enjoyment of the more immersive world.    … Expand
  12. pokeanon
    Nov 17, 2018
    1
    Good things:: You can have following pokémon. You can ride some pokémon. The master trainers

    Baddy bad things: Insultingly easy, it is press A to win. Eliminated wild battles, I dislike the GO catching method. Eliminated competitive play, the whole breeding aspect!. Eliminated 6 entire generations from the pokédex. Eliminated day and night cycle. Protagonists are too young. Rival is too    Good things:: You can have following pokémon. You can ride some pokémon. The master trainers

    Baddy bad things: Insultingly easy, it is press A to win. Eliminated wild battles, I dislike the GO catching method. Eliminated competitive play, the whole breeding aspect!. Eliminated 6 entire generations from the pokédex. Eliminated day and night cycle. Protagonists are too young. Rival is too friendly. Excessive focus on cuteness. Excessively childish names. Eliminated moves. Basically, it is a step in the wrong direction for the series, relying on nostalgia by genwunners and the success of Pokémon GO mobile. Make the games a challenge, please! At least provide difficulty options!    … Expand
  13. PolishJohn
    Nov 19, 2018
    1
    In theory, is an ok entry level, budget game for YOUNG kids on the 3DS - but as a full-priced Switch game, it's lacking in every way - feels uninspired and boring.
  14. WorriedDenizen
    Nov 16, 2018
    1
    This is straight from my Let's Go Pikachu review:

    No, no, NO, NO, NO!!! THIS IS TERRIBLE!!! Where do I even begin with this? Well lets start with the biggest problem with this game, it is a full priced Switch game, for how little content there is. A Kanto rehash for $60 USD? I might as well just replay Fire Red and Leaf Green, or Heartgold and SoulSilver. Now as for the game itself,    This is straight from my Let's Go Pikachu review:

    No, no, NO, NO, NO!!! THIS IS TERRIBLE!!!

    Where do I even begin with this? Well lets start with the biggest problem with this game, it is a full priced Switch game, for how little content there is. A Kanto rehash for $60 USD? I might as well just replay Fire Red and Leaf Green, or Heartgold and SoulSilver.
    Now as for the game itself, oh god almighty... It carries the flaws that Game Freak never bothered to fix (thanks Masuda) while TAKING OUT features.
    This game keeps the nature system while it retcons abilities, and hold items, and takes out a lot of attacks notably Dragon Dance, Giga Drain which is merged with mega drain, and rapid spin, and defog, btw for competitive players Stealth Rocks is still in the game so have fun. Oh and the EV system changed from being maxed out at 252, I can't necessarily explain it's like 200 in every stat if possible. YET THEY LEAVE IN THE IV SYSTEM, THANKS GAME FREAK.

    This game also LAGS when there are too many pokemon on the screen, ya you noticed in the trailers when they showed Co-op the FPS dropped? Well you weren't crazy, this game is HORRIBLY OPTIMIZED, while looking like the ORAS chibi models, but somehow being even **** It was bad enough when they removed Triple, and Rotation battles in Generation 7. But dear god Lets Go makes those games look like solid Pokemon games... Seriously, how many generations of taking out features, yet they can't even fix the goddamn FPS? AND implement multiple save features. No wonder why Game Freak had to go to HAL for help back in the day. ABSOLUTE INCOMPETENCE, and it really shows with this game.

    Main story is just Kanto... Again, and again... except with no Game Corner, with another friendly rival, with worse graphics than the 3ds games. Gym leaders don't even have full movesets sometimes. Seriously? An Alakazam with just Psychic and Nightshade? Wheres Shadow Ball, and Focus Blast, and some other coverage attack!??!? Also the Elite Four first match got deleveled slightly.

    Rivalwise, HE'S ANOTHER FRIEND YET AGAIN, ya know for a company that really loves Kanto so much, you would think they would actually implement a proper rival like Blue, or Silver. But no of course not just like in Generation 5-7 seriously Game Freak piss off with this trend. He heals you up, and gives you items. Oh and btw Cerulean Cave is really disappointing.

