Last Friday, on March 6th, Nintendo and the Pokémon company released a brand new and already beloved spinoff of the Pokémon games, Pokémon: Pokopia. First announced in the September 2025 Nintendo Direct, Pokopia came as a surprise to most, as it was a massive change from the expected direction of the series. 

In Pokémon: Pokopia, you play as the Pokémon Ditto, a small purple blob with the ability to take any shape, inhabiting a world many years into the future now void of human life. All that remains are you and the Pokémon you find as you attempt to rehabilitate the world and discover just what happened to the humans and how to bring them back. 

The gameplay is a mix between Animal Crossing and Minecraft, creating structures and habitats to invite new Pokémon to your growing town and create an environment worthy of living in. With a focus on repairing a once bustling region, Pokopia leans heavily on its themes of environmental preservation and encourages mankind to treat nature as they would treat themselves. 

The game has a focus on exploration that was less advertised than its other features, as the story progresses, more and more areas open up, each with their own batch of secrets and questlines to explore, and each with a unique legendary Pokémon to befriend once the main quest is completed. As with all Pokémon games, Pokopia encourages players to find and befriend each and every Pokémon species they can to complete their pokedex.

The real selling point of Pokopia is in its charm. It is a lovely experience to play through, each and every Pokémon has a unique personality and quirks, and Ditto is just adorably silly no matter what’s going on. It’s all about vibes with Pokopia, the cozy game genre has been booming recently and shows no signs of stopping.

If charm is what you’re looking for, or to play a game that doesn’t ask for a ton of time or effort but could take hours away from you right under your nose, then Pokopia is a new release that’s perfect for scratching that itch. With an emphasis on creative freedom and not wanting to waste the time of the player, it strikes a balance that few other games in the genre can, and gets a glowing review from me.