When Pokémon first arrived on the scene, on cheerful coloured Game Boy cartridges inside unassuming cardboard boxes, few would have predicted that 25+ years later, there would be more than 50 games featuring these collectible pocket monsters. They’ve become a bit of a pest problem, actually, growing from the original 150 critters to more than 900. Thanks to the franchise’s gargantuan success – from anime to trading cards to several films, one of which starred Ryan Reynolds as Pikachu – there’s an overwhelming number of modern Pokémon games. If choosing between them has left you grasping your head like a Psyduck, here’s a breakdown of the best.
Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!/Pikachu!
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Let’s face it, the original 150 ’mon are clearly the best, aren’t they? If you find yourself vehemently nodding, then Let’s Go is the pixelated proposition for you. A remake of the 1996 classics that started it all, Red and Blue, this lovingly crafted homage has something old, something new and something borrowed: locations and monsters from the original Red and Blue, a pleasing new anime-inspired aesthetic and instant monster-catching wrenched from Pokémon Go. Also, you can pet your Pokémon. They really are very cute. If you’re after a nostalgia-tickling caper that captures the magic of the Pokémon anime and sticks to the old-school monsters, this is your best bet.
Best for: misty-eyed millennials hoping to relive their youth (or share it with their kids) and Pokémon Go-lovers who want to graduate to a fully fledged Pokémon adventure.
New Pokémon Snap!
Platform: Nintendo Switch
If you’ve ever found yourself wondering why these adorable little creatures are made to fight all the time by their trainers, Snap is the game for you. A successor to the Nintendo 64 classic, New Pokémon Snap turns the battling phenomenon into an interactive safari for the Instagram generation.
As you float through various habitats in a weird safari pod, you’re tasked with photographing – and often engineering – all kinds of weird and wonderful Pokémon interactions. It’s refreshingly slow-paced, highlighting each creature’s unique personality. If you’ve ever fantasised about becoming wildlife photographer of the year, but are more into Lapras than lemurs, give this a try.
Best for: lovers of David Attenborough, animal photography and slow-paced, low-stakes fun.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus
Platform: Nintendo Switch
What if you could stalk your Poké prey through wild grass, lob a Poké Ball at them and even risk getting mauled by a Snorlax in the process? All while dressed like a samurai? It’s an age-old question, really. Feeling like a giddy culmination of Reddit commenters’ wildest dreams, Arceus attempts a grittier take on the family-friendly franchise. Aimed more at adults, this feudal-era Japan set adventure offers up a markedly different type of Pokémon. For the first time since the series’ inception, everything feels fresh, oddly mysterious and unpredictable. From crafting your very own wooden Poké Balls to stalking wild ’mon who are all too happy to attack you, there’s a back to basics charm that makes grasping Legends’ intriguing gameplay a welcome breath of fresh air.
Best for: forum dwellers, hardcore gamers and lapsed Pokémon kids now ageing reluctantly into their 30s.
Pokémon Go
Platform: Android, iOS
The game that once took over the world, and encouraged us all to reconnect with nature, Pokémon Go was unstoppable … until Hillary Clinton ruined its street cred. Superimposing catchable creatures on to the real world using real world Google-Maps-powered locations and augmented reality, Pokémon Go brought Pikachu and Pals to your local green.
Linking up to your phone’s pedometer, Go is the rarest of video game propositions – one that insists you venture outdoors. It’s brilliantly sociable, too. Assigning you to a team of trainers, regular play will see you slowly getting to know the Pokémon champions of your neighbourhood. And don’t you want to live the giddying dream of becoming the Pokémon trainer who has conquered the local Asda? If you really get into it, you can travel the world: huge Pokémon Go events are held in all sorts of interesting places.
It may not be the global phenomenon it once was, but thanks to years of clever updates, Pokémon Go is arguably better than ever – and it still has millions of active players.
Best for: travellers, amblers, families and social players who like to find their tribe.
Pokémon Scarlet/Violet
Platform: Nintendo Switch
If you’re seeking the shiniest, newest Pokémon game, that would be Scarlet and Violet (out Nov 18). Picking up where February’s Feudal Japan spin-off Pokémon Legends Arceus left off, this adventure is an attempt to break out of the linear conventions that Pokémon has built up for itself.
Every main Pokémon game is recognisably inspired by a different real-world place: this time, it’s the Iberian peninsula. The new Pokédex looks refreshingly slick – like a fancy app-ready tourist brochure. Some simple changes to the established formula ensure that your journey is less of a pain in the pokéballs. You play in one gigantic, seamless environment, crammed with wild Pokémon to catch. Introducing four-player online play that shares experience points and caught Pokémon smartly between you and your mates, and three storylines that you can play in any order, Scarlet and Violet attempt to drag this conservative franchise into the 2020s.
Will it succeed? Early signs suggest developer GameFreak’s lofty ambitions may come a cropper of the studio’s relative inexperience with crafting open worlds. Still, if you can look past some ropey graphics, Scarlet and Violet will offer up a refreshingly contemporary take.
Best for: young trainers who’ve got to have the new thing – and those wanting a new, gargantuan adventure.