    Now a lot of people already went off on the stupid GO style of capturing, which is just stupid since it's taking out a core aspect of Pokemon since GEN 1, the capturing mechanics in GO weren't even the liked aspects of it. It was the exploration and going to different real life locations to get a rare mon. Anyhow it's braindead as hell, and there is almost no challenge with the actual capturing. Seriously Mewtwo should be kicking your ass, not a wrist-flicker fest.

    Endgame is extremely barebones, even more so than X/Y, and Sun and Moon. You rematch the gym leaders, fight the e4 again, and capture Mewtwo, and fight more elite trainers, the fight Green, and Red? Blue is already a new gym leader so I didn't count him, but that's it for content? And again this is being charged as a full priced triple-a Nintendo game???

    The animations are lazy. Look at any kick related attacks in Pokemon Stadium 1, and 2. Both games that were made during the N64 days, and compare it to say... Double Kick in Let's Go. Also Blastoise still doesn't use his cannons. Come on Game Freak you retcon the other gens and left it as strictly Gen Wun, yet you don't take the time to make the animations less **** This is even worse than in Gen 6, and 7.

    No Switch Pro Controller support, are you serious Game Freak? Just why... WHY WHY WHY.
    On a side note I forgot to mention that if you want Melmetal, have fun getting it since you have to feed Meltan 400 candies in GO. Also the Mew unlock, don't even bother spending $50 on that... Also paid online is a thing. just in other words, if you want Kanto skip these games entirely and just play Fire Red/Leaf Green, or Heartgold/Soulsilver.

    Overall the excuse "for casual players" is a stupid excuse that just doesn't work. The original Gen 1, and 2. Were for kids but they still had some degree of freedom and didn't hold your hand every step of the way. Of course Masuda is a senile out of touch incompetent idiot, and clearly doesn't see this. (Look at the guys director track record) This game is somehow more dumbed down than Sun and Moon was. That's an impressive feat. Plus they continued to take out features, yet for some reason they kept in Mega evolutions??? While taking out held items, and abilities? Again as I stated repeatedly, Generation 3, and 4, are more worth your time if you want Kanto. This is a shameless disgusting rip off of a "game" I honestly would go as far as to calling it **** Save your money for Smash Ultimate, don't blow it on this. Hell I would say this isn't even worth pirating it's just that ****    … Expand
  15. gbanshee
    Nov 16, 2018
    1
    This is a horribly lazy game that has nothing going for it other than nostalgia and graphics, which aren't even all that great if you compare them to other games on Switch. Tons of content removed for no real reason other than the excuse that "it was too complicated". No pro controller support, a 40$ accessory that is pretty much USELESS, in addition to the 60$ price tag on the gameThis is a horribly lazy game that has nothing going for it other than nostalgia and graphics, which aren't even all that great if you compare them to other games on Switch. Tons of content removed for no real reason other than the excuse that "it was too complicated". No pro controller support, a 40$ accessory that is pretty much USELESS, in addition to the 60$ price tag on the game themselves. The games aren't worth even half their price.… Expand
  16. TheBinderGuy
    Nov 16, 2018
    1
    If you looked up the phrase "By trying to please everybody, they had pleased nobody" on a quotation website it would have three things: a citation for Aesop's fables, a picture of this game, and a picture of its sister version. Let's start by getting into the knitty-gritty of of the matter...

    GAMEPLAY Gameplay is largely the same as past entries. You get a starter Pokemon, travel a    If you looked up the phrase "By trying to please everybody, they had pleased nobody" on a quotation website it would have three things: a citation for Aesop's fables, a picture of this game, and a picture of its sister version. Let's start by getting into the knitty-gritty of of the matter...

    GAMEPLAY
    Gameplay is largely the same as past entries. You get a starter Pokemon, travel a region, catch more Pokemon and raise them, battle other characters with said Pokemon, become Champion of the region, and eventually become a Pokemon Master. But unlike past games you no longer encounter Pokemon in certain areas at random you can now see the Pokemon on the overworld and interact with them in the same way you do in a similar manner to Pokemon Go, wild battles only exist in a few notable instances. Your Pokemon gain experience Some Pokemon species are not present in this version (as is the case for a vast majority of past games) and must be obtained via trading or transferring the Pokemon from Go. The original 151 Pokemon (plus Meltan and Melmetal, which must be caught in Go and transferred) are the only Pokemon present in the game. All other species, including ones that evolve from the original 151, are not obtainable at all.

