We sat back and thought about ones that have managed to make us grin to ourselves every time we think about them, and are happy to tell you about them. Without further ado, let’s get started!

10. LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight

With a gameplay loop that was straight out of Arkham, a version of Gotham that was absolutely enjoyable to explore, and a lot of wit, charm, and humor thrown in, this one was music to the pointy ears of Batman fans, who’ve been rather starved of a solid take on the Dark Knight ever since Rocksteady’s Arkham Knight.

Everything a Batman fan wanted was right there, from a close look at Bruce’s early days before he became an urban legend that struck fear in the hearts of Gotham’s wrongdoers, to solid takes on the rest of the cast, and a whole lot of references to the character’s long and often complex presence in DC’s stories over the years.

It’s rare to see humor work so well in Gotham, a place where there usually aren’t many laughs to be found unless they’re the maniacal cackle of The Joker, but this one had us chuckling to ourselves even as we were beating criminals to a pulp as the Dark Knight. It’s both Batman and LEGO done right, and balanced so well that it has more than earned a place on this list.

9. Mouse: P.I. For Hire

The next one we’re talking about is another charmer set in a dark and gritty world. Jack Pepper’s investigation into a magician’s disappearance, all set in a stylized version of 1930s America with a population made entirely of rodents and shrews, was a solid tale and a very entertaining shooter packed into one well-animated package.

Intelligent writing, great characters, and a lot of spilled ink were the highlights of our time with this one, and while it could have used a bit of balancing to be just perfect, what was on offer was still quite fun to engage with. We found ourselves making cheese-related puns for quite a while after we rolled the credits on this one, and that’s saying something when you consider that the game itself drops a significant number of those over the course of its runtime.

This noir adventure’s definitely worth undertaking if you’re looking for a fun game to play before the rest of the year’s releases begin to take up your free time.

8. Pragmata

As the latest addition in a long line of bangers this year, Pragmata is definitely a strong addition to a solid lineup of games this year. As a shooter that has you working a hacking minigame almost in parallel, there’s enough innovation to a tried-and-tested formula to make it an interesting proposition right off the bat.

But Pragmata’s true beauty lies in how it integrates that innovation into a heartwarming, wholesome story that sees protagonists Hugh and Diana surpass their innate differences as a human and an Android to form a friendship that delivers quite the emotional payoff. That bond was helped along by a story that explored complex themes without delving into too much philosophy, leaving just enough room for a more direct, robust pace that was very welcome indeed.

We’re quite sure we’ll be seeing more of Hugh and Diana in the years to come, and that’s something that makes us quite happy considering that their first outing ended on quite the cliffhanger.

7. Saros

Carcosa is a place no one in their right mind would want to go back to unless the person in question is a fan of Returnal’s take on bullet-hell shooters. But this one took things up a notch on all fronts, and the result was a title that was unsurprisingly awesome while remaining grounded enough to make the story it was trying to sell us not only believable, but quite emotionally resonant as well.

Arjun was a protagonist with layers and issues of his own, trying to work with the rest of the cast to uncover mysteries that tested his resolve and sanity. Getting to go along on such an adventure, and the challenges that we faced at his side along the way, were not just a pleasure, but a test of our own skill and determination to see it through.

The difficulty was always there, and perhaps even an expected part of the experience. But what we didn’t expect was for the entire thing to have us somberly reflecting on the themes it presented, even as we tried to dodge and block attacks that were ethereally beautiful whilst also being efficiently deadly. This one’s quite easy to recommend and a great one from Housemarque.

6. Forza Horizon 6

We’ve always loved to join the Horizon Festival wherever in the world it takes us. But this one’s more than just a great excuse for some arcade racing and a bevy of car-related activities to take on. It’s an authentic take on one of modern gaming’s most popular destinations, and one that takes a lot of effort to nail down in a way that has us constantly ignoring the need for sleep in order to chase the next band that will unlock more of it to enjoy.

