Pokémon Pokopia

Gen 1’s iconic Kanto has been abandoned for years, maybe decades, in Pokopia. Buildings have crumbled, roads have disappeared beneath overgrowth, and the Pokemon that remain live among the ruins. Rather than battling to become Champion, Pokopia asks a simpler question: what would Pokemon do if the people never came back?

Pokémon Pokopia is one of the most robust cozy games to-date, essentially melding two Nintendo franchises into one content-rich whole that should keep fans pleasantly busy for some time.

Therefore, I am so grateful for the chance to review Pokémon Pokopia and experience this cozy life sim early. Despite only being 10 GB in size, I've played over 35 hours of Pokémon Pokopia so far, according to my Switch 2. Given that I've also done quite a bit of just decorating and extra exploring, I would say beating the story would probably have taken me about 25 hours if I strictly worked on that. As it is, I can easily see myself putting in hundreds of hours with all the things to do in this game.

Pokémon Pokopia was always bound to be up there among my most-played games of 2026, but even I underestimated how well Nintendo would tackle its latest town-building / cozy life sim. It’s story-driven, offering a great gameplay loop, inventive mechanics, and very few friction points; Nintendo clearly learned from some of Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ quality-of-life hiccups. My only wish would be for a little more individuality in Poké-personalities, but it’s still plenty charming as it is.

Rediscovering Kanto: Building, Caring, and Living among Pokémon friends.

The latest Pokemon spin-off is here and Pokemon Pokopia is full of adorable creatures and gameplay that invites boundless creativity. Hooray!

Pokemon Pokopia is like a brilliantly bizarre blend of Pokemon, Animal Crossing, Dragon Quest Builders, and Viva Piñata, and despite its many influences, manages to be a unique spin-off for the Pokemon series that's also an accomplished life sim.

What would happen to the Pokémon world if all the humans disappeared? That’s what Pokémon Pokopia asks in the wake of some mysterious disaster that has left the world in ruins, the Pokémon in hiding, and not a single trainer in sight. Well, you look an awful lot like a trainer, Ditto, so it’s time to get to work on a new haven for Pokémon.

A post-human reimagining of Kanto, Pokopia is a cozy, high-concept fusion of Animal Crossing and Minecraft.

You spend a lot of time in Pokopia just messing around, but it adds up to something satisfying. Making habitats, befriending Pokémon, exploring, and cleaning up the environment all feel like little tasks at first. But they slowly turn into something more significant. It’s a smooth process that feels perfectly natural. It really sneaks up on you. I wish the map and the inventory were more robust, to be sure. And maybe I felt adrift once in a while. But that core loop was so delightful, I didn’t mind all that much. If you’re looking for a Pokémon experience that feels a little different than the...

Pokopia succeeds in capturing the spirit of Pokémon's past without sacrificing its uniqueness, as one of the best spin-offs the franchise has ever seen.

I had literally no expectations for Pokemon Pokopia, and now I'm absolutely in love with it.