    STORY
    The story is retread of the one present in Yellow (which this game and its sister version are remakes of). Once you complete it that's the end of it outside of Master Trainers (of which here are are 153, one for each Pokemon species available in the game), and battling certain Trainers after certain conditions are met.

    GRAPHICS
    One of two things that these games have above most Pokemon games, they're a step up quality-wise when compared to the 3DS entries (X/Y, Omega Ruby/Alpha Sapphire, Sun/Moon, and Ultra Sun/Ultra Moon) but it's somewhat tarnished when compared to other Switch games. One half-point for trying.

    MUSIC
    The second thing that his game gets right. The new orchestral takes on classic tunes is good, but the choices of instruments and feeling of certain tracks (Lavender Town's theme and the Pokemon Tower theme have lost a bit of their creepiness and the lack of Japanese instruments is iffy) can leave one wanting something more pleasing to the ear holes. One half-point for trying.

    PRICE
    $60 is way too hefty a price tag considering what these games offer. This problem also exacerbated when other items like the Poke Ball Plus (needed to get Mew), Pokemon GO (needed for Meltan and, if you're willing to wait a LONG time to get it due to single Candy payouts from catching Meltan at low spawn rates and 20km Buddy distances, Melmetal), and the Switch itself (if you don't have one already) are needed to truly complete the game. Bundles of containing the first and third items along with game are available, but they are limited in supply and are most certainly being scalped in the resale market like the Pokemon Go Plus was when it first came out.

    OVERALL
    Pokemon Let's Go Eevee (and Let's Go Pikachu) is an entry that feels like, and is, a bare-bones game of which only the most desperate of Pokemon players (and children) will not feel buyer's remorse over regardless of how much cash they paid to get them. If you're a Pokemon player that wants a little more meat in terms of everything else, wait for the 2019 entry and PRAY that the parties involved keep their word on saying that Go/Let's Go mechanics stay separate from these and future non-Let's Go entries.    … Expand
  17. onionsboyHD
    Nov 16, 2018
    1
    Kanto again but needlessly dumbed down like come the **** on it's pokemon we all beat that as kids do they really think go players and kids have learning disabilities this much casualization is downright insulting
    oh and also 50$ mew lmfao
  18. avemaria
    Nov 16, 2018
    1
    THE GOOD:

    -Following pokemon -More engaging catching mechanics -Wild Pokemon in the overworld THE BAD(DY BAD) AESTHETICS: -SUBPAR GRAPHICS compared to other Nintendo Switch titles and even upscaled SM/USUM -ASSETS WILDLY RECYCLED: Pokemon and NPC overworld animations (walking pokemon animations found in the SM/USUM data), pokemon battle animations (only 153 pokemon + alola    THE GOOD:

    -Following pokemon
    -More engaging catching mechanics
    -Wild Pokemon in the overworld

    THE BAD(DY BAD)

    AESTHETICS:
    -SUBPAR GRAPHICS compared to other Nintendo Switch titles and even upscaled SM/USUM
    -ASSETS WILDLY RECYCLED: Pokemon and NPC overworld animations (walking pokemon animations found in the SM/USUM data), pokemon battle animations (only 153 pokemon + alola forms. Most of these models being at least five years old. Iconic pokemon with no polished animations, e.g. blastoise shooting water from his forehead, pikachu remaining motionless for kicking moves, etc.). Many costs were cut but no advantage was taken from that.

    OST
    BEAUTIFULLY BORING: Same old Kanto tunes, orchestra edition. Much more interesting renditions can be found in fanmade remixes on YouTube.

    GAMEPLAY
    -Motion controls get in the way when catching pokemon in handheld mode.

    -No motivation to catch pokemon other than fulfilling one gym requirement and getting one gift pokemon, as the chosen starter can easily take care of any battle in the game on its own.

    -General lack of challenge provides little rewarding. You can just mindlessly smash a and watch the game win for you.

    -Completely unbalanced AV and candy system makes most if not all the post game content superfluous, as Master Trainers have little chance to do anything to your overleveled, candy-powered pokemon.

