Pokemon Pokopia

There are some games that are conceptually perfect, at which point, once they exist, the only thing standing in the way of them and impeccable perfection is their execution of their pitch. Pokopia is the rare game that has a perfect concept, and then nearly pitch-perfect execution and follow-through on that concept.

Pokémon Pokopia is a bold experiment that successfully blends multiple genres, resulting in a title with a very strong identity. While the main series has always been fueled by collecting and battling, here collecting remains, but combat gives way to management and reconstruction. There’s no pressure. No performance anxiety. There’s a world to rebuild patiently, one micro-habitat at a time.

I have had a very pleasant time in Pokopia, which never ceases to feed me with new things to do. Pokémon's living conditions must be improved, items must be built, and properties must be planned. We've probably all experienced the kind of game where you repeat the mantra "I'll just do this too" over and over again until you finally look up and realise that it's five in the morning and you haven't slept a wink. That's my experience of Pokopia in a nutshell, and I already feel the urge to dive back in.

The Switch 2 exclusive Pokémon Pokopia is a mix of Minecraft's building, Animal Crossing's decorating, and Viva Pinãta's species gathering. The relaxed pace combined with the series' collect-it-all mentality is really addictive, although the Nintendo-esque clumsiness of slow menus and game mechanics occasionally raises the annoyance curve.

There is a fun time to be had here, but ultimately Pokemon Pokopia doesn't explore the Pokemon side of its world and offers building quests that are mostly rigid and repetitive. As ever with Pokemon, there is enough charm to see it through, and the mechanics aren't shallow, even if they're used in aid of the same few tasks over and over again.