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Ryan Woodrow joined Newsweek as a contributing writer in 2024, based in London, England. He has an expert knowledge in video games and pop culture, with a wealth of experience creating detailed game guides and reviews. He graduated from Staffordshire University with a first-class degree in Games Studies and has previously written for USA Today’s ForTheWin, The Sun, Men’s Journal, Game Rant, Parade, NewsAU, and ESPN. You can contact him at r.woodrow@newsweek.com and follow him on X @SStylesmark or Bluesky @strongstylesmark.bsky.social. Languages: English.
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Pokémon’s mobile gaming presence continues to grow as a brand new game was released onto the App Store for iOS a little earlier than intended. It dropped roughly half an hour before it was officially revealed on today’s Pokémon Presents stream, which gave us lots of new details about various games in the franchise.
Pokémon Friends is a new puzzle game themed around crocheting pretty patterns for your favourite Pokémon, and it’s available to download for $9.99 now on android and iOS. While it boasts over 1,200 puzzles, it should be noted that the base pack contains just 30, as once in-game you will need to purchase puzzle packs to unlock more DLC content on top of what’s available in the base game.
The game looks to be taking a kid-first approach as all of the puzzles shown look pretty basic. It’s things like covering a grid of tiles in a single line, sliding blocks around to connect up two points, or rotating rails to form a full track.
This is just one title features in the presents stream, as most of Pokémon’s other mobile games like Pokémon Go, Cafe, Sleep, and Masters EX all had their next major updates announced, though notable in its absence was TCG Pocket. Of course, we also got a new trailer for Pokémon Legends Z-A, which features a brand new Pokémon reveal.
