Variety described Unown as "purely abstract", further feeling them as having none of the appeal of other Pokémon species and "a bad idea that gets worse".[15] IGN described them as "probably the single most useless Pokemon in existence", noting its contrast to other weaker Pokémon which would by comparison evolve into stronger forms eventually, and further described their sole appeal as one for children intending to use them to spell out profanity.[16] Kat Bailey, also writing for IGN, noted it as the worst Pokémon design introduced in Gold and Silver, describing the Unown as "An Irritating Sidequest Approaches" and as the worst Pokemon of all time.[17]
1UP.com named them the fifth "Lamest Pokémon" in the franchise, describing them as "silly gimmick Pokémon" and "useless" for in-game battles and other in-game events.[18] GamesRadar called them "pretty awful", further describing them as "about as threatening as a vat of Alphabits".[20] WhatCulture's Chris Comb included Unown in his list of the "laziest" and most "ill-conceived" Pokémon. He stated that he was interested in the Unown as a child, but grew to dislike them when he realized that they were less "rare, exciting, and useful" than they seemed. He claimed that it was "one of the first fears of Pokémon running out of ideas."[21] Liz Finnegan of The Escapist listed Unown as one of the worst Pokemon design, and further stated that Unown is not only a terrible design, it is also a terrible Pokemon.[22] Sam Loveidge of Digital Spy listed Unown as worst Pokémon design ever, and further stated that they only ever had one move too, called Hidden Power, which was equally as rubbish.
