Pokémon Pokopia Review – Collectible Creatures Creating Their Perfect World | games

forListen with me here: Pokémon has always had an environmental subtext. As you wander through its lush, creature-filled worlds, collecting species like David Attenborough, you’re constantly shown that people and Pokémon should live in harmony. The villains in these stories, from Team Rocket to Bill Nighy in Detective Pikachu, are always the ones who want to exploit these creatures for personal gain. Otherwise it will show you that people should respect Pokemon; Both the creatures you hunt and those found in the wild. There is a delicate independence between humans and the natural world.

In this new spin-off from the series, we see what happens when he’s there We are There are no humans around. You, a shape-shifting blob of jelly named Ditto, wake up in a half-destroyed wasteland that was once a bustling city. There are some other Pokémon around, confused and alone, and together they work to restore the place and make it beautiful again. Taking on the strange human form of your former trainer that no one remembers, you learn useful talents from the Pokémon around you: how to water dry grass, dig up weeds and plant flowers, and drill through rocks until they crumble to clear all the old paths.

The action is calm and methodical: similar to Minecraft, the world of Pokopia is made up of blocks that you can destroy and rearrange, shaping the landscape according to your desires. Restore their habitats and new Pokémon will appear, bringing with them new talents. Some prefer grass shaded by a rock. Others are a picnic table with a plate of tempting fruit; Others, a cart stacked with boxes. The pace is slow, but there is always something to do. It’s an interesting marriage of decor and relaxed sociability with animal crossing, and the busy work of city building.

I found it very charming how pokemon talk to each other. (Normally, as humans, we can’t understand what they’re saying.) Various personalities come through: Charizard is, perhaps not surprisingly, a huge bro; Vespiquen has good manners and a royal touch. Pidgey is really happy to be there. Tangrowth, a friendly tangle of vines, guides you through your daily tasks. Improving their homes and habitats makes each creature happier, so you have a cheerful group life together in an attractive, well-decorated orchard. When she discovers a human artifact – perhaps a bicycle, or a map – they all come together to guess, ineptly, at what it might have been used for.

I was reminded of a lot of other games while playing Pokopia. Besides the obvious Minecraft, Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing influences – and Dragon Quest Builders, with which it co-developed Omega Force – I also thought of Viva Piñata, an underrated 2006 title where you could also create enticing habitats to attract critters to your garden. But I didn’t think much about the other Pokémon games. Bucopia is not like them, and frankly that is a great power. It taps into the cuteness, charm, and nostalgia of Pokemon, but doesn’t suffer from any of the over-familiarity.

Buccopia turns out to be unexpectedly huge and complex. As new areas opened up beyond that first wasteland, I realized that this game would probably keep me occupied for as long as I wanted. (With 300 Pokémon in the catalog, the story’s conclusion doesn’t have to be the game’s conclusion.) This isn’t a kid-friendly Poké-painted simplification of the life-simulation genre, but instead a masterful celebration of it, borrowing the best of its many influences.