Pokémon Pokopia reviews say Nintendo's new life sim is both nostalgic and unique

Pokopia is far more than Animal Crossing with a Pokémon coat of paint

Nintendo's first-ever Pokémon life simulation game, Pokémon Pokopia, is just a few days away, set to launch on March 5 for Switch 2. But reviews are already rolling in, and from what players are saying, Pokopia is right up there with cozy game juggernauts like Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Stardew Valley.

Like New Horizons, Stardew Valley, and many other games in the "cozy" genre, Pokopia tasks players with repairing a damaged, empty world in the hopes that the Pokémon (and their human friends) who have left the area will return.

"Pokopia wraps dystopian fiction in a cute disguise," Polygon's Giovanni Colantonio wrote in his review of the game. "In its opening moments, a lone Ditto wakes up to discover an unfamiliar world. All the humans have vanished, and the empty world is a sea of dead grass and ruined buildings. After taking the form of its missing trainer, Ditto meets a Tangrowth who tasks the little blob with restoring Pokémon habitats so that critters, and hopefully the missing humans, will return. It would all be a little unsettling if it wasn’t brimming with bright colors and Pokémon charm."

All the cozy life-sim features are present: Players can build homes, clean up and decorate the world around them, craft items, cook meals, and even establish a trading system. Pokopia also offers a unique twist on catching 'em all: Rather than running through tall grass with a fistful of Pokéballs, Pokopia players must attract Pokémon to their world by building areas that replicate that Pokémon's natural habitat or have features a specific Pokémon will find enticing.

That said, the game can be slow-going at times. "Pokopia goes surprisingly deep, but learning how to do everything is a long, tedious process where the wordy dialogue tutorials flow like rivers even 20 hours deep," Polygon's review continues.

Pokopia's leisurely pace doesn't seem to be hurting its review scores. The game is currently sitting at an 89 on both OpenCritic and Metacritic, with reviews praising its cute visuals, in-depth customization, peaceful vibes, and environmentalist themes. Both GameSpot and IGN gave Pokopia a 9 out of 10, praising the game's writing, its unique method of "catching" Pokémon, and its many options for customization.

You can read Polygon's full Pokémon Pokopia review here, but we've also rounded up a look at what other publications are saying about Nintendo's latest foray into the cozy game genre:

Eurogamer

"It's easy to see how this game has, and will continue to be, considered 'Pokémon does Animal Crossing'. But if Animal Crossing is about making your personal paradise then Pokopia is about making one for others.

"In fact I would say your needs are far less important than those of the Pokémon, an appropriate twist for this series. To make a Pokémon appear, for instance, you have to build it a dedicated habitat. Some habitats are easy to build, like four clumps of grass, while others are more complex, requiring multiple pieces of furniture and sometimes even electricity. Habitats can be found by interacting with Pokémon traces throughout the map, completing tasks or through pure experimentation. My personal favourite is the Grave Offering habitat, which is exactly what it sounds like. Yes, I did get it from messing about with a grave. No, I don't have regrets. Completely worth it for the Ghost-types." —Lottie Lynn

Game Informer

"The story is littered with enthralling mysteries I couldn’t wait to further unravel. What happened to humanity that caused it to flee? Why did this world fall into a state of disrepair? And who are these strange Pokémon who look like special variants of existing creatures? As a Pokémon fan dating back to 1998, pulling these threads, which include fun nods to the series’ past, served as a highlight of my time with Pokopia." —Brian Shea

GamesRadar+

"Don't dismiss Pokopia as just a reskinned [Dragon Quest] Builders with some Pokémon quirks, though. There's an amazing attention to detail here when combining the Builder's mechanics with the unique properties of a Pokémon spin-off. Ditto, for example, is the perfect hero for this sim. Able to transform into and effectively steal the powers of other Pokémon means that as you progress through the story, you arm yourself with various abilities that let you better interact with the terrain. Squirtle gives you a Water Gun that lets you rehydrate withered soil and flowers or water vegetables, while Bulbasaur's vine whip turns into a move called Leafage that allows you to yank grass, moss, and other foliage into existence from the ground beneath your feet like a kind of Pokémon God.

"Pokémon Pokopia has got all the hallmarks of a great life sim game — the creativity, independence, customization, and optimization — just without the true blank slate that you'd usually get with games like this. Having a backstory is really interesting, and has such wonderful tie-ins to Pokémon lore and mechanics without it being a turn-based RPG that there's a lot to dig into, for fans of Pokémon and life sim games alike." —Sam Loveridge

GameSpot

"The vast majority of Pokémon are presented as happy, sweet little friends, but Pokopia does manage to imbue some personality in surprising ways, and the writing is frequently funny. It's more chuckle-inducing than gut-busting, but funny nonetheless. I enjoyed hearing Drifloon idly comment on you floating away with her, or Machoke talk like a gym bro. Other times the writing is warm and sweet, especially with the named characters, who are grappling with the loss of the humans. Peakychu's backstory, in particular, made him very endearing.

"Sometimes you'll just capture little slices of Pokémon life. Once, I was alerted to a photo op and got out my camera to snap a picture of Charmander sleeping by the campfire. As I lined up my shot, I saw that Squirtle was peacefully sniffing flowers in the background. This wasn't a second photo op, just a little moment captured on camera that I happened to see, and that made the world feel that much more alive." —Steve Watts

IGN

"Pokémon Pokopia is a real treat: an enjoyable building and town simulator that capitalizes on the charming personalities of its monsters in a way that appeals to both the creative and collector alike. It's packed with fun things to do and worthy rewards for doing them, and strikes a healthy balance between freedom and suggestion in its building mechanics (despite a few precision nitpicks). All of this is housed in an adorable adventure through an interesting and surprisingly deep setting that presses all the nostalgia buttons for longtime fans. And it all shines especially bright in its lovable protagonist's blobby pink hands." —Rebekah Valentine