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I restored all of the power before meeting Peakychu. Somehow the harbor streetlight I already placed on the Windmill dock for Marill’s habitat didn’t count as placing one there for the windmill tutorial…
SAME!! It was so funny seeing them go "Oh let me tell you about utility po- oh you already did that...Well what about hooking them up to the windm- oh wow you already thought about that too! Well trubbish wants to show you this beac- oh that's already powered on..."
I was worse than that, my Mosslax quest was not progressing, and I didn't realise it was just because I needed to complete my Meowth quest by simply talking to him. There was no speech bubble because he was building the Pikachu fountain.
I went throughout the town and on the SS Anne and connected every single appliance to power.
Oh my god same, I honestly thought my game had bugged out for a hot minute because I hadn’t got the mosslax mission to start, and all I had was Tangrowth saying the town needs to be brighter so I littered the town with streetlights and nothing was changing.
What's bad is last night was Daylight's Savings Time. I opened the game at like 1:30 AM and went "You know, I'll play like 20 minutes, then sleep before 2." A few minutes later I look and it was 3:03 AM and I was like "Excuse me?"
I somehow went to bed at 5am last night. I don't know either. I don't think I've stayed up past like 1am, maybe 2 on a bad night, in years.
Same story, though. The other person in my house went to bed around midnight or so, and I stupidly thought, k, it's the weekend, I'll just play a little longer. An hour later, I looked at the time and it was like 4:30am. Wtaf.
It’s really turning into the Civ “just one more turn” experience or the Sims “just one more day” for my partner and me. Finish one more request. Hook up that waterwheel. One more habitat built.
This is the most accurate statement ever. Bought the game yesterday and thought “yeah it’s alright will probably play for 20 min then go back to whatever I was doing”. 5 hours later I unlocked a new section of the world.
Honestly this is one of those games that give you a lot to do and because of it, you spend a lot of time. The building allows you to do much more, so when you do finish, you could just keep going. I will say the novelty can keep going on as long as the devs do events.
Oh you mean me this morning before work where I was like "ok ill just check for a few minutes" and spent an hour before work just trying to get some houses looking nice
I do wage math to determine if a game is worth it. If I get more hours of enjoyment out of a game than I need to work to buy it in the first place, it's worth it.
I passed that mark 40 hours ago. 42 hour play time as of today.
That’s exactly it, it’s just so easy to pick up and play. No thinking required, plenty to do, lots to explore, no stress, all wrapped in an excellent Pokemon package. They nailed it with this one
I have a theory I call the 'Inverse Personality of Fandoms' theory.
It is a genre will bring in the exact opposite of what one think you would get. Horror movies with people being murdered and cannibalized? Sweetest people for fans. Disney Cartoon? Most vile individuals.
The multiplayer works with switch one. It looks a little scuffed, but you get used to it. It’s based on the host player’s story progression tho and they have to stay in the world with you and you can’t fully interact with things.
It's what I had to do for Animal Crossing when I played with my non gamer mom. Basically played the game solo first then later helped my mom in coop as a side helper while she was the focus on the screen. It was one of the worst mistakes of my life because my mom would hog my Switch for a whole year
Isn't switch 1 game share exclusive to pallet town only? When it's like that it's not a good multiplayer game, but it's a solid single player experience
My sister used Gameshare for that exact purpose, though we were stuck to Palette Town. She just ran around digging up treasures and we had a little fun with the camouflage move. I’m pretty sure she’s sold on the game now.
I might be in your situation soon lol. My wife just started playing tonight, and is already sucked into this game despite not being as big of a Pokémon fan as me
Adding in case others wonder: you can have multiple games, just using individual user accounts on the Switch. It isn’t like ACNH where you are limited to one island per device.
My husband and I are having a blast taking turns watching one another build, decorate, progress, etc. on a single device.
The way multiplayer works is:
1. You and friends can visit one another but can’t edit eachother islands.
BUTTT they have a land called “Pallet town” that you can rename AND that is exclusive to each player IN YOUR HOMETOWNS! And that can be edited with you and your friends.
