New Pokemon Snap Review

It’s been 22 years since the original Pokemon Snap was released on the Nintendo 64, with many fans practically clamoring for a sequel that entire time. Many believed, at the time, that the Wii or Wii U technology would lead to a sequel, but it never happened. Because of this, when the New Pokemon Snap was announced in the summer of 2020, it was a big deal. Today, the New Pokemon Snap is out in the wild, and it remains a big deal. The basic formula of the 1999 title remains, meaning players will travel through courses via a set-rail track and aim to find and capture photos of wild Pokemon. It’s a simple formula – one that doesn’t need much for innovation – and that’s exactly what the New Pokemon Snap is. It’s not the most innovative Pokemon title, but then again, it doesn’t need to be. Players are in the new Lental Region, with the goal of helping Professor Mirror, Rita, and returning Pokemon character and photographer Todd discover what is causing the Illumina phenomenon. To do this, the goal is simple: take beautiful pictures of as many Pokemon as possible, while discovering little secrets and moving the story, in a given time. Many of the tools required for this are front-loaded to players, such as scan and fluffruit, while regional Illumina Orbs are required as players move from each section of the map. Here, players will see New Pokemon Snap’s greatest strength: the variety of environments. The gameplay of the new Pokemon Snap is not necessarily the most exciting, but it is incredibly relaxing. The game’s atmospheric touches mean there’s no shortage of gameplay, with players exploring everything from a simple nature park and beach to Snowcapped mountains and the Lental Seafloor. These courses add new Pokemon with each run, which really encourages returning to already visited areas in search of secrets and new Pokemon, but the game also offers a day/night version of most in courses. Some Pokemon that sleep during the day are active at night, or sometimes it’s new Pokemon that explore the area based on the time. Simply put, there are plenty of reasons to revisit a course, and while there are times where New Pokemon Snap can be “grindy,” it often feels like the opposite of all that. Grinding can sometimes lead to frustrations in a game or its RNG, but even playing the same track several times back to back remains relaxing. This is notable because, especially in the tutorial, there are times where players have to repeat tracks. Whether it’s because they didn’t gain enough experience or missed a certain image of a Crystabloom, there is a somewhat “grindy” element to the game, but it doesn’t feel like it. When interacting with these locations, Pokemon, and characters, New Pokemon Snap has all the charm of the original even though it’s missing some features. In other words, New Pokemon Snap is more streamlined with more Pokemon and different maps, but in the process, elements like evolving Pokemon through detailed schemes and well-placed Throwing fruit is not included in the game. That’s not to say the game doesn’t have any necessary tricks, as players have to hit Crystablooms with Illumina Orbs to unlock certain Pokemon, but it may not have been involved in the original. RELATED: New Pokemon Snap Movie Has Pokemon: Coco Easter Egg Of course, no game is perfect, and the same can be said for the New Pokemon Snap. A notable and detrimental aspect of the game is the inconsistency of Professor Mirror’s rating system. Players should aim to get 1-star, 2-star, 3-star, and 4-star pictures of each Pokemon, and the color of those stars (bronze, silver, gold, or platinum) indicates of its general quality. Factors like the framing of the Pokemon, the background/additional Pokemon captured in the photo, and the pose of the Pokemon are all important, but it doesn’t feel that way. For example, a terrible photo with a particular pose (which may or may not be recognizable in the photo) may be rated as a quality 4-star photo, while some of the best in terms of all factors can be rated as a mid-quality 1-star picture. Because of this, it’s sometimes better to take a bunch of photos until the game seems to mark one of them as a really good photo (via in-course communications from Rita and others ) rather than actually aiming for good pictures. This isn’t a big issue overall, but for many players, it will be a recurring one. After beating the New Pokemon Snap, luckily, this may not matter much, but it’s something to keep in mind. A good picture does not always equal good development, and sometimes the opposite is true. The game sometimes gets a little laggy, especially when there are a lot of Pokemon on the screen or something complicated is going on, but it’s very minor. It’s not a frequent issue, and it doesn’t seem to get worse depending on how it’s played. Whether in docked mode or handheld mode, New Pokemon Snap offers a solid technical experience. That said, Joy-Con Drift, for those who experience it, can be a real pain in this game. Because some level of precision is required in capturing images, Joy-Con Drift can throw players off completely and disrupt the relaxing experience, but that’s clearly a problem with the Joy-Con, not the game. Many fans have been waiting for a sequel to Pokemon Snap since their childhood, and while it may not be exactly what they imagined, it was a solid experience and highlights what has been sorely missed in the franchise. New Pokemon Snap is a rewarding sequel, a relaxing journey into the world of Pokemon, and fun to play in the comfort of home or on the go. The new Pokemon Snap is now available on Switch. MORE: What We Want From New Pokemon Snap DLC