This one’s visuals and the weather system were already strong reasons to dive in, but what’s made us stay is how it brings Japan’s many locales to life in ways that make driving around and soaking in the sights as attractive an option as engaging in some high-speed races that can really get the adrenaline flowing.

Forza Horizon 6 is the franchise’s best version of the Festival yet, and it’s going to be quite a challenge for Playground Games to top this one. However, if any studio can achieve that feat, the one behind this masterpiece certainly can.

5. Nioh 3

You were probably waiting for this one if you’ve dived into Team Ninja’s third instalment in a franchise that already had a lot going for it before this one came along. But with two distinct playstyles, the return of the stance-based combat system, a truckload of weapons and builds, and a whole wide world to test it all out in, it’s easy to see why this one has had us returning to it whenever there’s a good bit of downtime to make use of.

The open-worldish approach to its level design works very well with an exploration loop that’s designed around collecting loot, experience, and secrets in a world where even a minute advantage can mean the difference between life and death. Of course, the enemies and bosses you face down are a highlight of the experience, with familiar foes and fresh new ones bringing a level of challenge that would be daunting if not for the plethora of tools you’re given to deal with them.

If you’re looking to cut loose and enjoy a combat system that absolutely slaps, in a world that’s designed to have you in fights more than you’re out of them, Nioh 3 is the best one to pick out of all the titles that have come out so far in 2026.

4. 007 First Light

Well, IO Interactive finally managed to make a Bond game that could top GoldenEye, and we’re glad that it did. Its take on a young, more reckless, yet equally charming version of Bond has landed quite well. The gameplay loop on offer is equally captivating, making good use of the studio’s experience with great combat and stealth gameplay to deliver a title that could have you diving into a new playthrough just to satisfy your own curiosity about how different missions could play out if you were to make varying choices.

Open-ended level design, brutal combat, cool gadgets, and, of course, some very memorable set pieces help this one tell a story about Bond that hasn’t been told before. The gameplay lets you be the man himself in ways that are so darn satisfying they’re hard to describe to somebody who hasn’t joined in on the fun. And best of all is the fact that they work so well together that this one’s a title we can’t get enough of.

The Hitman DNA from IO’s previous work is in there, but it’s been used so well in First Light that it makes the game stand on its own well enough to be a strong addition to what the year has had to offer.

3. Pokémon Pokopia

A life sim and builder that weaves Pokémon into the mix? That’s clearly a recipe for success, but things could always go wrong if the execution falls flat. That isn’t the case with Pokémon Pokopia, and it’s a delightful blend of Animal Crossing and the popular anime, one that’s enough to keep you spending hours in the rather desolate version of Kanto it presents you with.

Joining Ditto in an effort to build the land into one where trainers and Pokémon can live their lives to the fullest was so full of fun and charm that this one grew on us pretty quickly and hasn’t outstayed its welcome even though we’ve been playing it for nearly three months now. There’s always something to do here, and it’s often so endearing that you can’t help but smile as you go about your day in the game’s world.

Pokopia is a great game irrespective of whether the anime and manga were a part of your childhood, and might even get you started on an obsession that many of us have carried all our lives.

2. Crimson Desert

We’re sure you’ve already guessed that, and Crimson Desert definitely ranks high among 2026’s best. Pywel’s a world that we just can’t get enough, as this one’s an evolving experience that’s constantly bringing new ways to engage with everything it has to offer.

Kliff’s fight to unify the land and return the Greymanes to their former glory might not have been released in the best of states, but this one’s managed to go past all of those initial hiccups to become an open-world experience that’s walking the line between single-player and live-service in a way that’s kept us on our toes.

It doesn’t get better than this as far as open worlds are concerned, although GTA 6 could come along and force us to sing a different tune. Nevertheless, Pywel’s a place of many fond memories, and that isn’t going to change even if Rockstar manages to pull us away from it for a while.

1. Resident Evil Requiem

Two protagonists, two different playstyles, and a setting that brought the story right back to where it started were all factors that worked in this one’s favor, to be sure. But it’s in the way that all of that was handled that made this one genuinely feel like a celebration of the genre’s long-running history.

