Pokémon Pokopia Review

Pokémon Pokopia Review
Version Reviewed: Nintendo Switch 2

Every so often, a game comes along that dominates social media and manages to bring an entirely new audience to a franchise. We’ve seen this before from Nintendo with the sublime Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which caught lightning in a bottle with its release right on the edge of the pandemic. We’ve also seen it with indies like Peak, and breakout blockbusters like Helldivers 2. The hype surrounding these titles always makes us stop and wonder: Is it actually that good? I thought the same when Pokémon Pokopia began popping up everywhere. This cozy take on the world of Pokémon asks players to rebuild a Pokémon utopia, restoring regions and helping the creatures that call it home. So what’s it like? Grab your tools, learn a few new builds, and get into shape as we review Pokémon Pokopia on Nintendo Switch 2.

In Pokémon Pokopia, you play as a Ditto who awakens without a trainer. You’re not just any ordinary Ditto, though. This one has a unique ability to take the form of a human and learn hybrid abilities from other Pokémon. In this world, the humans are gone, and what has been left behind is a mess. You’ll quickly team up with Professor Tangrowth, a Pokémon who helps guide you through the game. From there, it is up to you to restore Pokémon habitats and help rebuild a world where your new Pokémon friends can thrive. There is actually a deeper layer of lore behind everything that has happened in Pokopia. Sharing too much here would ruin the joy of discovery, but it is safe to say that long-time Pokémon fans are in for a treat.

Gameplay in Pokémon Pokopia is a hybrid mix of Viva Piñata and Minecraft, with the style and flair of Dragon Quest Builders. Things start simple. You begin by creating grass patches for wild Pokémon to appear, and much like Pokémon itself, these mechanics evolve over time. Before long, you will be building unique habitats that summon specific Pokémon, along with Pokémon Centres and houses for your growing community. As the game progresses, you learn new abilities and more advanced systems come into play. You will start working with power networks, water systems with shut-off valves, and community boxes that allow Pokémon to take on jobs so you do not have to do all the heavy lifting yourself. There is a lot under the hood here, and Pokopia is deceptively complex. Thankfully, the story does a great job introducing these mechanics through Pokémon requests and major “Important Requests” in each area that teach you the ropes. You can also ask your favourite Pokémon to come on adventures with you, find yourself playing skipping rope with a Bulbasaur, or using a camouflage ability from Zorua to play a game of online hide and seek.

There is so much to do in Pokémon Pokopia that players who enjoy cozy games like Animal Crossing: New Horizons could easily spend hundreds of hours here. But the real strength of the game is the sheer joy it brought me during my 60 hours with it. Your Ditto is a happy helper, casually accepting quests from familiar friends and Pokémon I had never seen before. I am a Gen One Pokémon fan though, so go easy on me. Every new Pokémon reveal felt exciting. The campaign cleverly drip feeds new mechanics, builds, and items, encouraging you to return to earlier areas and make them feel new again. I have played a lot of great games lately and handed out more Certified Exceptional scores this month than usual, yet Pokopia was easily the hardest one to put down. It is difficult to explain exactly why. The game simply feels warm and wonderful, and with some of the same developers involved, it almost feels like a spiritual spin-off of the excellent Dragon Quest Builders series.

I really only had two minor issues with the gameplay. The first is that placement when building large objects or working in tight spaces can feel a little wonky. Thankfully, this is easily countered by switching to mouse mode, which I admittedly underused during my playthrough but works exceptionally well once you start using it. The second issue is that many larger build tasks take real time to complete, much like Animal Crossing: New Horizons. That might not bother some players, but I did find it a little taxing having to wait until the next day for something like a Pokémon Centre to be rebuilt. Smaller structures, such as Pokémon dens, water wheels, and power sources, thankfully take far less time, usually landing in the 15 to 30 minute range, which at least gives you the opportunity to tidy up your village while you wait.

Pokémon Pokopia is brought to life with a bright and colourful palette, making you feel truly immersed in the wonderful world of Pokémon. The assets have a softer, rounded edge compared to Dragon Quest Builders or Minecraft, giving the game a friendly, approachable feel. The style almost resembles how Overwatch handles its art, which helps Pokopia stand out from the titles that inspired it. Each Pokémon is expressive and often has hilarious dialogue, giving them personality and charm. They also walk around and interact with their environment and with each other, which makes the world feel alive and less static than recent mainstream Pokémon titles. Every region has its own unique look, and for fans of the series, familiar locations add an extra layer of excitement. For me, the setting really clicked when I found myself on the shores of Bleak Beach and suddenly, I realised exactly where the world of Pokopia is set.

Ditto itself is a standout, with charm and flair that make your avatar impossible not to love. Watching it wobble as it walks along, or run with its arms flailing behind it adds to the whimsy. Everything comes together beautifully, making you want to spend hours exploring the world of Pokopia. Performance-wise, I didn’t encounter any issues. The framerate is smooth and consistent, letting you enjoy all the colour, animation, and chaos without distraction.

For my Ditto’s look into accessibility, Pokémon Pokopia offers several options to make your time in Pokopia more comfortable. You can toggle and remap buttons, which works well with accessibility-specific controllers, slow down text speed, use mouse controls, adjust a variety of camera settings, and isolate certain audio sources. The game’s bright palette, even at night, means that contrast between objects, blocks, and Pokémon is easy to discern, which helps visually. As always, I recommend doing further research to ensure Pokémon Pokopia suits your specific accessibility needs.

Pokémon Pokopia took a huge risk with a beloved franchise, and it’s one that has absolutely paid off. Koei Tecmo and Nintendo have come together to create a wonderful world to get lost in, and it’s clear that the source material, much like raising a Pokémon, has been handled with loving care. Even after finishing the main questline at around 40 hours, I’ve already put at least half that back into the game, just tidying up areas and building new habitats to attract Pokémon. While my favourite Pokémon, Blastoise, still eludes me, Pokopia is one Switch 2 title you absolutely have to catch.

So, what’s it like? Pokémon Pokopia feels like Dragon Quest Builders crossed with Viva Piñata.

In the interest of full disclosure, a review copy was provided by Nintendo Australia, but this doesn’t influence my score.

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