    -Riding Pokemon feels pointless in a game with such small routes that can be traversed in seconds

    -EV's and abilities removed for the sake of simplication, but IV's and Natures have been kept. For those not familiar with these terms, EV's affect pokemon stats and can easily be earned and modified by the player in previous games. The same applies to abilities to some extent, with certain limitations for hidden abilities. On the other hand, IV's and natures both affect stats but are completely random and can't be modified in any way on an already caught pokemon in Let's Go. In short, the easily modifiable values have been removed, while the random, rigid ones have been kept. Again, for the sake of "simplification".

    -Barebones online functions despite them requiring a fee

    -Let's Go requires a pokeball plus joycon and a smartphone that can run pokemon go to be completed

    PERSONAL APPRECIATION

    With Let's Go, GameFreak intends to give newcommers to the Pokemon series a welcoming starting point. However, I believe they have failed to do so. Keeping a target audience (kids who haven't been able to play go or kids who get easily distracted by mobile games) in mind, great amounts of content have been cut out of Let's Go to make them simpler games. Next year, a new core pokemon game will be released. People who came back to pokemon in Let's Go will probably be facing again over 900 pokemon, abilities, a huge amount of new moves, new (to them) mechanics such as EV's, an online metagame, etc. If they found all those things too intimidating to get into pokemon before, they will surely do so again next year. If Let's Go is meant to be an introduction to the series for new gamers, it is certainly not a suitable one.

    From the moment Let's Go was announced, Gamefreak has labeled them as mainline games. Junichi Masuda, the director of these games, has stated in multiple occasions that he believes children too incompetent to get into the pokemon games (despite them always having been targeted at kids). The result of this is a game that constantly keeps a condescending attitude towards children, holding their hand each step of the way and keeping them from facing any sort of challenge. Pokemon Let's Go caters to kids, but it doesn't try to stimulate them in any shape or form. It doesn't try to provide challenges suitable for their age. Instead, it feels them with empty instant gratification much like fast food does. This is detrimental to any child's development, as their cognitive skills are being disregarded. Gamefreak is calling children stupid and doing their bit to keep them stupid because of that. The games are pretty and shiny and cute, yes, but as a parent, I wouldn't let my kid play something that constantly tells them they are dumb -and I believe you shouldn't either. Children are young, not stupid. They love learning, finding out how things work, making new discoveries. Let's Go offers none of that -only dull entertainment.

    The last thing to address is the games' quality. Some call them spin off, some (including gamefreak) call them mainline. Others argue about the difference between mainline and core pokemon games. The truth is, this is a Nintendo Switch game, and Pokemon is the highest grossing media franchise in the world. Simply the fact that these games look like upscaled 3DS games should be enough not to give them a chance. Graphics aren't everything, yes, but in the case of Let's Go they are a clear representation of how much effort, thought and love has been placed on this product. The answer is: none.    … Expand
  19. horohoro854
    Nov 16, 2018
    1
    Not sure what the hype is all about, it's a horrible game with rehashed graphics and an awful to play adventure. I really got bored with this game and will probably not buy this for my sister who is in middle school.

    Older Pokemons were kind of complex with the various systems like EV, Breeding, Random Elements, and natures. This gave us the option to use these mechanics so we could    Not sure what the hype is all about, it's a horrible game with rehashed graphics and an awful to play adventure. I really got bored with this game and will probably not buy this for my sister who is in middle school.