Leon’s amazing fighting style worked well as a contrast to Grace’s sincere vulnerability in a story that could have had better big bads but was nonetheless quite revelatory as far as the franchise’s meta narrative was concerned. It was also a way to set up a future in which its entire cast could, and perhaps should, work together to take on a world that’s been forever changed by the adventure on offer here.

Requiem is Resident Evil at its finest, and there’s no bigger compliment that we can give it than that.

And that’s a wrap on our picks for the first half of 2026. We’re sure that this one’s going to have you nodding at most of the ones we’ve liked even as you think others should have made the cut. Either way, it’s been an exciting year for video games, with a very heavy second half that’s sure to keep us all on our toes. Bring it on, we say!

Along with the update itself, Nintendo has also announced the Pokémon Pokopia Expansion Pass, which will bring with it even more content, like new towns. One of the towns released through the Expansion Pass is Bubbly Basin – an entirely underwater town where players can find new furniture, outfits, and friends. The Expansion Pass will be available through the Nintendo eShop later today.

Late 2026 will see more new features added to Pokémon Pokopia as part of the expansion pass, with a third set of content slated for release in 2027.

As for the free update, it will give players the ability to expand their towns into new underwater frontiers, and in the process, further enhance their friendships with water-based Pokémon. The new underwater regions can be accessed through the use of a new move, Dive, and along with exploration, players will also be able to build entire structures underwater.

Pokémon Pokopia was released on Nintendo Switch 2 earlier this year, and has gone on to become a major hit, selling more than 2.2 million copies in just the first four days of its release. Since then, several reports have noted that the game has led to an increase in Nintendo Switch 2 hardware sales, and even Koei Tecmo raised its profit forecasts for FY 2026 thanks to its work on Pokémon Pokopia.

Following up Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream is Capcom’s Pragmata at the number 2 spot. Third place is taken up by Crimson Desert, followed by MLB: The Show 26 in fourth place. Rounding up the top 5 is the indie pirate-themed survival crafting game Windrose. The only other new releases in the top 10 listing are Saros at ninth place, and the PS5 release of Bethesda’s sci-fi RPG Starfield.

When it comes to the entire year so far, the period from January 4th to May 2nd has seen Resident Evil Requiem taking up the top spot in terms of sales in the US. Interestingly, Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream was the only recent release to make its way into the rankings at ninth place. The rest of the list is taken up by titles you’d expect, like Crimson Desert in second place, MLB The Show 26 in third place, Pokémon Pokopia in fourth place, and WWE 2K26 in fifth place.

April saw hardware sales rise, with spending going up by 34 percent year-on-year. Interestingly, much of this spending is attributed to the Nintendo Switch 2, since the original Switch, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5 have all seen year-on-year spending declines of 69 percent, 43 percent, and 30 percent, respectively.

This has made the Nintendo Switch 2 the best-selling hardware platform in terms of both number of units sold, as well as dollars of revenue generated for both the month of April itself, as well as the entire year so far. The PS5 is in second place.

Interestingly, when taking US lifetime sales into account, the PS5 is tracking 2 percent ahead of the PS4 in the same 66-month time frame. Similarly, the Nintendo Switch 2 has already taken a lead over the original Switch in the pace of its hardware sales, overtaking the 2017 console by 11 percent for the same 11-month period since their respective launches.

Tomodachi Life: Living the Dream topping sales charts shouldn’t really come as a surprise since the title has been a hit across social media platforms thanks to its absurdist comedy and emphasis on player freedom. The title was released on the Nintendo Switch on April 16th, and since then, has seen quite a bit of critical and commercial acclaim. Leading up to its release, Nintendo had also released a free demo for it, giving players a taste of its core gameplay that largely revolves around managing a quiet island town and its crazy denizens.

The other new title to have topped the charts this month—Pragmata—was released on PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2 on April 17th, and since then, has been praised for its unique combat gameplay that melds shooting, dodging, and puzzle solving.

