Game Freak’s latest title, Pandoland, is now available for download. The Pokemon developer’s new mobile RPG is free to play.
While Game Freak is best-known for its Pokemon games, the Japanese studio occasionally dabbles in original IPs. Pandoland is one such title, originally unveiled and launched in late June 2024, though only in Game Freak’s home country.
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Eight months later, Pandoland made its way to the West. The English version of the game can be downloaded from the Google Play Store and iOS App Store as of April 21. Pandoland is published by WonderPlanet and marks the Tokyo-based company’s first foray into mobile gaming.
Pandoland Is an Exploration-Focused Gacha RPG
In terms of what’s actually on offer here, Pandoland is a free-to-play gacha RPG focused on exploration. At the start of the game, players are given a boat and tasked with charting the unknown territories of the eponymous Pandoland. Clearing clouds reveals new areas of the map, which can contain everything from hostile mobs to secret treasures. Elaborate dungeons are also part of the package, with the game presenting them as the most reliable way of procuring legendary treasures and new companions. Pandoland emphasizes choice-driven gameplay and is designed in a way that makes every playthrough unique.
The gacha elements of Pandoland are mostly limited to its companion system. Apart from grinding dungeons, new characters can be procured via pulls, which require digital currency. The game does offer ways to earn currency without paying for it, but since its roster includes over 500 companions, players wanting to pull specific characters or aiming for a complete collection will be heavily encouraged to spend real money. In-game progress can be fast-tracked by inviting friends, both because every accepted invite is incentivized with drops and due to the fact that Pandoland can be played in co-op.
Beyond its Minecraft-like blocky aesthetic, Pandoland stands out with a massive open world and a relatively complex character progression system compared to other casual RPGs. The game currently holds a perfect 5-star rating on the iOS App Store, though that figure is based on only a handful of early adopter reviews. Over on the Google Play Store, which presents both Japanese- and English-version reviews together, the game holds a 3.1-star rating, derived from 4,260 player impressions. Pandoland has been receiving content updates on a regular basis since its June 2024 soft launch. How long the game will ultimately be supported will likely depend on the amount of traction it manages to generate and maintain.
- Date Founded
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April 26, 1989
- Headquarters
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Tokyo, Japan
- CEO
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Satoshi Tajiri
- Services
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Pokémon Home