    Older Pokemons were kind of complex with the various systems like EV, Breeding, Random Elements, and natures. This gave us the option to use these mechanics so we could have deeper gameplay or ignore them to have a simple enjoyable experience. If you want a shallow, mindless game with no gameplay freedom whatsoever, then this game is for you.    … Expand
  20. Otonaburu
    Nov 20, 2018
    1
    Let's Go would make a very good free software to be attached to the Pokeball+ or even a tech demo (again, available for free) to drum up excitement before the next big Pokemon release. However, this is not the case and instead people are not only asked to pay full price of 60$ for a game that clearly comes from a handheld, but even worse, for a game that is in no way a definitive versionLet's Go would make a very good free software to be attached to the Pokeball+ or even a tech demo (again, available for free) to drum up excitement before the next big Pokemon release. However, this is not the case and instead people are not only asked to pay full price of 60$ for a game that clearly comes from a handheld, but even worse, for a game that is in no way a definitive version of the first generation Pokemon games. The first remake, FireRed/LeafGreen, had much more content available for a lower price (and a free dongle to trade wirelessly and play minigames) but even the original Red/Blue/Yellow is giving Let's Go run for its money when it comes to the value provided. Add to that performance issues like unstable framerate or unrefined motion controls, and it's very hard to justify the price tag to anyone who either respects his/hers money or the series itself.
    While I don't condemn changes made to the game's formula in Let's Go, there being no way to adjust gameplay according to one's preferences, like turning back on wild Pokemon battles, turning off exp. share or simply allowing the players to use the ProController, builds an image of an unfinished product, which stands out in a bad way among (mostly) great games so far released by Nintendo on Switch.    … Expand
  21. Iaksok
    Nov 16, 2018
    1
    A step backwards in more than one way Let's Go fails to have more content than a previous remake that came out 15 years ago. Far too easy, needlessly streamlined, core elements of battling removed, core catching mechanics exchanged for a mobile game's mechanics, subpar graphics compared to other big titles like Odyssey and BotW, and you can't really catch them all unless you buy theA step backwards in more than one way Let's Go fails to have more content than a previous remake that came out 15 years ago. Far too easy, needlessly streamlined, core elements of battling removed, core catching mechanics exchanged for a mobile game's mechanics, subpar graphics compared to other big titles like Odyssey and BotW, and you can't really catch them all unless you buy the accessory they paywalled mew to. Lazy and mediocre games that could spell the end of the franchise actually caring about its games if enabled.… Expand
  22. 4b4ddon
    Nov 16, 2018
    1
    The most expensive Pokemon game up to date with the least amount of content. Game Freak should be ashamed of trying to pull this attempt at selling a low-effort, pretty but shallow mobile game for a price of a home console game. There is no quality in this release, everything is geared toward money - a 40$ accessory that pretty much does nothing, is useless outside of this game, and isThe most expensive Pokemon game up to date with the least amount of content. Game Freak should be ashamed of trying to pull this attempt at selling a low-effort, pretty but shallow mobile game for a price of a home console game. There is no quality in this release, everything is geared toward money - a 40$ accessory that pretty much does nothing, is useless outside of this game, and is used as a disgusting paywall for Mew. The greediness is overflowing from this game.… Expand
  23. ArthurClark
    Nov 16, 2018
    1
    If you buy this game you're saying you're ok with paywalls, ok with saying a big **** off to competitive players, ok with removing core mechanics, ok with going to the same region over and over because blind nostalgia sells, ok with names like splishy splash and baddy bad, ok with never having actual postgame again, ok with garbage graphics when the switch is capable of much more, ok withIf you buy this game you're saying you're ok with paywalls, ok with saying a big **** off to competitive players, ok with removing core mechanics, ok with going to the same region over and over because blind nostalgia sells, ok with names like splishy splash and baddy bad, ok with never having actual postgame again, ok with garbage graphics when the switch is capable of much more, ok with the franchise dieing in spirit to become a soulless cashgrab machine.… Expand
  24. xAziDahaka
    Nov 16, 2018
    1
    A sad excuse for a title coming from the world's biggest franchise, Let's go mainly focuses on dumbing down considerably an already easy series, an imbecilic and reduntant process. No reason whatsoever to touch the simple battle system that worked since the franchise was born, no need to remove wild encounters and catching to make space for more low effort spoonfeeding mechanics. NobodyA sad excuse for a title coming from the world's biggest franchise, Let's go mainly focuses on dumbing down considerably an already easy series, an imbecilic and reduntant process. No reason whatsoever to touch the simple battle system that worked since the franchise was born, no need to remove wild encounters and catching to make space for more low effort spoonfeeding mechanics. Nobody really wanted or asked for this game but here we are, going to kanto for the 12nd time experiencing the same exact story over and over again.… Expand
