Pokemon Shuffle - Freemium Hell or Worth the Download?

Pokemon Shuffle is the new puzzle game that is free to download for iPhone, Android or even your 3DS. While it's free to download, that means there are definitely some repercussions to playing, unless you shell out some real world cash. Can you play this game without spending a ton of money? Is it even worth it in the long run?

Games like this are called freemium games, which you can download and play for free to an extent, but to get full benefits, you need to make in game purchases. Some freemium games are difficult to play if you don't extra for those features. Pokemon Shuffle is a puzzle game that allows you to complete puzzles with a set of Pokemon to battle other pokemon. If you complete the puzzles, you then have the opportunity to catch that pokemon and add them to your team. Each pokemon has a different power that can be used throughout the battles (IE: Charmander gives you more damage if you combo with him).

While Pokemon Shuffle does ask for a lot of in game purchases, and they will enhance your game play, in the end, a player can still have a good time without spending a lot of extra money or any money at all.

In Game Currency - Jewels

Jewels are the game's currency system to be purchased with real world money. You can buy jewels in the store to buy more perks throughout the game. They aren't terribly expensive (one jewel is $.99). As with most freemium games, the more jewels you buy, the better deals you get. In all honesty, if you are good at puzzle games, 26 jewels ($19.99) is a good deal. That will buy you over 87 hearts and 58,000 coins, which will help you through a lot of the game.

While $20 is a lot of money, if you think about it, there aren't that man good games that are free. Spending $20 on a game is not a lot of money in the long run, especially for a Pokemon Game. 

Buying jewels and perks will speed up your game for sure, but the game is certainly playable and enjoyable without them. What I like most about Pokemon Shuffle is that I can play a few levels, put it down for a little while and do something else and then come back to it.

Hearts

Every half hour in the game, a player will recover a heart. In order to battle a pokemon you must spend a heart to play even if you win the battle. This is not a continuous perk either, you can only gain a max of five hearts at a time. This can really slow down your play time, especially if you need to level up your Pokemon.

You can, of course, purchase hearts; however, you can also link your Facebook account and send your friends hearts and have them send you hearts once a day too. This is incredibly helpful and will definitely give you more free play time in one sitting. 

Coins

Coins can also be bought with jewels to get perks when battling and catching pokemon. You can get coins from winning battles against Pokemon and sometimes a Meowth Special Event will allow you to get coins too. Coins aren't necessary to winning battles, but they can be helpful in certain circumstances.

Conclusion

While freemium games can be really annoying, Pokemon Shuffle is doable without paying. I haven't spent any real money on my game and am doing just fine. In fact, if you are interested in more of a challenge, playing without the perks will really force you to make better decisions in the game and train your pokemon just like in the traditional pokemon games.

While I wish I could binge play the game and catch all of the available pokemon with a little more ease, it's oddly satisfying to wait to play a little bit every day. Ultimately, if you are a big fan of puzzle games, or like to have something to do for a few minutes when you are bored, I would definitely give it a try. It can't hurt, it's free to download.