A new free-to-play Pokémon game has arrived on iOS and Android. After announcing the title two months ago, The Pokémon Company released Pokémon Rumble Rush earlier today. It initially saw a soft-launch on Android devices in Australia in May, but is now available for iOS and Android in other regions.
Pokémon Rumble Rush is the latest installment in the Pokémon Rumble series, a spin-off of the main series Pokémon games. In Pokémon Rumble games, players control toy Pokémon characters that can typically only perform one or two attack moves against opponents. They must battle their way through levels comprising of other toy Pokémon, some of which may join the player’s team after defeat.
In Rumble Rush, the player searches different islands for new and stronger Pokémon to add to their team and use in battles against Super Bosses, which are basically greatly enlarged Pokémon with more powerful attacks and a small army of smaller, henchmen Pokémon by their side. The islands change every two weeks to offer new Pokémon for players to find and battle. As players clear stages, they can earn ore, which can be used to power up their Pokémon. Each Super Boss Rush battle has certain requirements players must meet to be able to challenge the Super Boss, such as having Pokémon of a certain combat power level—the same CP measurement as in Pokémon Go—or catching specific species of Pokémon.
Levels play out relatively simply. Similar to past Rumble games, each level has a single path leading to a boss Pokémon (different from Super Bosses). Along the way are other toy Pokémon for the player to defeat. Instead of letting players control their Pokémon’s pace as they move through the level like past games, the player’s toy Pokémon in Rumble Rush moves forward automatically, and the player just has to tap the screen to make it attack opponents or swipe the screen to make their toy Pokémon dodge attacks.
Because the game is free-to-play, there are a few microtransactions, ranging from $1 to $25 USD. Real-world money can be used to purchase Diamonds, the in-game currency. Players can purchase them in different sets, such as a $4 Starter Set, a $4 Plenty of Pokémon Set, and a $6 Really Refining Set.
Pokémon Rumble Rush is now available on the App Store and Google Play Store.