  25. Glalie
    Nov 16, 2018
    1
    Pokemon Let's Go is a lazy, soulless cashgrab designed to make money off nostalgiabait and people who will buy anything with Pokemon on the box. The game itself is a barebones remake of Pokemon Yellow, with almost no additional content over those games. The remake of this game that was made before 15 years ago on the GBA has more content that this game.
    First off, there's only 153 Pokemon    Pokemon Let's Go is a lazy, soulless cashgrab designed to make money off nostalgiabait and people who will buy anything with Pokemon on the box. The game itself is a barebones remake of Pokemon Yellow, with almost no additional content over those games. The remake of this game that was made before 15 years ago on the GBA has more content that this game.
    First off, there's only 153 Pokemon in the game, leaving a good 80% of the Pokemon being missing. That lower number of Pokemon doesn't result in more quality animations though, as an example Blastoise only shoots water moves out of its head, while even Pokemon Stadium on the N64 was able to get 2 shots of water moves to come out of its cannons. The models are all reused from the 3DS games too, however one of the few redeeming features is that following Pokemon in the overworld are back, even if it's a cut asset from Pokemon Sun and Moon.
    The overworld though is a mess, the maps are just 1:1 recreations of the old Gameboy maps in a similar engine to the 3DS games with an jarring blocky artstyle, it's basically the 3DS games with a HD filter, phone games can put out better worlds than this. This puts shame to other flagship titles on the Switch like Mario Odyssey, Zelda BotW and Xenoblade 2. The world itself does not translate into the game at all. The new wild Pokemon mechanics just make the world feel very cramped on unoptimised maps.
    As for wild Pokemon battles, they're gone. You're now thrown into a minigame where all you can do is throw Pokeballs or berries like in Pokemon GO, along with forced motion controls in docked mode, with no option to use the pro controller. Trainer battles still exist, but they're removed a lot of core mechanics such as held items, abilities and most of the old moves to reduce strategy in the game.
    The difficulty is far too easy, most trainers now only have 1 or 2 underleveled Pokemon, sometimes not even with four moves, while you have a team of 6 who all gain experience after catching and battling to steamroll the opponent. You can't even turn off all 6 getting experience like in the older games for a bit of a challenge. Bosses in the gyms also have requirements such as grind up to a certain level to challenge the gym, while you easily win with overleveled Pokemon. The game always holds your hand, the starter Pokemon even learns broken moves that trivialise the game. Even the half baked 2 player option makes every fight in the game a 2 on 1 fight to make battling even more mindless.
    The above feature also tanks the framerate in playing the game. GameFreak may not be the best programmers ever going off the original Red and Blue's glitches, but this is unacceptable with effectively a 3DS game on vastly superior hardware when far more complex games like the upcoming Smash Ultimate will have 60 FPS at all times.
    The game barely adds any new features either while cutting out a load of others. For example in the Game Corner, due to gambling laws this was removed, however in older remakes like Pokemon Heartgold and Soulsilver, GameFreak added in a minigame outside of Japan to replace them, however here the player is just told "We're out of coins", as there's no game. Other features like Secret Bases, Pokeathlon or new areas to explore are completely absent, even the Sevii Islands which were in the Fire Red and Leaf Green remakes of Red and Blue are gone.
    Online features are almost nonexistent compared to previous games, here you have to jump through a bunch of hoops to trade and battle with people not on your friend list, and it costs 20 quid a year now to play online, the player is paying for a worse experience. You can't even use the cloud save feature for these games.
    The price of the games is not worth your money either, this game is 60 quid, a good 20 over what the handheld games were in the past. A Pokeball joycon costs another 50 quid and is the only way to get Mew, this is pure greed for something which was included with Heartgold and Soulsilver in the past. There's far better value for money in buying a used copy of the originals or remakes or for 10 quid on the 3DS.
    After you're done with the bare bones campaign which holds your hand, there's almost no significant post game content which fans have been looking for since the DS games bar a couple of battles with previous characters. The postgame consists of fighting master trainers in 1 on 1 battles with the same Pokemon, this boils down to tediously grinding up every Pokemon in the game to challenge them, and to throw excess Pokemon into the mixer for candy to buff them.
