Pokémon is getting cozy with the release of Pokémon Friends, a new puzzle game available now on both Nintendo Switch and mobile devices. Pokémon Friends presents players with a new brain teaser once per day, such as lighting up all of the bulbs on-screen with a single line or determining which balloon is safe from being popped by arrows. Completion of the puzzle awards players with an in-game Pokémon plush that can be used to decorate a digital space.
Set in the aptly-named Think Town, Pokémon Friends centers around a town famous for producing Pokémon plushes (through the magic of feeding yarn into an automated machine). But there’s a problem: the yarn is tangled, and the only way to untangle it is by solving a puzzle. That’s the core premise and explanation for the game’s mechanics, but it’s more than enough for a title like this.
Pokémon Friends is free to download, but there is additional content available for purchase if you want more puzzles. Players get one free puzzle a day, but you can play twice today to celebrate the game’s launch. There’s a solid variety in the style of puzzles, although none are particularly difficult to solve. They do make for a fun activity, sort of like a mental stretch first thing in the morning to get your brain ready for the day.
After solving a puzzle, you can open the in-game calendar and go back to repeat it as many times as you like. The length of time it takes to solve each puzzle affects your final score (and the amount of yarn you ultimately untangle per day), and different types of yarn yield different plushes. For example, Sparky Yarn makes a Pikachu plush, while Fiery Yarn makes a Scorbunny plush. Not happy with the score you received? Go back and try again until you master it.
Today’s presentation also revealed details about upcoming content for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Pokémon Champions, and much more.
