Review — Pokemon Pokopia

In Pokemon Pokopia, you begin your journey as a humble Ditto who has just woken up to a world without humans. The land is desolate, and the ruins of streets, homes, and Pokémon Centers instill a sense of dystopian dread. Armed with the power of transformation, you are the key to bringing life back into this world!

Content

Media within the Pokémon franchise is consistently family-friendly, and Pokopia is no different. The most disturbing content in Pokopia is the mild dystopian backdrop, but it is not presented in a dark or frightening way. You will discover logs that uncover the mystery of what happened to the humans of the world, and you will see ruins of buildings and streets, but there is a lack of bleakness and despair that most dystopian stories have. It serves only as a backdrop and point of interest in the story and is not meant to instill dread. 

Review

The gameplay of Pokopia is focused on bringing life and community to the game’s various areas. You will need to create “habitats” to summon new pokémon. Some habitats are simple, such as a couple of patches of grass, and some are more complex, requiring specific decorations, locations, or even a time of day (the game’s day-night cycle relies on real-time). Once a pokémon is summoned, it will be added to your Pokédex and will become your friend. Each area has an “Environment Level” that you will want to increase, since you will get access to more items and options as you improve each area. There are a couple of ways to raise the “Environment Level,” including summoning more pokémon, decorating the area, and making pokémon more comfortable (just ask them what they want!). Additionally, each area features its own specific issues that you will need to address. This is how the story is presented in each area; you will need to work with the local pokémon and fix the environment to be more habitable. And as you progress, you will unlock new abilities which will allow you to interact with the world in new and exciting ways. 

The “Environment Level” mechanic and unique area plotlines offer a perfect amount of motivation and handholding for players like me who do not necessarily have the artistic skills to create a beautiful town without guidance. However, the game absolutely allows players to decorate and design to their hearts’ content. You can destroy and replace any block in sight. There are also plenty of decorations and craftables that can be placed as you see fit. The game also has a dedicated sandbox area called “Pallette Town”. This area is even more customizable than the average areas and allows for cooperative play. I used the game share feature with my husband to try out the multiplayer on this island. While he could not ask pokémon about their comfort level or investigate traces of pokémon, he could shape the land and use the moves that I had unlocked. I would recommend trying it out if you have a friend and an extra Switch (you do not need a second Switch 2)! Though a word of warning, because the game share feature streams the game to the secondary Switch, performance will vary. My husband saw poor resolution and frame rate drops, even to the point of freezing, so just be mindful that it will not be a seamless gameplay experience for your partner. I would have opted for split-screen if there was a choice, but it’s cool that multiplayer exists at all!  

Aside from landscaping, there are also ample opportunities to practice interior design in freshly-built homes (yes, plural)! Your house serves as your fast-travel point, so you will want to have one in each area. Plus, pokémon love moving into a furnished home! It is up to you to decorate each dwelling. I think it’s important to mention that larger constructions (like houses) require a lot of resources and pokémon to help you build. You can gather resources from the world or from Dream Islands, which you can visit once per day. Once you have the required materials and pokémon, buildings will take time to construct. Using pokémon with a skill in building will make the process go by faster, but be prepared to wait actual hours (or even a day!) for a construction to finish.

So far, I have focused on the goal-oriented and sandbox gameplay that Pokopia offers. But the aspect that really makes this game work is the Pokémon flavoring that is deeply rooted in every corner of the game. I was delighted to see so many references to classic Pokémon games, whether it was an old music track I had unlocked, integrated gameplay mechanics (such as needing to refresh your PP after using enough moves), or visits from legendary pokémon. Longtime Pokémon fans will appreciate the nods to previous games, but I believe that Pokopia is equally welcoming to newcomers of the series.

Overall, Pokopia is delightful in every sense of the word. There are enough quests to stay busy and enough freedom to create the towns of your dreams. I found it extremely satisfying to summon new pokémon with habitats and to improve each town step by step. The wholesome energy that each pokémon carried was inspiring to me, and instilled a sense of community and hope against the gloomy dystopian backdrop. While I do highly recommend this game to “cozy” gamers and Pokémon fans, I think this also serves as a perfect first entry for anyone interested in Pokémon without the stress of battles. While $70 is a steep price for most, I believe this could be Nintendo’s strongest Switch 2 exclusive so far.