Pokemon Uranium 1.2.4

Pokemon has always been one of the most beloved franchises in the world, even nearly two decades running. However, many fans can agree that the main entries of the video games have been getting a little...stale. It's felt like they've found the perfect golden formula and stuck with it for over a dozen years. Many have noticed that even a golden formula can get old after a while. However, there was one fan-made Pokemon game that shook things up years ago. A little game called Pokemon Uranium.

Pokemon Uranium was in development for a massive amount of time, and released as quietly as it could manage. That's because almost immediately, Nintendo hit them with a cease and desist and they were forced to shut down shortly afterwards. The damage was done, though. Since it was already out in the wild, the fanbase did a fantastic job keeping it alive.

Uranium comes with a twist on the Pokemon formula, giving it a much darker story than any of the mainline entries. Right off the bat, it starts with your parent dying and the region slowly dying from radiation poisoning. While there are some storytelling missteps (like important events happening offscreen) and it verges a bit closer to the "edgelord fanfiction" territory than I'd like, it does end up being a well thought-out story that has more nuance than most of the mainline entries.

The gameplay is also much, much more difficult. While the mainline Pokemon games have gotten easier and easier, this game is brutal. A random encounter can take out two of your Pokemon, and normal trainers have had their AIs tuned. They will gladly use everything you've abused throughout the years - they will switch out type disadvantaged Pokemon and spam their Pokemon's strongest moves, just like you would. Each normal trainer feels like a mainline gym leader battle, and each gym leader battle is somthing far more. 

Overall, Pokemon Uranium pays homage to its parent series and adds plenty of its own to give it its own unique identity. Give it a shot if you've been getting a little tired of the Pokemon formula.