Review: POKÉMON MYSTERY DUNGEON DX Charms, but Doesn't Deliver

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon DX revitalizes the world of these 15 year old games with loads of charm and beauty, but does very little to make the gameplay compelling or interesting. It has been a long time since the release of the last Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, and we were so excited to get our hands on an updated and refreshed version. However, it feels like a nice new coat of paint on a dull, rickety go-kart.

Let’s talk about this paint job. This game looks so good! The watercolor style with vibrant colors and cute little bits and nods to the Pokémon universe make the game come to life. It may look like a Wii U game if comparing it to other titles, but the style and overall design make up for it. All the Pokémon look great, especially with some extra scarfs, undeniably cute.

The visual overhaul isn’t actually the best part, it’s the charm as a whole. The story, cutscenes, conversations, and animations are like a perfect 20 charisma roll, no one is impervious to this level of cuteness. The more menacing Gengar, Tyrannatar, and other third evolutions have a cute vibe, while still retaining their power and pride. The way the Pokémon talk, the way they interact, move, and the actual dialogue will make a player want to keep playing just to see these adorable little guys do just about anything. But, this will really be the only thing that motivates players to play.

The gameplay, in one word, is stale. The idea of a deeper RPG game with items, a vast party system, and positioning in battle seems like a magical formula, but the execution is just bad. For just about all missions, a player is dropped into a randomly generated dungeon with a handful of enemies and must run around aimlessly, going deeper and deeper in levels until they find an item, Pokémon or fight a health sponge boss. It is exactly the same thing over and over again, and tactics and strategy don’t really matter because players can just easily level up in a dojo or press and hold A for the game to automatically dictate the best options for battle. Along with auto-battles, players can also tap the left trigger and your Pokémon will literally search and run around the dungeon for you. Players literally have to do nothing but hold A to attack or tap the left trigger to continue searching. This sucks out any and all engagement from the game, it makes the game unreasonably easy and feels more like watching a Let’s Play.

This is all the game has really, evolutions and other more interesting features are locked until much later in the game or after the game is finished. The only thing that kept me playing was the story and conversations of the Pokémon, but the dungeons and actual gameplay felt like a chore after a while because of the repetition and automated battling. It is really a shame that such a gorgeous game and lovable story is bogged down by uninspired gameplay.