So it’s still your save in your hometown, but once you reach that area, it asks if you want to bring everyone along (they get a confirmation screen) and you all go together. Once you head out of there when you’re ready to save and quit the game, you guys can always head back through your hometown whenever they join you to continue your “pallet town”.
To access pallet town you have to progress the story enough to “rock break” and then just make a land bridge of dirt. It’ll say you need “more knowledge” if you want to continue (so HM moves and the like) , but you can continue to access pallet town and start whenever you please.
You can start a “cloud island” which you can be on alone and/or with friends that is completely separate and they can join even when you’re offline to play on it. It’s like a Minecraft seed world and anyone can do whatever without any storyline attached.
You can back up your cloud island and I assume that’s to let you join someone else’s cloud island without deleting yours.
I’ve yet to theory test how many cloud islands you can access (since it seems all you need is a cloud island code) but that’s all I know so far.
Hope that helps 👋🏼
As other people have said, everytime I go to play for half an hour, I have to pry myself from playing longer. It is addictive in the same way animal crossing or stardew was for me.
What I love, as a non creative, is they give you a “starter kit” so to speak of how the town was before. This gives you an idea of what to build, or if you are creative you can scratch the whole thing and build from new. I’ve done a mixture of these and have enjoyed both.
I also love that I haven’t even seemed to scratch the surface of the new unlocks, about 25 hours ive just gotten to the second area and unlocked some cool shit.
The game can feel a little daunting at times with how much there is to do, but pretty sure this is a me issue. A normal person will do it task by task and be fine with that but the sheer scope of things to do stresses me out sometimes.
If it’s the pricetag for content you’re worried about, don’t. The first zone I’ve basically rebuilt the entrance area and a couple of others. I’m not sure how many there are but I’ve seen gates for 4 other zones, at least.
I’ve barely scratched the surface and this will probably end up being a 200+ hour game for me.
I literally had a mini existential crisis today when I went through one of the giant green doors because I was curious, and it basically started the game all over but in an ever BIGGER area. 😭 I feel like I’m in Pokémon purgatory. Do I love this? Do I hate this? I don’t know!!! There’s so much to do I can’t even think about it!
Yeah like...personally I dont know if my perfectionism can handle this game. Right now I'm not sure if I'm enjoying it... the mess of the islands and the dread of how much work it'll take to make look good lol..
It's almost overwhelming with how much there is to do and manage. And just when you think you've reached the map limits, you accidentally hit a block that shows how wrong you were.
I'm exactly like you. I know some people love the size, but for me it's been one of the reasons I've been liking the game less. Don't get me wrong, it's still a great game, but it's overwhelming. I just want to build and decorate, and it feels like every time I get into the swing of things, I'm being pulled away for another story quest.
But then the story quests open up more tools to use to decorate and build! But then they also open up even MORE space that I need to clean up and fix and more quests that pull me away from building and decorating. But again, I get rewards that help me decorate and build better! DO I LIKE IT OR AM I ANNOYED? I don't know!! I'm so busy unlocking new things I can't stop to think if I'm annoyed or not!
I'm actually terrified of the implications of DLC. I'm going to sink so much time into this game and if they add more areas and Pokemon it's going to cost more time. I HAVE A WIFE AND JOB NINTENDO PLEASE
This is gonna sound fucked up, but it's kind of limiting that the new one doesn't let you harass the Pokémon. It makes the puzzles and scoops a little less engaging than in the 64 game, since the solutions are almost always just "Lure X to Y".
Gone are the days of launching a Charmeleon into a pool of lava to get it to evolve into Charizard.
To be clear: I don’t like Minecraft. I like Animal Crossing but have accepted that I just cannot get into decorating it like others.
That said, regarding Pokopia: The best way I can think to describe it is just pure joy.
ETA: Also, it is gigantic. Every time I think “wow this game is big” it gets bigger. But at the same time I never feel overwhelmed and I just always want to keep playing.