April 2026 U.S. Projected Top 10 Best-Selling Games Ranked on Physical & Full Game Digital Dollar Sales (Excludes Mobile and Digital Add-On Content)

— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2026-05-20T13:00:19.106Z

YTD 2026 U.S. Projected Top 10 Best-Selling Games Ranked on Physical & Full Game Digital Dollar Sales (Excludes Mobile and Digital Add-On Content)

— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2026-05-20T13:00:19.107Z

Hardware – April hardware spending increased by 34% when compared to a year ago, to $261M. Spending on Nintendo Switch 2 hardware offset declines seen across Switch (-69% versus April 2025), Xbox Series (-43%) and PlayStation 5 (-30%).

— Mat Piscatella (@matpiscatella.bsky.social) 2026-05-20T13:00:19.108Z

It is worth noting that the bundle will be available before the Nintendo Switch 2’s price hikes come into effect on September 1st, where its MRP will go up to $499.99. Keeping that in mind, the Nintendo Switch 2: Choose Your Game Bundle will only be available for a limited period of time. Any such bundle that Nintendo decides to release after September 1st will likely take the console’s new price tag into account.

For more details about the choice of the three titles offered for the bundle, check out our reviews of Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, and Pokémon Pokopia.

The price hike for the Nintendo Switch 2 was announced earlier this month, with its previous price tag of $449.99/$629.99 CAD/€469.99 across the US, Canada, and Europe going up to $499.99/$679.99 CAD/€499.99.

During its recent earnings call, Nintendo confirmed that it has sold almost 20 million units of the Switch 2 as of March 31st, 2026, with the last three months of the period accounting for 2.49 million units. On the software side of things, Nintendo has revealed that 10.78 million units have been sold, and Pokémon Pokopia alone has sold 4 million copies since its release.

The company has also projected that sales of Nintendo Switch 2 hardware will go down in the coming year. “For Nintendo Switch 2, sales were more concentrated in the launch year in comparison to previous hardware systems. Reflecting strong launch-year sales and price revisions, we expect FY27 sales units to decline year-on-year,” said the company. “Even so, we believe this represents a solid level of adoption for Nintendo Switch 2 in its second year after launch.”

More recently, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa had offered an apology to customers for the price hike, noting that the company has had to deal with higher manufacturing costs due to market conditions.

“We sincerely apologize to our customers for the considerable inconvenience and trouble this will cause,” he said. “While we wanted to prioritize a wide adoption, it was challenging to bear the rising costs over a long period. The [new] pricing does not fully account for all cost increases.”

He also spoke about the decision to forecast lower sales of Switch 2 hardware for the coming year, noting that its first-year sales were unprecedented thanks to Nintendo’s work at ensuring strong supply chains.

“Due to efforts to strengthen our supply chain […] the 1st year sales reached an unprecedented level,” he explained. “The demand in the 2nd year is firm, and we believe that the adoption of Switch 2 is progressing smoothly.”

The forecast for net profit for the financial year has been raised to ¥41.5 billion (roughly $260 million), up from the previous forecast of ¥27 billion (roughly $169 million). When compared to the ¥37.6 billion reported in the previous fiscal year, this means that Koei Tecmo will end up with record highs in its net profits.

Pokémon Pokopia was released on Nintendo Switch 2 just last month, and its success since then has been quite well documented. Nintendo and The Pokémon Company had announced just a week after release that the title had sold more than 2.2 million copies in its first four days. Of this impressive milestone, around 1 million units were noted as being sold in Japan alone.

Earlier this month, a report revealed that Pokémon Pokopia‘s release had also led to the rise of Nintendo Switch 2 console sales in the UK. The company saw a rise of 154 percent in its hardware sales when compared to sales in February.

“Nintendo Switch 2 UK sales jumped 154% in March month-on-month following the release of Pokémon Pokopia,” wrote The Game Business’ Christopher Dring. “Nintendo accounts for over 50% of all consoles sold in the UK so far this year.”

