Pokémon X

Ok, this ones a little embarrassing but here it goes. Pokémon X (3DS, 2013)

A photo of a 3DS. Bottom screen off, top screen full white with black text: "Fin"

The good: stunning environments. Both artwork and engine give a sense of place and scale impressive for a handheld. The bad: everything else. Despite having the exact same core gameplay loop as 20 years ago it still took ~23 hours. New music is forgettable. Old music is nostalgic for a while but loops for hours. Attempt at a story is admirable but can be summed up in 22 seconds

If I hadn’t been shut in with a runny nose, and hadn’t the nostalgia been strong I wouldn’t have finished. I won’t be revisiting. C+.

· gaming