Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu Hands-on: Old Meets New

Hands-On
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Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee are a delightful blend of classic Pokémon and the modern mobile action of Pokémon Go.

Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu and Let’s Go Eevee aren’t the bold evolution of the Pokémon franchise that we’ll probably get in 2019, but that doesn’t make them any less charming or fun. I got my hands on Let’s Go Pikachu at E3 2018, and found it to be a delightful mix of the series’ recent 3DS installments and the mobile action of Pokémon Go.

Combat, on the other hand, works exactly how it does in every core Pokemon game. You and your enemy trainer take turns selecting moves and using items, until all Pokémon on one team have fainted. The battle animations and overall visual style are very similar to those of recent 3DS installments such as Pokémon Sun and Moon, just with a shiny, high-definition coat of paint. Let's Go Pikachu is a vibrant, colorful game, but it looks more like a spruced-up version of previous handheld titles than a big, graphically overhauled game.

Exploration is also very similar to that of the main Pokemon titles, but with some added wrinkles. For starters, you can actually see the wild, catchable Pokémon in grassy areas, and won't have to guess which ones may pop up during encounters. Pikachu or Eevee will hang out on your shoulders (depending on which version of the game you pick), and one of the other Pokémon in your party will follow you around. You can even turn around and talk to them, which let to some amusingly goofy dialogue from my Charmander.

A second player can also join the action at any time to help you battle and catch Pokémon, which is another notable first for the series.

Poké Ball Plus

I played the entirety of my demo with the Poké Ball Plus controller, which will launch alongside the games on Nov. 16 for $50 and gets you the mythical Mew right out of the box. I was impressed by how intuitive the tiny ball felt, and had no problem navigating the game one-handed using the ball's joystick and two buttons. The Ball delivers a ton of fan service for Pokémon fanatics -- when you're in the process of catching a Pokémon, the controller will light up, vibrate and make sound effects that sync up with what's happening in-game.

The Poké Ball Plus uses the same HD rumble found in the Switch's Joy-Cons, which makes it actually feel like there's a Pokémon bouncing around inside of there. You'll be able to "store" one Pokémon inside of the ball at any given time, allowing you to take the ball with you for a real-life walk and rack up experience points for your creature as you take more steps. If you don't feel like shelling out $50 for a new controller, fret not -- you'll still be able to enjoy the game one-handed on a single Joy-Con, complete with all of the same motion control and HD rumble capabilities.

Outlook

Overall, Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu and Let's Go Eevee are shaping up to be a fun fusion of classic Pokémon and Pokémon Go. This hybrid throwback isn't the big next step for the series that's likely coming next year, but it should offer more than enough addictive catching and battling action when it arrives on Nov. 16 for Switch.

Credit: Nintendo

Michael Andronico
Michael Andronico

Mike Andronico is Senior Writer at CNNUnderscored. He was formerly Managing Editor at Tom's Guide, where he wrote extensively on gaming, as well as running the show on the news front. When not at work, you can usually catch him playing Street Fighter, devouring Twitch streams and trying to convince people that Hawkeye is the best Avenger.

1 Comment Comment from the forums
  • ThursdayFridaySaturday
    Oh god, another one. It's like Nintendo just prints money with these games. Nevertheless, it was a good roundup and gives me some expectations for my near future.
    Reply