By Elizabeth Fitzpatrick
Features Editor
With the thirtieth anniversary of the Pokémon franchise this year, Nintendo released a spinoff game, “Pokémon Pokopia,” on March 5.
In “Pokopia,” players discover an abandoned island as Ditto, a purple blob pokémon that uses its shape-shifting abilities to replicate a human form. Ditto makes the world suitable for life, creating habitats to attract Pokémon and learning new skills from them.
“Pokémon Pokopia is a game of wonder, exploration, and revitalization, delivering a cozy, satisfying experience with no threat of danger,” according to Game Informer.
The storyline deals with Ditto discovering why all the humans disappeared and there is plenty of lore to uncover around the world. However, the main attraction of the game for most players is the ability to decorate the island and collect all of the Pokémon.
“Pokopia turns out to be huge, and unexpectedly complex,” according to The Guardian. “The pace is unhurried, but there’s always something to do. It’s an interesting marriage of sedate Animal Crossing-esque decorating and socialising, and town-building busywork.”
The game has already received comparisons to “Minecraft,” due to the block structure of the terrain, and “Animal Crossing,” due to a similar UI and chill island-decorating vibe. However, what sets “Pokopia” apart is the massive scale of the world and how much there is to explore, and of course, the allure of adorable Pokémon.
“It’s not dissimilar from ‘Animal Crossing,’ but it’s way more customizable and you can do a lot more. It really is the sweet spot between ‘Pokémon,’ ‘Animal Crossing,’ and ‘Minecraft,’ because you can completely reshape the world to be what you want,” lifelong Pokémon fan senior Mattie Gilliam said. “The game really exceeded my expectations.”
Another feature of the game that has delighted players is the ability to talk with the Pokémon, who are not typically understood by the human protagonists of other games. Each of the Pokémon have distinct personalities and can even interact with each other.
“Clefable is my favorite Pokémon, so the entire Clefable evolution line lives in my house with me,” Gilliam said. “I’m not typically a Spinarak enjoyer but it also has a very cute personality and seeing it bounce around is so sweet.”
“Pokopia” has also sparked some internet memes, such as a trend of players building increasingly complex structures to trap a creepy clown-themed Pokémon, Mr. Mime.
One element, however, that has raised some eyebrows, is the high price. At $70, plus the $450 price of the new Switch 2 console which is the only way to play, many feel that the cost of the game is just too high.
“I don’t personally believe ‘Pokopia’ is worth the $70 price tag that fans already pay for main-line games, but because of its dominion and wide fanbase, Nintendo is capable of getting away with this pricing and ignoring all complaints,” Gilliam said.
The high demand for the game has also caused some retailers, like Amazon, to hike the price of the physical version, while the game is sold out in other stores, according to Polygon.
At least with the high price, the game is also high quality, offering an expansive experience.
“Pokopia” is worth checking out for fans both new and old and the success of the game can only spell good things for the next installments of the main Pokémon series, “Pokémon Winds” and “Pokémon Waves,” both set to come out in 2027.
Photo Caption: Attract Pokémon to live on a completely customized island in “Pokémon Pokopia.”
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons