Pokémon Pokopia Review (Switch 2)

I feel like I’ve been rebuilding my relationship with Pokémon over the past decade. It’s been a weird experience for me, who’s grown up with the franchise at every stage of my life; taking my toy Pokédex to school; sitting at the top of the stairs, GBA SP in hand and Sapphire on the screen, timidly listening to my parents arguing; attending the midnight launch of Sword & Shield and staying up until 5am with my best friends.

But in the last ten years, I think I’ve truly only loved two Pokémon games: Legends: Arceus and New Pokémon Snap. With Pokémon Pokopia, Koei Tecmo's Omega Force and members of the Dragon Quest Builders 2 team have given me a third.

Pokopia turns the act of rebuilding a life, rebuilding a world, into a complete joy; a cathartic, calming experience that, even with some teething problems, is one of the most robust and enticing Pokémon games ever.

In Pokopia, I’m not just rebuilding the world to make it look nice (though that is part of it), I’m doing it for the Pokémon. And I’m not just collecting them all like numbers in a Pokédex, I’m finding out where they like to live, what they like to eat, and how their abilities help make the world a better place.

Collecting ‘mons has long been the main draw of the series to me, but this game adds a layer of warmth to the whole process, and it feels fresh and exciting. The whole point of the game is to build environments to attract these Pocket Monsters back in the hopes of finding out just what on earth has happened. Crumbling Pokémon Centers, ruined buildings, and blocked waterways now litter this uncannily familiar world, and it’s Ditto’s job to help put things back together by sucking up materials like a freakier version of Kirby.

As Ditto — morphed into an unearthly human-like creature — you can do other things by transforming into other creatures and using their skills. Starting off with a simple Water Gun to revitalise patches of grass, I quickly amassed an arsenal that included the ability to Cut wood and trees, Rock Smash my way through blocks and terrain, and even Jump like a floundering Magikarp (no daft transformation there, though - sorry).

Admittedly, breaking down environments block-by-block isn’t an ideal approach. Aiming the punches up, down, or ahead of you can be a little fiddly, and you’ll probably break a block you didn’t mean to accidentally. You do get a variation of this later on, but it has some other drawbacks.

But accumulating these skills gradually opens up each of the game’s four maps for you. Suddenly, I was no longer restricted to this blocked-off woodland area of the Withering Wasteland; I could punch a hole through the wall and turn a spring into a river, or make a new pathway to lead to a beach and a cove. You do have an energy (PP) meter, but it’s almost impossible not to find food to replenish this quickly. It’s the most free a Pokémon game has felt in a long time.

The game will often highlight requests you can pick up and tell you how to build certain habitats, and sometimes what Pokémon is attracted to those little nests. And you do have to progress each area’s story to unlock the next map. Building these is extremely easy, even when you have to do it square by square — made a little easier still with Mouse Mode.

But I could also completely ignore the story if I wanted and go and build, explore, and discover each biome at my own pace.

Essentially, Pokémon Pokopia is like a big puzzle game, mixed in with a little Viva Piñata; make the homes, improve those homes based on suggestions and likes, and listen to their requests to make them feel comfortable.

It’s a morish loop of simple cosiness that works because of that lack of handholding. Larger Pokémon can’t sleep in single beds, and some only like spicy food - what fits that criteria is down to you to figure out. And fortunately, crafting is simple: just stand at a workbench, place some storage boxes with materials next to it, and then pick what you want to make, from lamps to beds to toys to even paint balloons. And yes, you can craft multiple items at once.

Whenever I did focus on the story, the details were all just guidance. I might get the recipe I need to build something, but I have to find out where the materials or ingredients are, or which Pokémon has the Specialty I need to power up a generator. It’s usually pretty self-explanatory, but I wasn’t expecting Pawmo to be good at making paint, nor did I expect Rookidee to be an expert wood chopper.

There’s some annoying story-gating progress that slows things down à la Animal Crossing. I respect that Pokopia doesn’t want you to rush, and I never wanted to either, but waiting an entire day for a story-essential building to finish construction felt a bit much. There’s similar staggered progress in the final area of the game, and while it did give me the opportunity to go gather materials or fulfil more requests, the length of time felt unnecessary.

Often, the story doesn’t even embrace the entire biome you’re in. But my natural curiosity kicked in with each new area, spotting things in the distance that helped me piece together these locales. Sure, Trubbish wants to show me how to recycle materials, but what about that huge boat in the distance? Can I climb these polygonal cliffs and see what hides in the basin to the north of the Withering Wastelands? Every single block is enticing, just waiting to be destroyed, utilised, or simply admired, all helped by the soothingly nostalgic music that transported me back to a simpler time.

There’s so much stuff to collect and see, and way more Pokémon than I imagined. I frequently stopped to build environments just out of fun, to see whether I could discover something new, or work off one of the hints I’d acquired during the story or by simply exploring. At one point, I put together a large field of flowers by chance. I figured a Vileplume would pop up, but when I came back to investigate, Vespiquen greeted me with some loud buzzing and a declaration of happiness.

It can be a bit overwhelming at times. Occasionally, I was left scrambling after being tasked with building a specific piece of furniture due to how many materials and items I had accumulated. Storage boxes are a thing, and you gradually increase your bag size to carry more items with you, but remembering what you’ve put in which storage box (and on which map) isn’t my favourite thing.

Making certain materials also takes a fair bit of time, too. Ingots become a late-game essential, and unless you have multiple furnaces (or an upgraded one), it’ll take a while to have the number you need for a few requests. You also might need to hunt down a creature who can use the things, too.

Thankfully, some processes get progressively easier further in. Plus, I’m still learning things and picking up new furniture recipes and materials after the credits roll. I got new items that made powering lamps and laptops much easier, and spent time building larger homes from scratch. It’s impressive just how much is crammed into this delightful package.

And it all looks lovely and runs well on Switch 2. The clean, colourful art style really adds a degree of toy-like charm, but I was amazed when messing around with the camera and zooming into the furniture, the amount of detail in objects like sofas and benches. And, both handheld and docked, it runs at a pretty solid 60fps to my eye, with a few dips on the “blank” island you can play on. Admittedly, I haven’t tried any crazy builds, so that may change things.

I also can’t wait to experiment with friends – I haven’t had a chance to try GameShare or even just play on a Cloud Island with a buddy or three (we'll update this review with multiplayer impressions as soon as we're able). But the true magic will be seeing what others can create in-game.

I still have a ways to go in rebuilding my relationship with the franchise, and even Pokopia has a few things that need ironing out. But after nearly 40 hours, I sat and watched the credits roll with tears in my eyes. The chance to rebuild is also a chance to heal and give back, to understand the importance of what you’ve experienced. For now, I’ll continue to live in this Pokémon utopia, rebuilding and reconstructing block by glorious block.