I have friends that have been waiting for the next mainline Pokemon and waited eagerly for Nintendo to announce the next Pokemon game. However, the next mainline game was slated to be in 2027. Oh my god? What am I supposed to do? Play another game? But instead, we got ourselves Pokemon Pokopia.
“Oh, just another Pokemon spinoff by Nintendo”. Well, that was my first thought. But, after looking at some gameplay footages and finding out about Nintendo Switch 2’s gameshare, I pulled out my wallet and got the damn game. And this game is also why a few friends of mine decided that it is time to get Nintendo Switch 2 as well.
What is Pokemon Pokopia?
Now, people would say that it is a bit like Animal Crossing but for Pokemon. To be honest, I have never played Animal Crossing before, so this kind of genre might be new to me.
Playing it for the first time, we actually play as a Ditto, instead of a self-insert human. Well, self-insert Ditto might be more fitting I guess. So, we just woke up in this world where there are no humans, and apparently very few Pokemons.
And then, we start exploring the world and meet more Pokemons. But this world has a problem. Apparently the world has been desserted and it is dry and not in a suitable living condition. The Pokemons were not thriving and find it hard to live there, which is why we do not see much of them. But, then, apparently we are some sort of a special Ditto.
When we meet other Pokemon, we could learn some of their moves and half-transform into those Pokemons to use those moves. And with the moves we learn, we can start terraforming the world again to make it a greenery, lush surrounding suitable for living for Pokemons and humans alike. And when the environment starts to be great, Pokemons will start flocking again to this place, making it thrive like how it was apparently great a number of unknown years before the game starts.
Parallels to Minecraft
There were also comparisons made that compares Pokemon Pokopia to Minecraft. Yes, Pokemon Pokopia absolutely borrows plenty of mechanics from Minecraft, especially the land blocks and crafting. However, it definitely feels very different when playing. In Minecraft, you are just dropped into the world and.. good luck!
In Pokemon Pokopia, yes, you are dropped into the world too, but there are plenty of handholdings and there are clear story and objectives and what to do next, thanks to the Professor (You’ll know when you play). This makes the game feels very welcoming and not overwhelming to players new to the game.
Great graphics, environment and atmosphere
In my humble opinion, the graphics are really great and fits well to the Pokemon universe. The colours are bright and the world looks really beautiful (once you watered them of course). I really love seeing all these wild Pokemons just roaming around. It really feels that we are living in a place full of friendly, wild Pokemons.
Now, there are some controversies on why they did not release Pokemon Pokopia on Switch 1. I mean, yes, I am sure some business reasons are a factor in their decision, but as I play through Pokemon Pokopia (and my friends who just only bought Switch 2 to play this game), I feel like they have made a good decision. Playing this game on Switch 1 would have been very choppy and would not give the game the performance and the graphic that it deserves.
Interactions
I feel that what makes Pokemon Pokopia feels alive is the interactions that it show. Not just how we interact with the Pokemons, either to advance the story or simply to improve the environment, but also how the Pokemons interact with each other even when we are not looking.
For example, if you have made a habitat for Squirtle and Oddish near to each other, each of them will start visiting each others home and play with each other. And if you put some toys at their home, they all will start playing with the toys, or if you put a straw bed, they will lie on them. At the time of playing, apparently even farther Pokemons may visit each other if we improve the roads and make it easy and comfortable for the Pokemons to travel.
Other than that, you can also see them either being happy with their home, but you can also see them grumble or feel uncomfortable if the changes to the environment may not suit them. One clear example is Charmander and Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur, being a plant, lovessss water of course. But, Charmander, being a fire Pokemon, well understandably feels uncomfortable when there is a lot of water around.
These small details makes the world feel very alive and feels like we are living among real Pokemons.
Gotta befriend them all!
For me, Pokemon Pokopia is such a new way to see Pokemon without the mindset being “This is a rare Pokemon and I gotta catch them!” or also “Yeah, this Pokemon’s IV sucks, I am gonna release it and catch the next one”.
This game focus is just meeting Pokemons and seeing the wonders of Pokemon. This game really makes them feel alive and makes you want to befriend and make their lives as comfortable as possible.
Great for people new to Pokemon
If you have someone who does not know much about Pokemon and want to introduce them, this game might be a great entry for them. Especially because there is no focus on Pokemon battling here. It is all about meeting new Pokemons and making the environment lush and beautiful, conducive to Pokemons. You get to meet them in their natural habitats, see how Pokemons live in the wild and how they interact with each other.
And for people new to Pokemon, I feel this is the best way for them to be able to experience Pokemon.
Gameshare
If you have friends that you want to play Pokemon Pokopia with but they do not have Switch 2, only Switch 1, you can actually play with them using the new Gameshare feature. But, you have to play through a couple hours before you can unlock the Gameshare feature, so be sure to play the game first until it unlocks before gathering your Switch 2-less friends to play together.
Do you even need to ask?
Yes, you should get Pokemon Pokopia. If you are already a fan of Pokemon, just get it. If you want to introduce your casual friends that do not really know about Pokemon, this is a great game for them to feel the Pokemon experience.
