In the 26 years since the first Pokemon generation released, fans have been treated to a number of spin-offs, spanning countless genres. Pokemon have appeared in strategy games, pinball titles, dungeon crawlers, and more. One genre the series has understandably avoided, however, is the first-person shooter. Reddit user Dragon_GameDev decided to change that, with an incredible looking Unreal Engine build where players mow down Pokemon using various guns, rather than trying to capture them. The video is incredibly impressive from a technical standpoint, even if it’s a little weird seeing poor Pikachu go out in a hail of gunfire!
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The video can be found in the Reddit post embedded below.
Unsurprisingly, the video has gotten a ton of strong feedback from users on Reddit! While posters were quick to point out that it feels wrong to see Pokemon like Nidoking and Arbok killed, they were also surprised by how good the video looks. Shockingly enough, the process only took a month for Dragon_GameDev to complete, though they admit some shortcuts were used to get it working. The Pokemon themselves have been imported from Pokemon Sun and Moon, but apparently not all of them worked, “especially ones with fire particles.” The game even features boss fights against the Legendary Birds and Mewtwo; no need to worry about using a Master Ball, this time around!
Some Reddit users shared their interest in a real Pokemon shooter happening some day, but the chances of that are about slim to none! Pokemon has always been a franchise intended for people of all ages, and offering games strictly aimed at older players just wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense. The closest thing to a shooter the franchise has ever seen is Pokemon Snap and its recent Nintendo Switch sequel. Both games use mechanics similar to rail-shooters like House of the Dead, but with guns replaced by cameras. Fans that want to see Pokemon brutally die in horrific ways in officially-licensed media will just have to settle for the Pokemon Adventures manga!
What do you think of the video above? Have you ever wished for an M-rated Pokemon game? Let us know in the comments or share directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!
