Pokemon Unite launched on Nintendo Switch a little over two weeks ago, and the reception has been mixed. While the gameplay has received plenty of praise, the monetization was quick to alarm players even before release. The MOBA contains three different microcurrencies, used to buy everything from Pokemon, cosmetics, and most controversially, upgrades for battle items.
It's these held item upgrades that kicked off the pay-to-win debate, and as Metacritic user reviews pile in, some players clearly aren't happy with the implementation. Despite the critic's consensus sitting at an average 69/100, the user score has plummeted to 4.1/10, with most recent reviews scoring the game a zero, and describing the microtransactions as "predatory".
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"Man, if it wasn't for held items I'd really love and recommend this game! But sadly everyone who claims that it isn't pay-to-win hasn't seen the item upgrades", reads a 1/10 review. "As a free player, you have an inherent disadvantage, which in a competitively oriented MOBA, is an absolute no-go", says another.
Monetization isn't the only issue the negative reviews are raising. Another big topic of debate amongst players is Zapdos – and whether or not the mechanic needs to be nerfed. As it stands, defeating Zapdos when it appears in the final two minutes of the match gives the team that took it down a collective 110 points, and makes the enemies goal defenceless. While the legendary bird is incredibly difficult to take down (near impossible without working together), some reviewers express their frustration and label Zapdos "a complete game-breaker."
Despite this, the critic consensus is a bit kinder. The only predominantly negative review comes from Screen Rant, who scored Pokemon unite 2/5. This is very much the outlier, with every other review submitted to Metacritic at the time of writing scoring at least a 60/100, with many going higher than 80. Our own Cian Maher awarded the game 4/5, praising its accessible, yet action-packed gameplay, while still calling out its microtransactions.
Next: Pokemon Unite's First Patch Notes Are A Worrying Sign For The Future
