Pokémon never stops being successful. No matter how many complaints it receives, with its fans expressing dissatisfaction with the current state of the franchise, they continue to buy the games in droves. And it makes sense. It is such a large franchise that, in addition to the fact that most of the people who complain still buy the game, its target audience still has plenty of reasons to buy it. Because its target audience is a child and family audience, not the long-time player who has been playing Pokémon their whole life and would like the franchise to evolve with them. Even if, from time to time, Pokémon Company decides to do some things that are more aimed at that audience.
For the 30th anniversary, the great Pokémon game is not going to be a game from the main franchise. But that’s not a bad thing. And it’s not because it has allowed them to create a huge, shiny game whose main audience is a bit different from the usual: it still targets children, but it also makes some concessions for a general audience. Because Pokopia is not just the game that inaugurates and celebrates the 30 years of Pokémon, but one of the best games in the franchise in a long time.
A game with charm and a lot of grit
Pokopia puts us in a simple premise: we are a ditto that struggles to transform into other Pokémon, but has the particularity of being able to transform into human beings. When for some reason the entire Kanto region has been devastated and all humans have disappeared, we take on the form of our trainer and begin to recruit the help of other Pokémon to rebuild the region.
From here on, the premise is something between Animal Crossing and Minecraft. Animal Crossing because we will have to befriend other Pokémon to gain their abilities to perform all kinds of tasks, thus allowing us to progress in the game. Minecraft because the reconstruction will require the collection and construction of all kinds of infrastructures, allowing us to be as extensive or minimal as we wish. If we want to do just enough to move on to the next objective, we can, but if we want to expand infinitely, the game will allow us to do so as much as we desire.
In that sense, the game is less Animal Crossing or Minecraft, although they are familiar examples for most of the audience, than another excellent title that flew under the radar at the time. Dragon Quest Builders.
In that one, we also had to rebuild towns, but with the particularity that it was also a Dragon Quest. While during the day we gathered resources and built our defenses, at night we fought against monsters to level up and deal with a great threat to move on to the next stage. And while there is no leveling up or combat in Pokopia, the tactility and the premise of that desolate world to be rebuilt are the same, demonstrating a family resemblance that will make it tremendously enjoyable for those who already enjoyed the Square Enix game.
Especially because the game is much more than it seems. With hundreds of Pokémon and dozens of hours ahead, although it may seem like a simple and relatively small game, it has enough content to keep us glued to the screen for much longer than it might seem. This was already hinted at when the developers, Omega Force, confirmed that they had gathered the largest team in their history to make this game. And we’re not talking about a small indie studio: Omega Force makes the Dynasty Warriors, thus demonstrating their tremendous versatility.
With an exclusive launch for Nintendo Switch 2, with a digital and physical version only in game keycard, this is one of those games that justifies a console. Releasing on March 5, 2026, it promises to be the big celebration game for Pokémon, although not the only one. Even if, for the next generation, we will still have to wait until 2027.