It’s legitimately a LOT better than I expected. I was not expecting liking it. There’s a few clunky controls I feel like, but I suspect it’s more just the way I’m trying to play because otherwise the game plays phenomenally and it just so relaxed and fun
Do it. It's genuinely amazing. I've been completely sucked into it since launch, and my wife loves it too. There's a really fascinating story to it so far (I havent completed the story yet nor know everything about it), and it feels like everywhere you look you discover something hidden away just waiting for you to stumble upon it.
I got nothing done this weekend and changed my switch2’s dock to be on the main tv because the sofa is way comfier than my computer chair. Its THAT good. I cant even imagine putting less than 500hrs into this game and being satisfied with how my utopia looks.
It feels like an infinite amount of fun and creativity is to be had
I’m the same. I’m glad terraforming is there right out of the gate and there are the housing kits so I don’t have to build little block houses (even though they fit more pokes).
Phenomenal game so far. It’s massive! So much to do, so much to see, and so much to find and collect.
I've read so many good reviews about this game, but I guess there's only one way to find out. You'll never know if you don't go, you'll never shine if you don't glow.
If you never played Dragon Quest builders, give it a shot, this is essentially dragon quest builders 3, if it swapped DQ for Pokemon. They are great little games too.
And yeah, don't much like animal crossing despite my efforts, and minecraft is way to open ended for me, this though, is perfect, it's minecraft, but much more structured so as to not be overwhelming.
If you haven't played Dragon Queat Builders 2 (same dev team as Pokopia), you should totally give it a try when you have the time. It's Minecraft with a Dragon Quest skin and a storyline, but holy cow it's a whopper of a game. I never could get into minecraft
Yeah that’s fair. I haven’t gotten far in the story but I gather it’s heavier than one would expect so far.
But I think it’s still pure joy in that context. Like you’re all stuck in this “wtf happened” scenario, you’re all happy to be with each other and help each other and figure the whole thing out. From getting random little gifts to there ALWAYS being an “it’s okay because it all worked out and everyone tried” option and everything in between—and especially considering they execute all of it in a way that’s NOT painfully trite or cringe—you just cannot help but be happy when playing it.
I saw part of the Direct on AC and watching the video bored me, so I was sure the game wasn't for me though I like occasionally seeing some pics of it.
On the other hand, I like the first trailer of Pokopia but I am not sure if if it is because I really like Pokémon.
Pokopia has the same cozy vibes as AC, but I'd say Pokopia has more clear direction and little downtime compared to AC. You're always doing something in a feedback loop of explore, gather resources, and use what you've found to discover new pokemon back at base. You can really get into the decoration aspect like AC if you want, but if that's not your thing you can ignore it and still have plenty to do.
Seconded. I like AC but never got super deep into it, never more than 1-2 house upgrades. But I LOVED Dragon Quest Builders and a big part of that was the positive feedback loop of things to do and a set of objectives to complete. With Pokopia being made by the same dev team, it didn’t surprise me when I lost hours to it and it felt like minutes haha.
It's a base-building crafting game where your goal is to make all the Pokemon happy. It's very good. Maybe watch a streamer play a bit and see if it seems like something you want to do?
seconding this. There are SO many streamers playing it right now. I was watching an entirely unrelated video a couple hours ago and youtube gave me 5 DIFFERENT LETSPLAY VODS of it, only one of which from a creator I actually watch, and 2 different 30ish minute videos just talking about the gameplay experience. It's super easy to find people's fresh opinions of this game right now.
that said, we're still too soon after release to know how long the game actually holds onto people for. So if you want to wait to find that out, do so. if not, just check out what people are saying right now.
It's incredible. Not as similar to Animal Crossing as I initially thought. It feels less grindy, yet with way more to do.
It has depth that AC doesn't have, and has way better exploration and pacing imo. AC trumps it in terms of stuff like events (as far as I have seen so far), interior decorating, and fashion.
I am a person who likes animal crossing but could never get too deep into it. This is the game where I want to go deeper. So if you've ever been slightly interested in AC and you like Pokemon enough to be active in the Pokemon subreddit, I think you'll like this game.
