What is Pokopia? Inside the calming Pokemon game that ditches battles for gardening

"But the latest entry in the series is different a game that's more about building than battling. In Pokopia, a refreshingly pacific twist on the series, players are dropped into a virtual world where Pokemon are freed from their spherical prisons and happily roam their natural habitats. There's one minor caveat you have to create those habitats by hand, building them from what you can find."

"Taking its cues from Nintendo's all-conquering Animal Crossing, this Switch 2 game sees you rebuilding decaying habitats in order to attract new Pokemon to move into your sanctuary. (Players of the Xbox classic Viva Pinata, rejoice.) It's a welcome departure from the main series' long-running training and battling loop. Veteran Pokemon developer Shigeru Ohmori, who started thinking about Pokopia's concept while working on 2022's Pokemon games Scarlet and Violet, says that the idea for Pokopia arose after spending many years dreaming about finding Pokemon"

"The first Pokemon game I worked on was [2003's] Ruby and Sapphire, recalls Ohmori with a smile. My first project for that game was to create the map and whenever I put grass on to the map, Pokemon appeared on screen. That feeling of Pokemon appearing when creating the habitat, and then meeting those Pokemon, was something that I really cherished."

Pokopia reimagines Pokémon as a building-and-habitat game on Switch 2 where players construct environments to attract freely roaming Pokémon rather than capture them. Players rebuild decaying habitats, place grass and other elements, and thereby invite species to move into a sanctuary. Gameplay draws inspiration from Animal Crossing and Viva Piñata, emphasizing pacific, creative play over battling. Concept development began during work on Pokémon Scarlet and Violet and grew from a prototype created in spare time; Game Freak collaborated with Omega Force to develop the project. The game recreates the cherished sensation of Pokémon appearing when suitable habitat is created.

Read at www.theguardian.com