The category of life simulation games has been relevant for years now. From titles such as Minecraft, Stardew Valley and The Sims, the build your own world genre has seen an uptake in success ever since 2020 onward. While Nintendo is no stranger to the category with their beloved Animal Crossing series, Pokémon Pokopia combines all aspects of the world-building simulation and elevates that. (Plus, of course, adds Pokémon!)
Co-developed by GameFreak and Koei Tecmo, Pokémon Pokopia has you controlling a Trainer looking like a Ditto around a post-apocalyptic island. Together with the help of Professor Tangrowth and your Pokémon pals like Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur, the goal is to revitalize the multiple islands across the game.
Much like in Animal Crossing, you can build homes and make friends with the Pokémon on the islands. You can unlock special abilities from Pokémon to make granting their requests or forming your island easier. While exploring, you can also pick up bits and pieces left behind from the human inhabitants to understand how it all came to be.
My Thoughts on Pokémon Pokopia
Although the game has only been out for a week or so, Pokémon Pokopia has taken the world and reviewers by storm. One of the aspects of the game that I really enjoy is that most of the skills you require to terraform your island are easily unlocked near the start of the game. As someone who wasn’t too much of a fan of the way New Horizons handled their method of unlocking terraforming, Pokopia’s early access to the skill instantly ignited the more creative aspect of decorating my island.
However, one complaint I do have is that there’s too much to do. With four major islands to unlock that each have different Pokémon and its own quest lines, it feels like a lot to get through for the main story. As someone who gets easily distracted, I do find myself a bit overwhelmed with how much there is to do for a simple life simulation game.
Despite not being too far into the game myself, I enjoy every chance I get to be able to play it. Seeing the community proudly show off their islands and gush over their favorite Pokémon has been an incredible experience to witness firsthand. If you have a Nintendo Switch 2 system and are wondering if Pokémon Pokopia is for you, I highly recommend it.
Pokémon Pokopia is available for purchase on Amazon, Best Buy and the Nintendo website, and is available to download on the Nintendo eShop for all Nintendo Switch 2 systems.
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