Pokémon Café Mix Review Order Up!

Pokémon Café Mix Review: Order Up!

Pokémon Café Mix is an adorably nostalgic puzzle game that serves as a casual, yet charming entry in the Pokémon franchise.



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Category : Pokemon

Pokémon Café Mix Review Order Up!

Pre-quarantine, one of my favorite pastimes was to visit local cafés, grab a cup of coffee, and sit down and enjoy the ambiance and atmosphere. It’s been a hot second since I’ve been able to do that, but luckily the newly released Pokémon Café Mix has replicated that opportunity for me in a sweet and fun free-to-play puzzle game.

Pokémon Café Mix is an adorably nostalgic puzzle game that serves as a casual, yet charming entry in the Pokémon franchise.

Let’s Open A Café!

Pokémon Café Mix Review Order Up!

Pokémon Café Mix is a free-to-play puzzle game available for the Nintendo Switch and mobile iOS and Android phones. Players must run and operate a café that serves adorable Pokémon-inspired dishes. At the beginning of the game, the player only has two other staff members – Leah, a human girl who serves to help the player by giving various tutorials and explanations to help the player fulfill orders, and Eevee, the first Pokémon staff member. The goal of the game is to fulfill as many orders as possible, which will allow the player to unlock more Pokémon staff members, decorations to attract more customers, and new recipes.

In terms of gameplay, the café receives Pokémon customers who will order different dishes on the menu. In order to successfully complete each order, players must complete touch puzzles and connect same-type Pokémon icons in links. Each order will feature different requirements in order to complete (e.g. reaching a certain score, clearing a certain number of Pokémon or special icons, linking a certain number of Pokémon, etc).

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As more orders are completed and Pokémon customers grow more satisfied, the customers will soon ask to start working at the café. Each Pokémon staff member has their own unique specialties and abilities that can help fulfill orders of all kinds. Additionally, as more levels are cleared, players can expand their Pokémon café by adding more space and getting more furniture and items to draw more customers in.



Adorably Nostalgic Art Style & Music

Pokémon Café Mix Review Order Up!

The unique art style of Pokémon Café Mix might be a bold departure from the Pokémon franchise’s easily recognizable anime-style rendering, but it’s definitely one of the strongest aspects of the game. Pokémon Café Mix’s art is both adorable, drawing in players who are a sucker for cute things, as well as nostalgic, a plus for players who’ve been a fan of the franchise for years.

For a free-to-play game, it’s incredibly detailed too. Especially with each of the unique menu items, the level of detail and creativity attributed to each delectable dessert or pretty plate makes you wish this café was real. (Personally, my favorite dishes were the “Fluffy Eevee Pancakes”, which are pictured above; and the impressively detailed “Burnt-Caramel Vulpix Sundae”, which is a layered chocolate sundae that utilizes curved cookies to replicate Vulpix’s tail.)

Additionally, the cheerful background music that accompanies the game is a lovely addition to an already adorable game. The songs are both fun and lively, making the overall aesthetic and atmosphere of the café inviting and appetizing.

A Uniquely Addicting Descent Into Puzzledom

Pokémon Café Mix Review Order Up!

Pokémon Café Mix’s link-style touch screen puzzles might draw in fans of similar titles like LINE: Disney Tsum Tsum or Candy Crush, but what makes this game unique is that these puzzle boards have no structure to them, allowing the Pokémon icons to freely bounce around the board. It can take a bit of time to get used to, especially if you’re coming to one of the abovementioned games, though once you become familiar with the freeform structure, the game becomes an addicting descent into fun Pokémon madness.

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The game also does a good job of balancing easy-to-understand rules with a fair amount of challenging unique items called “Gimmicks” that require their own unique rules to clear. For example, the Whipped Cream gimmick requires repeatedly clearing Pokémon links next to the icon to make it disappear, and the Tree Nut gimmick can only be cleared with a special item. These additional challenges can make the repetitive nature of each puzzle feel exciting and keep most players from getting bored.


Beyond puzzles, there, unfortunately, isn’t much else you can do in the game. (I initially assumed that I might be able to decorate my own café the way I wanted, or maybe have special non-puzzle-related events with individual Pokémon, but that’s not an option.)

No Aggressive Microtransactions

Pokémon Café Mix Review Order Up!

Sure, a free-to-play game sounds nice and all, but surely there are aspects hidden behind a ridiculous paywall, right? Some free games might fall into this category, but luckily Pokémon Café Mix doesn’t. Players can complete all the main orders and unlock all the playable Pokémon, decorations, and dishes without spending a single dime.

The only thing players might be interested in spending real money on are buying more Golden Acorns (in-game currency) to purchase more lives, or extra bonus items to help out with particularly difficult orders. But otherwise, you can forget all about spending on microtransactions.

A Clunky Console Game

Pokémon Café Mix Review Order Up!

I decided to try the game on the Nintendo Switch, as I was curious to see how the game held up on a device that isn’t so ergonomically friendly when it comes to its handheld form. (Pokémon Café Mix is entirely touchscreen-based, so it’s only playable on the Switch’s handheld form.)

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Unfortunately, I found the Nintendo Switch to be a rather clunky and uncomfortable device to play the game on. It wasn’t uncomfortable to the point where I gave up playing, but I do think this game works better as a mobile game since smartphones are typically easier to hold. Those who are interested in playing Pokémon Café Mix should keep that in mind when deciding which device to download it on.

Pokémon Café Mix may not be the most challenging Pokémon game to ever grace your console, but its cheerful and addicting nature is a nice addition to the fighting franchise that’s sure to make you smile.

A Nintendo Switch version of Pokémon Café Mix was downloaded by TheGamer for this review. Pokémon Café Mix is currently available as a free-to-play game for the Nintendo Switch, and for iOS and Android devices through the App Store and Google Play, respectively.

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