The release of Pokémon Pokopia had seemingly led to immediate positive effects for Nintendo as a whole, with a report revealing that the company’s share prices had jumped by 10 percent just days after its launch. Jeffries analyst Atul Goyal called the game a “viral hit” and noted that it counteracted “memory cost headwinds” that had been worrying Nintendo’s investors.

Pokémon Pokopia revolves around players taking on the role of a strange Ditto that has taken on the form of a young human. In a world where humans have seemingly disappeared, the player has to create their own new home, and along the way, befriend other Pokémon. The title has been praised quite a bit thanks to its engaging gameplay premise, charm and personality, and addictive construction mechanics.

For more details about Pokémon Pokopia, check out our review, where we gave it a score of 9 out of 10. Our only complaints with the game revolved around long wait times in its early hours and frustrating storage restrictions. If you’re already a fan of the game, take a look at our guides on how to hunt legendary Pokémon, how you can raise the environment level, and how and why you can time-travel. Also, check out what other critics have had to say about the game, with some going as far as calling it the first must-have game for Nintendo’s console this year.

Dring also mentioned that this means that Nintendo consoles now account for more than half of all consoles sold in the region so far in 2026. “Nintendo Switch 2 UK sales jumped 154% in March month-on-month following the release of Pokémon Pokopia,” he wrote. “Nintendo accounts for over 50% of all consoles sold in the UK so far this year.” He did offer a caveat, however, that March was a five-week month, compared to February having only four weeks.

The success of Pokémon Pokopia in helping boost console sales should come as no surprise. Just last month, Nintendo confirmed that it had sold 2.2 million copies of the game in just four days after its March 5th release. Of the impressive sales milestone, around one million units were sold in Japan alone.

The release of Pokémon Pokopia even led to Nintendo’s share prices growing by ten percent. A report at the time even noted that physical copies of the game had become hard to find thanks to major US retailers running out of stock quite quickly.

Jeffries analyst Atul Goyal acknowledged that the game boosted Switch 2’s sales momentum, calling it a “viral hit” that helped to counteract “memory cost headwinds” that Nintendo’s investors had been worried about. According to Tokyo Securities analyst Hideki Yasuda, “The Pokémon game was a dark horse. It was totally off people’s radars, making its popularity a positive development.” Its popularity “from Japan to Canada” also proved its global appeal.

Pokémon Pokopia offers a major twist on the Pokémon formula. Rather than players taking on the role of a young trainer setting off in the world for an adventure, Pokopia instead puts players in the shoes of a Ditto that transforms to vaguely look like a young human. After this, players are then free to explore the world and collect resources, which in turn can be used to craft equipment and their home. Along the way, players will also get to meet various other Pokémon, each with their own unique abilities that can be used for various gameplay aspects, like resource collection.

Pokémon Pokopia is available exclusively on Nintendo Switch 2. Check out our review, where we gave it a score of 9 out of 10 thanks to its engaging premise, charm, personality, and addictive construction mechanics, among other things. For players who have already been playing Pokémon Pokopia, take a look at our guides for hunting legendary Pokémon, time traveling, raising the environment level, and unlocking Palette Town and GameShare.

For those among you who are still undecided on whether or not Pokémon Pokopia is for you, check out its gameplay trailer showing off cooking and co-op gameplay.

Interestingly, the report has noted that, while Pokémon Pokopia has been quite successful, it hasn’t led to the company changing its stance on its current sales targets for the console as a whole. Rather, Nintendo management is seemingly waiting to evaluate the long-term effects the game, along with other planned releases, has on Switch 2 hardware demands in the market.

As for whether this might finally be the first decision Nintendo makes in response to skyrocketing memory prices, the report has noted that this isn’t the case. Rather, cuts in production capacity have been made simply due to lower demand.

We might also start seeing larger effects on the Nintendo Switch 2 from the global memory shortages, as has been predicted by research firm Niko Partners as part of its broader prediction of trends for the gaming industry over the course of 2026.