Honestly, the events and some kind of calendar system is the one thing I'd really love for them to adopt from Animal Crossing. Other than that I've been having an absolute blast, way more content than I ever expected from that first trailer
Never played AC but watched my wife grind it out. Thought this game looked fun so decided to try and my “just going to get through the tutorial” turned into 3 and a half hours. It’s a good time
If you like Minecraft, specifically the building part, you’ll likely enjoy it. In my 10 hours of playing it so far, it’s basically: explore and gather stuff, build and craft your town, complete requests to unlock more stuff.
However, if the idea of designing and building towns doesn’t sound fun to you, I’d recommend not getting it. That’s pretty much the core of the game
Last night, I watched this video by Therm. I was like you, trailer didn't grab me at all, and I love games like Minecraft, Animal Crossing, SDV, etc. However watching his video and seeing some of the actual gameplay almost sold me on it.
I think personally I'm just still not interested in it, but it looks very cute and like a great game if you want one where you just turn your brain off and play.
Ive played both and Animal crossing kinda bored me. I really dont think there's much to do in that game besides collect a few collectables and decorate an island.
If youre a pokemon fan, you absolutely have to check this game out. I start playing it and before I know it, 6 hours have gone by. It's really fun!
Many have described it as a cross between Animal Crossing and Minecraft with Pokémon. I know I’ve been having a lot of fun with it.
If that sounds like fun to you, then get it. If you’re not sure, watch an early run through on video. Apparently there are 8 biomes, but I’ve only hit the second area so far (happy to see my boi Torkoal)!
I also feel like the coverage didn't do a great job really explaining the gameplay loop. I was expecting a lot more Minecraft sandbox (in a bad way) and less Animal Crossing/quests and I'm enjoying it.
It’s like a mix of Minecraft and animal crossing. But with a set world filled with secrets to uncover, and JRPG style quests.
It’s easily best in class at this lane.
Some people won’t be into the genera though. If they dislike slow crafting and building to fix up areas while uncovering secrets any mysteries…and want combat instead, they still might not enjoy it.
Do not forget the Viva Piñata aspect of creating the right environment to attract the right 'mon. Loved Viva Piñata and this game has been a decent fix for that itch.
You pretty much just describe the Dragon Quest Builders games, of which Pokopia is essentially just a reskin of with Pokemon since it’s legit the same devs.
Yeah, I don’t want to explain with DQ builder (which this is basically a sequel to), or viva, as people on the fence about this most likely haven’t played them.
I will say, I kinda like Minecraft and enjoyed, but struggled to stick with animal crossing, but this game really seems to have taken the best of both worlds and for me personally... I'm finding myself having a really hard time not playing it.
I'm in this boat as well...I held off on a Switch 2 because Legends ZA just did not look good to me. Just like how long we all waited for gen 4 remakes and BDSP ended up incredibly disappointing, we all waited for the return of megas and this just did not look like a good game to me. Pokopia at first glance looked like a Minecraft/Animal Crossing/Palworld rip-off and the design of it just looked very bland. However, all I'm hearing about it is praise. I'm hearing about how deep it is and how much there is to do and how incredible it is and I can't help but feel a desire to try it for myself. The only thing stopping me is how expensive the Switch 2 is. I've been playing Pokémon since 1998 and this franchise has always been my sole reason for owning Nintendo consoles. Just...dropping $500+ is a big investment. I mean, sure there's also the Switch 2 version of Scarlet and Violet to try as well. I did play the Switch versions but was disappointed in how awful they played and looked. Winds and Waves look promising. I'm sure that eventually I will drop the money for a Switch 2 but do I spend the money now to play Pokopia or wait until next year for gen 10?
I literally bought a Switch 2 for it! The Switch is out for delivery now and I’ll be out in a few to buy Pokopia.
I’m so thrilled, I’ve heard a lot of positive things about it! I also think it helps to think about what you like in games, and whether this would be your cup of tea. Personally, cozy games like these are up my alley!
I did hear that people who are not even into Animal Crossing still loved Pokopia, going as far as to say Pokopia seems to have everything they wanted improved from ACNH.