    Overall, these games just aren't worth it, and no excuses like it's for kids or it's a spinoff excuse this dumpster fire. This is GameFreak doing as little as possible to make as most money as possible from people buying this for nostalgia or for people who will eat up any rubbish as long as it has Pokemon on the box. If GameFreak gets away with all these problems this is the future of the series.    … Expand
  26. everexists
    Nov 16, 2018
    1
    The Game is too easy, we don`t have any challange. The Grapichs is 10/10 but really the game is like pokemon go 2.0
  27. sneedy
    Nov 16, 2018
    1
    Terrible video game. Horrible graphics look like they're from a mobile phone game. Ugly character models look like funko pop figures. Supporting these games encourages more like them to be made. Truly a very awful video game.
  28. cobyn
    Nov 17, 2018
    1
    terrible controls, no option to play with pro controller. no option to disable motion controls. the throw capture mechanic is just bad. Multiplayer is akward to play. and no guide to how to use the pokeball controller
  29. BlizzardWyvern
    Nov 19, 2018
    1
    A really disappointing rehash stripped of depth difficulty and features because of the patronizing belief that mobile gamers and kids these days are adhd ridden dumbasses who will switch game at the slightest hurdle or semblance of difficulty so gamefreak feels like this game has to spoonfeed you everything and make it an overall trivially easy experience. The people settling for this areA really disappointing rehash stripped of depth difficulty and features because of the patronizing belief that mobile gamers and kids these days are adhd ridden dumbasses who will switch game at the slightest hurdle or semblance of difficulty so gamefreak feels like this game has to spoonfeed you everything and make it an overall trivially easy experience. The people settling for this are blind complacent fanboys who don't care about the quality of what they consume either because they idolize what they like to dangerous levels and adopt ''my team must win and can do no wrong'' tribalist mentality(which ironically enough they're the same people who will try to paint you as ''afraid of change'' when it's the same exact kanto just with GO mechanics instead of series staples) or casual players uninterested in challenging and in depth experiences and just want to have a relaxing and fun time, which is perfectly fine but I feel like previous pokemon games do a perfect job of being a fun experience for everybody no matter what kind of player you are and there's no need to dumb down a series iconic for being newcomer friendly and easily accessible. this just feel like a poorly thought attempt of trying to get more casuals in the series out of the mistaken belief they have to sacrifice everything long time fans enjoyed to do so, and also a way to test how many times they can get away with selling kanto over and over again. While the games themselves do have some redeeming qualities and aren't worth a 1 (probably a 5 imo as they're not atrocious but just painfully dull and mediocre), I feel like pokemon should remain appealing to everybody and strike a balance between the various markets and that the core idea of needing to make everything easier and dumber that sparked this game into being in the first place is completely wrong and shoudn't be encouraged.… Expand
  30. strangeentity
    Nov 19, 2018
    1
    cheap nostalgia grab: misses all pokemon post gen 1, items, abilities, graphics actually utilizing the switch's potential, and you can't 100% the game unless you shell out money to get mew which is actually revolting. wait for the 2019 game instead, hopefully it's too late for this trashheap having any negative influence on it.
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Awards & Rankings

96
#96 Best Switch Game of 2018
4
#4 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2018
69
#69 Most Shared Switch Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 78 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 62 out of 78
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 78
  3. Negative: 1 out of 78
  1. GameGrin
    Aug 27, 2019
    75
    Overall, I did have a blast playing Pokémon Let’s Go Eevee. I did like visiting all the cities of the original Pokémon games again and seeing all the original Pokémon. However, I really did not like how they changed how you capture Pokémon and I did not like the setup of the Pokémon boxes. For those who want to play this game for nostalgia reasons, I would recommend waiting until a sale comes out before purchasing. For newcomers to Pokémon, this is a really good introduction into the world of Kanto.
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  2. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Feb 26, 2019
    85
    If you've got a kid in your life who's never played Pokémon before? Buy this game immediately. [Issue #37 – January/February 2019, p. 67]
  3. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Feb 8, 2019
    78
    It’s hard to make sense of the game that’s basically a Switch port of iOS/Android remake of Pokemon Red/Green. Is it a step forward, step backward – or maybe just a shameless cash-in? Turns out, it’s a great remake – the world looks exactly as we imagined it back when we were staring at black and white pixels of original Red/Green. [Issue#235, p.44]
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