The report’s timing is also quite noteworthy, since another one from earlier this month has indicated that Nintendo is planning to release a new version of the Switch 2 in the European market that will feature an easily-replaceable battery. According to Japanese publication Nikkei, the company is apparently keeping an eye on consumer awareness for “right to repair” in other markets as well. As part of this hardware refresh, the batteries in the Joy-Con 2 controllers will also be easier to replace. It is unknown whether peripherals like the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller will see similar treatment.

Since the Switch 2’s easy-to-repair model is being introduced to align with the European Union’s right-to-repair legislation, there is also a belief that this might lead to the discontinuation of the original Nintendo Switch. The latter is quite old, having originally been released in 2017, and Nintendo is unlikely to release an entirely new model due to its focus on the Switch 2.

For now, there is no confirmed launch date for the new Nintendo Switch 2 model. However, pressure from EU legislation indicates that the company will likely release it sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, Pokémon Pokopia sold more than 2.2 million copies in its first four days of release, of which one million sales were in Japan. The sales milestone came just days after the title started getting an overwhelmingly-positive critical response. At the time of publishing, its aggregated review score on Metacritic sits at 90 out of 100. In our own review, we gave Pokémon Pokopia a score of 9 out of 10 thanks to its engaging premise, charm and personality, and a host of other good things.

This Pokemon Pokopia guide is all about hunting for Legendary Pokemon using a tried and tested strategy.

How To Unlock Dream Islands

The first step in your quest to collect Legendary Pokemon is unlocking Dream Islands. These standalone worlds are a source for a lot of items, including Stardust, Star Pieces, materials, and resources of all kinds.

Wait till nightfall, and leave Withered Wasteland from the west. Once outside the boundary, bear right in search of a lone Drifloon. Interact with it to begin its quest.

Fulfill its habitat request, and speak to it again for part two of its request, involving Poke Dolls. If you have not stumbled upon one of these already, Drifloon will give you a hint about where to acquire a Poke Doll nearby. Wrap up the Drifloon’s quest to finally unlock Dream Islands.

Dream Island Mechanics

Drifloon can transport you to Dream Islands on demand, simply by setting down and inspecting any given Poke Doll to summon them first. Each unique Poke Doll will take you to a distinct Dream Island, but you can only visit one island each game day.

Once you arrive on the randomly generated island, it will remain static, no matter how many times you leave and return on the same day. Which means that you cannot strip the island clean of its resources and hope to respawn it all. While you remain on the island, the so-called ‘Time Travel’ or date skip method will not work to reset things either. You also cannot visit any other Dream Islands for the duration of that day.

Instead, you will have to either let time progress naturally, or perform the Time Travel method in order to manually move the date forward by one day, specifically while outside of a Dream Island.

When you are on the island and ready to leave, make use of the ‘Return Home’ function in order to be teleported back to Drifloon and avoid time wasted on traversal.

Stardust And Star Pieces

When interacting with Poke Dolls, note the materials listed as predominant on a given Dream Island. Aside from those, you should also farm the goopy-looking materials called Stardust, 99 of which can eventually be combined into a single Star Piece.

Gifting a Star Piece to a visiting Pokemon that you do not already own will beget you a gift in return. Opening that gift within an empty habitat will spawn that same species of Pokemon there, regardless of whether the habitat suits it.

Hunting Legendary Pokemon

Legendary Pokemon can be found within either of the two cave systems that tend to appear on Dream Islands. While not a guaranteed spawn every single time, you can easily reset each island with the method mentioned previously until you stumble upon a good one.

Even when you fail to acquire a Legendary Pokemon, the yellow Pokeballs that you come across will still have plenty of valuable items for use, including Pokemetal ingots and habitat information.

You will know that you have stumbled upon a Legendary Pokemon in the caves visually, when you notice an enclosure of sorts, with the Pokemon confined within. Break through and simply take them home.

That is everything there is to know about exploiting Dream Islands and hunting Legendary Pokemon in Pokemon Pokopia.