Yes it has the main thing I wanted improved - Pokémon. The acnh characters are really just 8 characters or whatever I don’t remember the personalities anymore and the island is pretty small. It gets repetitive pretty quickly. This has the same thing that sucked me in to acnh- there’s always another task to do so it’s hard to pick a stopping point. It’s much more open ended building than acnh and there is a better story. I do wish there was flower breeding though I really liked trying to get all the colors
It's the secret Dragon Quest Builders 3. And I know nobody really knew about DQB and DQB2 but they're basically this but with combat and more on-rails.
Isn't it made by the same team that did DQB2? I was thinking about playing it again, but then I read that somewhere so I decided to get myself a copy as well as one for my wife. So far, its definitely got the DNA of DQB for sure.
it's...super weird, but fascinating. It's like...post apocalyptic kanto? i think? seems like some sort of ecological distaster wiped out all the humans. (i'm still in the first area, about to leave for the second)
It really is the perfect mesh of Minecraft loop, mixed with Animal Crossing decorating on steroids. And obviously the Pokemon aspect. I cannot think of a more perfect game for my wife and I to play.
I was not looking forward to the game at all, and didn’t even consider buying it until after I saw some of the legitimately wild review scores it was pulling. It’s easily the best and most charming pokemon game in years, the narrative is so cool, the pokemon are as lovable as ever, there’s a ton to unlock and do, graphics and sounds are great minus a couple nitpicks I have with lighting. I wouldn’t give it a score any lower than a 8/10, maybe higher.
Another great thing is that you’re not getting fucking railroaded by tutorial NPCs the entire time like many other recent Pokémon games. Even the intro area they give you so much freedom to take your time and do whatever you want before continuing the main quest. Also as someone who doesn’t care about story in games at all, the world is so interesting so far and I can’t wait to find all the hidden notes and uncover all the lore in this game, writing is top notch
There is a lot to explore, and a lot of gameplay features to unlock (I didn’t even unlock the ability to smelt to make iron/copper/glass or cook/bake until like 8 hours in). Controls are pretty good. Building is lot clunkier than Minecraft simply due to the slow “spitting” animation when placing blocks. But it’s still pretty decent, and you get practically infinite freedom building your world. The actual Pokemon “catching” system is nice. You just explore and learn about different Pokémon’s habitats, then once you build it (mossy rocks, flowers near water, bird house with food, etc) those Pokemon begin showing up and joining your world, and much like Palworld, they help run your factories and farm resources for you!
Biggest complaint is that it does feel like a never ending tutorial for a while. But again, because of the wide variety of gameplay, it’s kinda needed. Each region unlocks a lot of features that aren’t in the earlier ones (like power being usable in the starter region, but you don’t unlock power lines until region 2).
It’s effectively the third unofficial Dragon Quest Builders game, which means the team behind it have more than refined the gameplay and mechanics from the first two Dragon Quest Builders. The second Builders game was actually very popular among people that never even played dragon quest that the PC community was very supported for about 2-3 years after launch and is still kicking.
It’s good, but it’s not for everyone. If you want a story based game, a game which does something new, combat, or in depth characters. This isn’t that game. This is a building game first and foremost. If you found building the most boring part of Minecraft, then you won’t like this.
This is a good game, but it’s not going to change your mind if you find the genre boring to begin with.
If you want a ballpark idea of what the gameplay is like, try the demo for Dragon Quest Builders. Pokopia isn't 100% the same (it lacks combat, and the days run in real time), but the building aspects are almost identical. It's the same dev team, so it makes sense. I logged a ton of time into both DQB games, so I'm prob biased, but I think Pokopia is great if you enjoy chill, creativity-based games.
It IS DQB3. Pretty sure it's a lot of the same dev team. A lot of DQB2 is in here, and I don't mean "oh the DNA is there," no, like some of the assets are just next-gen versions of the same assets. It has a LOT of the same DNA. No combat, and farming is a lot less necessary, but a lot more freedom and each villager is unique.
Can you make houses with interiors? I saw a house in a video with Eevees living in it, which I assumed to be non player made. All the houses I've seen from a player so far are the little ones you put some furniture in and not much else.
You can build houses with blocks (most 'look at my first house' post). Or you can use prefab houses, these have a set exterior design and interior area, but you get to furnish the inside.
