Pokémon Pokopia is so much more than an Animal Crossing clone

The Pokémon collection is, as soon as once more, about to evolve. After embracing open-world design and experimenting with real-time fight, The Pokémon Firm’s subsequent artistic swing is reimagining its monster-collecting collection as a comfy life sim. Launching March 5 for Nintendo Swap 2, Pokémon Pokopia appears poised to capitalize on Animal Crossing: New Horizons‘ breakout success in 2020 by copying a few of its notes. It’s a flattering transformation match for a Ditto, however early trailers have but to make it clear if Pokopia is rather more than a convincing copycat.

After a current hands-on preview occasion, we now have a greater concept of how Pokémon Pokopia is including its personal spin to the life sim style. Polygon performed about 70 minutes of the Swap 2 unique, cut up throughout an early-game single-player block and a freeform multiplayer session. That exposed a number of new particulars about how the sport works, together with its shocking emphasis on environmental puzzles and TM accumulating. Whereas I nonetheless have questions concerning the full scope of it, one factor is obvious: Pokémon Pokopia may be very a lot not Animal Crossing.

My demo begins with the type of lengthy, text-heavy tutorial you’d anticipate from a kid-friendly Pokémon sport. The participant character is Ditto who misses their (presumably human) coach a lot that it transforms right into a noodly-limbed copy of them, which I bought to customise. After assembly Professor Tangrowth, a speaking Pokémon who tells me that each one the trainers of his world have mysteriously disappeared, I’m let free right into a blocky world that appears like Minecraft by way of the lens of Pokémon.

I’m shortly taught some mechanics that can be acquainted to Animal Crossing gamers. I collect supplies like stones and sticks and take them to a crafting bench, the place I can create furnishings that I can toss wherever on the bottom. There are every day challenges I can full to get foreign money and purchase extra objects and crafting recipes, not in contrast to New Horizons’ Nook Miles. Even my backpack UI seems suspiciously just like the one in Animal Crossing.

The similarities cease there. Pokémon Pokopia is as a lot of a puzzle sport as it’s a life sim. The early hook is that, to find new Pokémon, I have to create the correct surroundings for them. The primary Pokémon I meet is a Squirtle, laying on the bottom, dehydrated. I exploit my Ditto powers to repeat the Squirtle’s Water Gun assault, after which apply it to Squirtle to revive them. Squirtle teaches me easy methods to use Water Gun on dried-out grass, creating the “tall grass” habitat, which Bulbasaur can seem in. Bulbasaur teaches me Leafage, which I can use to create extra grass, which I can then pair with Water Gun to create much more “tall grass,” the place Charmander can seem.

Picture: Nintendo/Koei Tecmo

Discovering new Pokémon unlocks Pokopia’s core gameplay loops. It shortly turns into clear that Water Gun and Leafage are simply the primary examples of what’s successfully a set of TMs. These assaults stack up quick within the first 40 minutes, as I’m quickly capable of destroy stone constructions with Rock Smash and slice down thick logs with Reduce. Every transfer is stored on a customizable fast swap menu within the nook of the display, in addition to a radial wheel I can name up and assign strikes to. Strikes additionally value a little bit of PP, which I have to maintain topped off by consuming meals. It’s the lightest of survival touches.

To assemble new strikes, I want to resolve habitat puzzles. Hitmonchan, for instance, will solely present up at a coaching space. What’s that? What strikes and supplies do I want? I can gather clues scattered world wide that may give me a touch of what I have to make, full with just a little image to repeat. (Within the case of Hitmonchan, a clue reveals me that I’ll want to position a punching bag subsequent to a bench, which in fact then means discovering all of the requisite sources.)

Picture: Nintendo/Koei Tecmo

In some methods, Pokémon has at all times been a little bit of a puzzle sport. Whenever you see a brand new critter, you need to use context clues to determine its kind and what assaults it’s good to use in opposition to it to whittle its well being down simply sufficient to catch it. Pokopia finds intelligent new methods to play with that catch-’em-all concept, even giving gamers a Pokédex-like habitat catalog to fill out.

Along with that, every Pokémon I discover by constructing its habitat turns into a resident of the world that I can work together with. Every has a consolation degree, which may be raised by giving items and finishing requests. At one level later within the demo, I bump into an Arcanine dwelling in a cute cottage. It requested me so as to add one thing heat to its house. Hm, possibly I may return to my workbench and create a campfire? (Warning: I don’t suggest placing a camp hearth in your actual life cottage.) Each little habitat you construct is actually a brand new home that you may beautify.

Picture: Nintendo/Koei Tecmo

All of that is lovely, however I’m desirous to see what the endgame is past creating cute little areas. Within the multiplayer session, I used to be dropped into “Palette City” — not Pallet City, curiously — the place three different gamers and I got free rein to construct the place up. I labored on discovering the correct Pokémon to construct a Poké Heart, the place I may heal my workforce and clone objects. I may try this with different gamers, although my colleague appeared extra taken with utilizing Rock Smash to destroy my work-in-progress habitats. Had been we working in the direction of any overarching purpose? It was unclear, however I hope there’s some throughline that retains it from feeling like an aimless assortment of chores.

It does appear to be there’s a spine to all of it, although. I sometimes discover some journal pages that tease the broader story of the place the people ran off to. It looks as if that thriller will give the sport some construction for many who want it, however nonetheless cater to gamers who simply need to make little habitats and gather associates in a peaceable method. It’s Pokémon for the trainers who simply can’t stand pitting these little guys in opposition to each other, and I think about that’s an viewers who will gravitate in the direction of Pokopia’s good vibes.