The world of Pokémon has stood the test of time. Over three decades of Pokémon games, toys, animé and merchandise. The monster catching series made a huge contribution to the resurgence of the Game Boy in the ’90s and now spans ten generations of Pokémon games.
Like Charmander’s fiery tail, the franchise is ever burning, bigger than ever. Pokémon maintains its crown for the highest-grossing media franchise to date, surpassing the likes of Star Wars, Marvel, Harry Potter, Call of Duty and more. What is it about these colourful critters that fans gravitate to? No matter the backdrop, it always comes down to the monsters themselves, the brainchildren of Ken Sugimori, Atsuko Nishida and various other designers.
After so long, there is a risk of Pokémon games becoming stale. Spin-off Pokémon games have served as neat ways to experiment with the core formula to keep things evolving. Yes, pun intended. From wandering around as a coffee guzzling mouse in Detective Pikachu to catching critters on film in New Pokémon Snap, RPG antics in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series to various phone apps, these show the ‘mons in a different light.
Pokémon Pokopia is the latest spin-off from developer Game Freak, joined by Koei Tecmo’s Omega Force – the folk who worked on Dragon Quest Builders 2. This new tale puts the creatures front and centre as a life-sim, a cosy concoction of games like Animal Crossing and Minecraft. Tapping into the very early era of the franchise, the Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive harks back to the first generation in setting, and in a lot of ways it is the 30th anniversary game. Is this new adventure nostalgia overload, or is there more depth in Pokémon Pokopia than it initially seems?
The opening moments of of Pokémon Pokopia pulls on the ol’ heart strings with a world that’s barren, devoid of the colour and pomp the games are known for. You step into the shoes of the adorable Ditto, a quirky blob that has a unique ability: it can shapeshift. Next, it’s time to pick a human look – who Ditto notes is what its former trainer looked like. Yes, tears were shed at this very opening line.
Pokopia doesn’t begin with the usual trope of waking up with birdsong and the player’s mum shoving their child out into the tall grass. Instead, this adventure is set in a post-apocalyptic world. Kanto, from the original Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue, in rubble. Humans are, mysteriously, no longer around…
Fortunately, Ditto isn’t alone, found by a wandering Professor Tangrowth – who acts a de facto leader and guide. This cheery new friend is keen to find out what happened here and revitalise the world to attract Pokémon, and – hopefully – those pesky humans. The pair discover a hapless Squirtle amongst the ruins, dazed and exhausted. Luckily for the parched turtle, Ditto can also copy moves of its fellow Pokémon – an effortlessly quick learner. A short burst of water, a move copied from Squirtle, later and the now recovered friend joins a growing squad of survivors.
At this point, it sounds like Pokémon Pokopia is grim tale of survival – there is an undercurrent of the unknown that runs and grows throughout. But Tangrowth ushers in the hope that this world can be restored to its former glory with the help of Pokémon and an ever-committed protagonist. That’s where you come in, young Ditto. With the water ability unlocked, comes a way of rehydrating grass and flowers. This creates spawn nests for more familiar faces, with some introducing new abilities for Ditto to assimilate.
Bulbasaur teaches the ability to plant patches of grass. Got a pile of logs or grass to trim? Scyther is on hand, literally. Hitmonchan dishes out a 1-2-blow for breaking through most walls and even the rather derpy Magikarp can teach a thing or two. Others, like Charmander, can’t teach moves – but can assist where needed. Within hours, the aspiring Ditto becomes the village hero, able to toggle between different tools at ease to get to work.
Restoring the barren landscape of Pokémon Pokopia may sound like a repetitive chore, but it doesn’t feel that way. Even wandering around for an hour squirting grass, despite sounding a little odd, is incredibly satisfying. The game adopts a neat grid system that’s reminiscent of Dragon Quest Builders or the ever-popular Minecraft. Players familiar with those games will instantly feel at home in Pokopia. Seeing dull ground and ruined trees suddenly spring back to life is immensely gratifying. The grid nature does scratch that itch for completion, acting as a soft guide of where to go next.
Beyond the planting and terraforming, the main draw is building a cosy community of Pokémon to settle into their new habitats. Unlike a breezy hello from characters in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Pokémon have far more depth to them – a proper role to play. They’ll also have ongoing requests – items, something they’re curious about or sorting out their new homes. They truly do feel alive, instead of NPCs on rails. They’re always milling about, or having a snooze.
Your new pals can even be recruited – following you about, helping craft buildings, materials or put their elemental abilities to good use. The feeling of working alongside Pokémon, as well as helping them thrive, does capture what makes them so universally appealing. These critters feel so part of this world, so involved, that it makes interactions a joy to play out – no longer confined to being battle machines.
By helping improve the environment, an area’s level increases, with more items unlocked in the makeshift shop. More items leads to more substantial changes – it’s a fun cycle that encourages exploration with an overarching goal to keep a loose structure in place. Bigger changes, like building a proper brick house or growing veggies, can have a long wait time, though. However, with multiple areas to discover, there’s always something on the to-do list to get up to whist you wait. Pokopia does the blend of exploration and structured missions well.
Nintendo’s promotion for this Pokémon game does undersell just how much depth there is – mechanically and the environment’s physical space, too. It’s not a small, five minute round-trip. There are mountain peaks, caves, beaches, ruined buildings – most of which can be interacted with, built on or broken down. Doing so, using Pokémon abilities, does feel natural for the most part, with the leeway on gravity making for some interesting structures.
The occasional challenge is, despite a useful placement grid, controls leading to accidental item pick-up and slightly fiddly building at times. Optional mouse support can make things a little less cumbersome – ideal for players coming off the back of Minecraft. It’s not game breaking by any means but can be a touch frustrating. New Horizons-itis in ways. On the flip side, the overall flexibility, grid system and free camera is something Nintendo themselves could learn from in a future Animal Crossing game.
As Pokopia progresses, more towns open up and there’s opportunity to explore further, refine spaces and figure out different mechanics through soft puzzles. The joy of discovering which Pokémon will spawn and what criteria is needed does feed into the gameplay loop nicely. Each new town feels thematically different, too, with different spawns and story plot-points to avoid the clean-up monotony. With so much to do, it does risk becoming difficult to manage everything – countering the game’s cosier appeal. Good item management and awareness of where things are become even more apparent. The map is a barely functional – a challenge to navigate at times given just how huge the game world is. Likewise, item storage isn’t centralised – which can be confusing, despite upgrades being available. Game Freak should consider improving this with quality-of-life fixes.
With all the hustle and bustle with ridiculously complex structures, Pokémon Pokopia performs exceptionally well on Nintendo Switch 2, running at what appears to be a consistent 60fps. There is a small amount of background pop-in at times, but nothing too jarring. Tecmo’s Omega Force certainly know a thing or two about ensuring complex scenes render to their best potential.
Climbing to a high mountain peak and the critters are still doing their thing in the village below with no frame-drops. Complex custom structures and decorations remain proudly in place – keeping players right in the adventure. Games don’t need to be hyper realistic to be a technical marvel, and Pokémon Pokopia is a testament to this. Having a new Pokémon release that isn’t marred by stuttering slowdown or windmills running at 15fps is a welcome thing to see.
