Pocket Card Jockey Ride On Switch Review
There are some games that are ridiculous as a concept on pen and paper and some that are ridiculous in execution. Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On, is both of these things in a genuinely hilarious genre mash-up that really shouldn’t work, yet it does. Gamefreak, better known for a tiny franchise called “Pokemon” moves out of their comfort zone to deliver us Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On, a game that combines horse racing with solitaire to create a unique game that will require strategy, patience, and a little bit of luck. What’s it Like? Saddle up, shuffle the cards, and hold on to the reins as we review Pocket Card Jockey Ride On for the Nintendo Switch.
Pocket Card Jockey Ride On tells the story of your character trying to follow their dreams of becoming a famous and accomplished jockey. It doesn’t work out well at all and it turns out you die in your first training attempt by failing spectacularly hard and bargain with an angel to come back to earth. The angel feels pity for you and decides to make your job easier by making riding a horse like solitaire, a game your character indulges in regularly, hence the unique genre mash-up. While the story is all a bit ridiculous it is entertaining and so is the supporting cast of larger-than-life characters who pop up from time to time with quips and banter.
None of that really matters much though as the highlight of Pocket Card Jockey is the sum of its fantastic game mechanics and fun gameplay. The tutorial gently eases you in with some solitaire and horse racing tips and techniques and then sends you on your merry way. You pick a horse and then take part in its racing life with the ultimate goal of being a G1 Champion by winning races and Derbys. Should you fail to qualify, time marches on and you go down a different path to a lower stake, lower reward branch of that horse’s career. Once you have raced through all 3 stages of the horse’s lifespan, the horse then retires to a farm, and you start anew.
Racing is where the real action of the game happens with placement, strategy, and of course, solitaire. You start out of the gate with a small Solitaire puzzle and it can easily get you flustered due to the quick-fire nature of it. If you succeed, you will get a nice boost to start your race. Each corner then sees you solve another solitaire puzzle, converting cards to energy and stamina, followed by a positioning screen. You can move your horse to the outer or inner field and plan out your move with your accumulated energy. Try to go too fast or far and you burn out on the final straight, don’t do enough, and you will find yourself jostling amongst other horses going nowhere. For such a silly-natured game there’s a surprising amount of depth to the race. The final stretch will give you 4 whips to maneuver and boost to the finish line. If you thought out your approach, you should be able to breeze to victory, but if you managed to rush, you might have a bad time.
Outside of this, there’s a store to use your in-game currency to buy special items that can highlight cards you can play to carrots that make stamina deplete slower, and there is also a PVP mode which I got to test out today. It only pits you against one other player and fills the field with AI. It was an okay experience, but much faster paced meaning both myself and my opponent didn’t finish any of our solitaire puzzles. It seems almost superfluous considering the main campaign is such a fun experience, but it’s nice to have the option there even if I have no desire to return to it.
Graphically, Pocket Card Jockey looks great with Chibi horses, special effects, and animations. It’s no Mario Oddysee, but it doesn’t need to be. Cutscenes are told with 2D cutout models that are well drawn, and races are hosted in 3D, all of which run at a solid and smooth framerate. Some special moves are absolutely ridiculous, and the game simply oozes with charm. For my vision-impaired gamers, there are no accessibility options, however, the background darkens to bring a high contrast to the cards, making this much easier to discern. The game can be played with a controller or touch screen, and I have to say, I feel that touch screen is the best way to play for a more responsive and faster experience.
As we approach the final straight, it’s safe to say that Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On certainly secures a podium finish. If you like solitaire, or even feel like playing something outside of your comfort zone, Pocket Card Jockey certainly won’t disappoint. With a price point of around $20 AUD, it’s a low-cost investment that offers a lot of fun in return. The depth of its mechanics will take a while to master, and the nature of solitaire is almost infinitely replayable, add some extra elements to that, and you have a winner.
So What’s It Like? Pocket Card Jockey Ride On is like G1 Jockey, mixed with Windows Solitaire.
