Pokemon Pokopia Is The Best Pokemon Game In Years (Review)

Pokemon fans have been hoping for a cozy spinoff for years. But I’ll admit that when I first saw the Pokemon Pokopia reveal, I was worried it would miss the mark. At first glance, the game looks like it might be a shallow imitation of Minecraft and Animal Crossing. Indeed, the Pokemon life sim does have elements from these staple cozy and sandbox games. Now that I’ve sunk an almost concerning number of hours into Pokemon Pokopia, however, I can safely say the game is much bigger and better than I expected.

Pokemon Pokopia offers players both engaging sandbox-style gameplay and a compelling narrative. Professor Tangrowth will guide us through an investigation into where all the Pokemon and humans have gone. But the pacing of that story is up to the player, with plenty of Pokemon requests and side missions to keep us busy in each new area we uncover. Despite a few minor drawbacks, I’m pleased to report that Pokemon Pokopia is both an incredible cozy game and the best new Pokemon game we’ve seen in years.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Pros	Cons
Massive amount of content that justifies the premium price tag	Occasional visual glitches
Satisfying and varied gameplay loop	Real-time elements can cause progression to feel slow
Always something new to discover
Fresh perspective on Pokemon personalities
Engaging story with mysteries you want to solve

The Amount of Content in Pokemon Pokopia Is Next Level

With a cozy spinoff from a popular franchise like Pokemon, there’s always a risk that the game will feel shallow. So many “cozy games” in recent years have failed to fully grasp what makes fans love these kinds of games. But Pokemon Pokopia doesn’t feel like a poor imitation of popular life sims and sandbox crafting games at all. Instead, the game delivers a frankly impressive amount and variety of content. There are multiple biomes to explore, requests and missions to complete, and Pokemon habitats to restore. Not to mention, building and decorating your house and the homes of every Pokemon you befriend.

Every time I thought I had a grasp on the core gameplay loop, Pokopia introduced something new to make things feel fresh again. Whether it’s entering a new area, uncovering a new habitat hint, or the ever-refreshing list of Daily Missions, there’s always something to discover in Pokopia. The game director said the main story will take 20-40 hours to complete, with more after the credits. But I think many of us are likely to take even longer with it. With the sheer quantity of enticing side missions and hidden nooks and crannies to explore, I was still unlocking core mechanics after 10+ hours in the game.

What really impressed me about the game’s content wasn’t just quantity, however. The attention to detail in Pokemon Pokopia is impressive, both in its mechanics and its characters. Each habitat makes sense for the Pokemon that live there, and the game is packed with fun references to main series lore. The progression is, for the most part, well-paced to ensure that each new area brings with it new mechanics and ways of exploring and customizing your Pokemon paradise.

Each new area brings with it new Pokemon that will teach Ditto new moves, letting you find new ways to engage with and shape the environment. You’ll also find new shop items, new crafting recipes, and new activities to enjoy, as well. Pokopia feels like a game crafted with love and care, so that even if it’s not perfect, it’s just plain satisfying to play.

Pokemon Pokopia Packs in Nostalgia and Easter Eggs 

If you grew up on the main series Pokemon games, Pokopia is going to tug those nostalgia strings. Where it could have been a light Pokemon skin on a standard life sim, Pokopia instead leans into the series lore. Exploring the world will lead to all kinds of fun discoveries for fans, with easter eggs galore. As you unlock new moves and make new discoveries, you’re treated to familiar sound queues from the main series games. There’s a sound effect for just about everything, and many of them make you feel like you’re playing Pokemon Red and Blue again.

But it doesn’t stop there. Human artifacts and items litter the empty landscape. And many of them feature fun tidbits from the main series. You’ll find journal entries from members of “Team R,” and from a Pokemon Professor I’m pretty sure we can all identify through his references to his grandson. There are also a few landmarks that I was absolutely delighted to uncover, though I won’t spoil the surprise by going into detail.

Meeting new Pokemon in the game is just one of the delightful surprises in Pokopia. It really incentivizes exploration by tucking all kinds of easter eggs and nostalgic goodies into each nook and cranny. While I do think the game will be fun even for those who didn’t grow up on the franchise, it’s pretty clear that Pokopia was crafted with OG Pokemon players in mind.

Despite a Few Minor Snags, Pokopia Is Easily the Best Pokemon Game in Years

I can’t claim that Pokemon Pokopia is fully without flaws. There’s some occasional visual clipping, particularly when speaking with Pokemon pals, and a few odd camera angles. The progression is well thought out for the most part, but the real-time building can make it feel slow at times. Certain upgrades and core features like cooking don’t unlock until you’re many hours in. And while I like that it keeps things fresh, I can also easily see it becoming a point of frustration. As for the Pokemon dialogue? It’s cute and often crafted to suit each Pokemon’s unique personality, but it can be a bit cheesy at times. I got tired of how often they all say “yo” pretty quickly.

For all its minor snags, though, I do think Game Freak and Koei Tecmo have created something special with Pokemon Pokopia. The game feels at once like a well-crafted and engaging cozy game and an impressive Pokemon spin-off. Even without familiar staples like battles or catching, it does very much feel rooted in the world of Pokemon. And it’s also just plain fun. Even if I sometimes felt overwhelmed at the amount of work it’ll take to turn the block-filled expanse into a cozy home, I kept wanting to come back for more.

It’s no secret that the last few main series games have felt a bit lacking for many Pokemon fans. While I had plenty of fun with Scarlet & Violet and Legends: Z-A, they didn’t quite bring me back to the magic of wanting to sink into the world of Pokemon for hours at a time. Pokemon Pokopia, though? Full of charm, engaging and varied mechanics, and exciting surprises, this game truly feels like something special. I found myself in no rush to complete the main story because there are just too many fun things to uncover as you roam around the world, discovering Pokemon, easter eggs, and charming details.

A Nintendo Switch 2 code for Pokemon Pokopia was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.