Pocket Mortys has a strong first act. The minute I begin to play, I’m drawn in by the faithful visual design and writing that mirror the quirks of the hilarious Adult Swim animated series. But it plays its hand very early on, and once I’d burned through the first few hours, it was disappointing to find Pocket Mortys is little more than a diluted Pokémon imitator.

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Drawing heavily from the episode where the eponymous duo meets several alternate-dimension versions of themselves, Pocket Mortys cleverly turns the concept into a game about collecting Mortys separated from their Ricks, which means we see dozens of goofy variations on Morty’s individual design. Some Mortys have three eyes while others have none, some sport beards and hippie garb, and others are horrible test subjects or Cronenbergian nightmares. It keeps you guessing.

“ Each Morty plays practically identically.

SHOW ME WHAT YOU GOT

Attempting to ape the Pokémon elemental types, Mortys are also assigned a rock, paper, or scissors “type” with weaknesses and strengths. It’s competent, but disappointingly shallow in its lack of options and strategy - it’s more of a parody of the classic game mechanic than an interesting implementation of it.

Most of the animated series’ in-jokes and references show up in the inventory items, where supplies like a Poke Ball or HP potion are replaced with a Turbulent Juice tube, Plutonium and Serum injections, and specialized items like the instant-win Mr. Meeseeks Box and stat-boosting Mega Seeds. Many characters have cameos and recurring appearances, including Birdperson and the Council of Ricks. Dialogue between characters largely captures the tone of the show, with Rick’s flippant and dismissive cynicism playing against Morty’s unbridled anxiety and supporting characters maintaining their own identities.