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New Pokémon Snap was a game I never thought I’d buy into in 2021. Having never played the original game some 20 years ago I fully planned to skip it even though I love Pokémon. I bought it at the last minute and was surprised at how much I got into this fantastical animal paparazzi simulator.
As you can see New Pokémon Snap is definitely in the higher tier of visuals on the Switch. The world and Pokémon within it are well realized and a joy to see. Each area is colorful and charming in a variety of ways. Whether it’s a simple forest trail, an underwater adventure, or a trek through a volcano. Also the titular pocket monsters themselves are animated beautifully and come alive in an amount of detail we’ve not seen in the games before.
No matter which area I chose to play a round of picture taking in, it was filled to the brim with a charming environment and a variety of monsters. I can’t stress enough how enjoyable it was to see Pokémon being, well, Pokémon! Also the density of things in the environments was impressive too. Everywhere you look there are additional elements such as grass, flowers, ruins, little nooks and crannies to accent the stages.
The music is decent as well but never stood out much after I got in the zone of taking pictures. Most areas in the game feature appropriate tracks to set the tone of the area you are riding through however, even if I wasn’t humming them at work the next day or anything. The same can be said for the voice acting as well. There are a handful of voiced scenes but none really blew me away when I heard them but also nothing was bad enough to warrant marking it as a negative.
In terms of the story the game plays it pretty loose here. Similar to other entries in the franchise we are tasked with helping a professor research Pokémon in their region. This time though we don’t adventure and battle our way through a region. Instead we are documenting the Pokémon through pictures in their natural environment.
It has few tiny interesting points in it but never gets much more complicated than that. Honestly I’m fully okay with a simple story for a simple game. If it got into some of the more nonsensical stuff that the rest of the series has at times it would have been off putting.
There are a small variety of characters that show up as well but they serve more as talking points to queue up new gameplay regions, requests, or gadget acquisitions. No one is in a position of annoyance either thankfully as they relegate themselves off screen unless the situation calls for their appearances which tend to be quite brief.
Most importantly is the gameplay. In short it is one of the simplest yet enjoyable things I’ve played recently. The goal is simply to take pictures of the Pokémon and nothing more. But of course it has a few quirks to make things interesting.
Players select a zone and will proceed on rails to its end point. As the player moves along the path you can move the camera around you to take pictures of various Pokémon and more that you see. Once you reach the end of the path your photos are evaluated for points and are added to your experience points level for that area.
Once you level up in a certain area you can do the same zone at a different level. Different experience levels do several things such as changing the various actions of the Pokémon in the area, their layouts, and even completely new ones making appearances. It really makes a compelling reason to go back into an area multiple times to not just get better pictures but to also get to the next level to see more unique things.
The picture evaluation is done with a variety of categories. The basic goal is to get a good view of the Pokémon usually meaning a centered full body shot. Of course it isn’t that simple for most of the monsters running around and their variety of animations. Extra points are awarded for things like unique actions, amount of other Pokémon in the picture and so on. The better the score the more experience points you receive.
There are also 4 different star ratings for each Pokémon that are saved as unique in the album. This means that each Pokémon has 4 different required photo types to be considered complete and simply snapping one of each won’t completely the photodex as it’s called. For example a full body shot of Pikachu is a one star, eating a fruit is two, using electricity is 3, and 4 would be a completely unique action that is triggered by certain requirements. Once again it really is a compelling reason to revisit stages multiple times to not just to grind experience but also fill in that photo album.
To trigger the various differences depends on the Pokémon and area but the player is given a small variety of tools to do so. The fruit returns from the original game and acts similarly. Throwing a fruit most monsters will cause them to wander over to it. You can even use it to hit some of them to get a reaction. Some new actions are the scan. Scanning highlights points of interest around you which is helpful to see hidden Pokémon or intractable in the stage. It also can affect the Pokémon in some cases like making them alert to your presence and turn towards you or some other action. Then there is the song. By playing a small tune certain Pokémon will react by dancing, smiling, or some other action. Lastly are the illumina orbs. These are thrown to light up a Pokémon or by throwing them at certain objects will light up an area. Doing this can make certain Pokémon stand out more in a picture or cause unique actions once again.
All of this is needed to see the litany of Pokémon and their actions in the game. It really was an interesting way to push for replayablity as well as more picture taking opportunities. Seeing Scorbunny 10 times is fine when it’s got all kinds of things to take pictures of.
Lastly a main feature of gameplay are the Illumina areas. These are the big touted feature of the game. Once certain requirements are met a new area will unlock in certain zones. These feature a single main mysterious Pokémon roaming around but the catch is that it’s a special glowing version. The player gets a set course like always to take pictures mainly of this special beast. They are quite neat and like other areas have a few secrets to experience by doing them multiple times at multiple experience levels too but I would dare say most of them are overshadowed by the awesome “normal” zones. There are a few interesting elements to some of them though I should say without spoiling anything.
The game really is a relaxing joy to play. I found myself doing “one more one more” nightly as I played trying to get a few more better pictures or get a good snap of that Pokémon I just noticed.
Outside the main gameplay there are a handful of other neat things you can do.
Players are able to edit the pictures they take with a variety of filters and stickers to make them cool, cute, or funny. There seems to be quite a few and I had not unlocked them all as of review time. The majority of these are unlocked in the standard gameplay though as you play through. Some are also hidden behind requests. There are a number of requested pictures in the game such as a happy Pigeot, yawning Torterra, and more without spoiling some of the more interesting ones. If you have an online account you can upload your pictures for others to see and give a “nice!” for ones they like and vice versa. Doing this and getting positive feedback will net you interesting titles, filters, and stickers for the photo edit mode.
It’s nothing riveting but it is a good reason to participate in the requests and online features if you have an active online account with Nintendo. If not I’d not recommend getting it for such a basic feature.
Thankfully the photos taken and edited can be transferred off your switch too if you want to keep some of the more interesting photos you snapped.
I never thought I’d be into New Pokémon Snap at all but here I found myself falling in love with this game. It was refreshing and charming right from the start. Maybe it was because I came off an entire month of third person shooters and I simply needed a jolly vacation in the land of Pokémon, but I genuinely enjoy myself each time I hop into it. With a pretty meaty campaign well over the 12 hour mark and dozens of more on top of that finding all the best photo opportunities, editing, and sharing this game is something that will keep completionists busy.
It’s vibrant, bright, and charming. For those who simply enjoy Pokémon being Pokémon this game is right up your alley. If you’re more a purest who only wants the classic JRPG grind and battling then this one is an obvious pass. For me, I thought I was in that second category but I really loved my time with this in spite of that. If you’re like me and maybe just need a break from more hardcore gaming I can completely recommend New Pokémon Snap without a doubt.
That’s all for this review! What did you think? Have you played Pokemon Snap and were curious about this one? Do you love both? Hate one? Lemme know!
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Live on Twitch : https://www.twitch.tv/valkerionseven
Video Review on YouTube : https://youtu.be/YRiDW3DrNH8
Twitter : https://twitter.com/Valkerion
The Hyperion 