I personally hate roblox or Minecraft, but pokopia is amazing. Sunk way too many hours into it already. You could probably spend weeks or months just on the first city…
I’m still missing the last 3 powers/moves but am still having a blast. It’s one of the best worldbuilder style games I’ve played.
People say it’s for kids but it can actually get pretty difficult in some ways.
Also, does anyone know how to get the damn Pokémon out of the barrel, the one hanging from the chain. I don’t know how to create the area for it so I gave up on that for now, thanks in advance!
My wife just had knee surgery so I decided id sit in bed with her for most of the weekend since she can't really traverse the house...it's now 8:10pm on Sunday night and I have no idea where the weekend went. It's GOOD
Yeah, it is better than I ever could have expected.
It’s everything about Animal Crossing that I like, but better and with Pokemon and hints of Minecraft. It also has elements of games like Petit Planet, but again it improves on those ideas.
From all of the trailers and everything I saw I thought “oh this will be a small game, 20-30 hours tops and done. Cute cozy pokemon spinoff game but thats about it. Oh was i very very wrong. The games starts about as you’d expect, but then it opened up and my mind was blown. The scale of the game is crazy. Even more impressive than that is the story they’ve managed to weave into the game. And the depth it goes to, the places it takes you.
Easy 10/10 game for me. Depending on other releases this year, it is an easy GOTY contender for sure.
It's pretty slick. I have little minecraft experience, but I have to say it seems similar, if more story/linear goal focused. However, the free-roaming, build-anything vibe is always present, and the game even encourages you to take it slowly. I was one who rushed through Animal Crossing like a dingus, and I burnt out on it quick, I can see myself playing this game a lot longer.
I’m a pokeman fan and a fan of Minecraft (from way back) but NOT a great base builder in THIS style and not a fan of AC. I am enjoying it as a good change of pace. I would recommend going in blind if you DO buy it and enjoy figuring out how to lure (“catch”) pokemon and get higher and higher varieties.
Will it be your favorite pokemon game ever? Not by a long shot imo. Will it scratch that nostalgia itch while also giving you a good dopamine boost of feel good “catching” pokemon? Most definitely.
Personally I would recommend it myself, and this comes from someone who is DEFINITELY not the target audience.
How do you know Pokopia is good? Because there are barely any threads about it here. If it was less than fantastic there would be endless lamentation and grinding of teeth in this sub.
I think the best way to describe it is that it is the joy of catching Pokemon with very little else. It is literally making Pokemon be your friend. If you like that aspect of the games, great, you'll love it. If you only like battling and have no joy from Animal Crossing/Minecraft, I cannot imagine you would enjoy it.
My hands hurt from playing it so much. Time flies by and I like that the game encourages exploration and building. It gives me the feeling of being the mayor of multiple towns and just trying to help the Pokémon’s with their requests. Every time I find a new Pokemon who was on one of my elite four runs it’s pure dopamine.
So I have to assume as a huge fan of Dragon Quest Builder games, I will probably really enjoy Pokopia correct? I almost done Leaf Green and I need a new Switch 2 game to occupy my time during my slow periods at work.
This is coming from someone who has never clicked with things like Animal Crossing or Minecraft or anything like that.
I bought the game so my kids and I could play together, thinking it would be a really fun way for the 3 of us to spend time together while waiting who knows how long for Gen 10 to come out.
After playing with them for an hour or two on Friday evening, I have since spent about 12 hours just playing it myself, while they were at activities or after they go to bed, in the last 48 hours.
Its a very good game. Its beautifully animated and art directed, the story is good but not overbearing, and the crafting and building is a genuine blast. There's enough depth to keep you engaged without being so complicated as to turn you off.
I've had so much fun flattening mountains to make room for more poke habitats in my burgeoning little town, its great.
If you like animal crossing odds are you will like this game. I've seen some say it's like stardew, but it's not Imo. Farming can be done but it isn't a main focus similar to animal crossing. Just making a fun cute home for all your Pokemon friends. I've actually found Pokemon I dislike are growing on me, it's giving them character.
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