Developed by Koei Tecmo studio Omega Force, Pokopia is, in a nutshell, a blend of Animal Crossing, Dragon Quest Builders, and, of course, Pokemon. Viewed individually, none of its core disparate pillars are particularly unique at this point, but this game concocts them together in an almost perfect way, delivering an experience that is bursting to the seams with personality, and has the sort of deceptive mechanical depth that will keep you hooked for dozens – if not hundreds – of hours.

"There’s a vast variety of habitats that you can make in the game, and though they start out as simple patches of grass, they gradually grow in complexity."

In Pokemon Pokopia, you play as a Ditto that has taken on the (uncanny-but-almost-accurate) form of your former human trainer. You find yourself in what you quickly piece together is a desolate, abandoned version of the Kanto region- most of the landscapes are a wasteland, structures lie in ruin, and there are almost no Pokemon and no humans to be seen anywhere. With the help of a Tangrowth – a self-dubbed Pokemon Professor – you set out to rebuild the land block by block to bring life – both Pokemon and human – back to the region, and unravel the mystery of how exactly things came to be this way.

It serves as a great premise for Pokopia’s life sim and building loop. Central to the experience are, of course, the Pokemon, each of whom has unique personalities and useful, varied abilities, not to mention unique requirements. Different kinds of Pokemon are attracted back to live in the region if they find a habitat that they find suitable, which means a crucial aspect of Pokopia’s core loop is building habitats.

There’s a vast variety of habitats that you can make in the game, and though they start out as simple patches of grass, they gradually grow in complexity. Experimenting with different items and environmental features to create new habitats, or procuring specific things to build the habitat you need for that next Pokemon you want to add to your neighbourhood, truly never loses its charm- there’s that many possible combinations to play around with.

What also helps massively is the ridiculous amounts of charm and personality that the Pokemon – and the game in general – are overflowing with. Each Pokemon is their own person (or, well, Pokemon, but you know), and it’s delightful to watch each of them exhibit their diverse personalities and quirks in unique ways- Charmeleon is a hothead, while Hitmonchan generally just likes to train with a punching bag a lot. Squirtle is charmingly energetic, while Slowpoke, true to form, just likes to takes things slow.

"Pokopia not only cleverly uses Pokemon elements to bring personality into its world, it also weaves them into its gameplay in ingenious ways."

There’s a large cast of Pokemon represented in Pokopia, and you can tell that a lot of care and love for the franchise has been poured into each of the creatures. From the things they say and the idle interactions they have with each other to the way they animate and interact with the environment and much more, simply watching them exist in the world is one of the game’s highlights. I can’t tell you how much time I’ve spent just watching Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee train together, or taking pictures of different Pokemon just doing their thing and interacting with the environment, or even playing jump-rope with Bulbasaur.

It’s safe to say that fans in particular will absolutely love meeting and befriending new Pokemon. Beyond that, there’s plenty more in the game for longtime Pokemon fans to look out for as well. Exploration has many benefits (beyond items, crafting recipes, and, you know, just being fun), one of which is notes scattered throughout the maps, which often drop little pieces of lore. From backstory tidbits that make the story surprisingly interesting to little nuggets and easter eggs, there’s a lot to find. Series fans will also love the many secrets – including chance and optional encounters with a variety of Legendaries – to be found in all the maps, not to mention the many excellently composed, nostalgia-fueled remixes of instantly recognizable Pokemon tracks that Pokopia has up its sleeve.

Pokopia not only cleverly uses Pokemon elements to bring personality into its world, it also weaves them into its gameplay in ingenious ways. As a Ditto, you also have transformational abilities that allow you to learn different moves from the many Pokemon you befriend, each of which allows you to engage with the environment in different ways. Bulbasaur teaches you Leafage, with which you can grow patches of grass; Squirtle teaches you Water Gun, which lets you bring moisture back to dry and barren soil; Scyther teaches you Cut and Hitmonchan teaches you Rock Smash, which allow you to deal with obstacles or break up blocks; Magikarp, hilariously, teaches you Splash, which turns out to be surprisingly useful, because it lets you jump.

Meanwhile, Pokemon also have their own abilities that you cannot imitate, but they can use to assist you in various ways. Scyther can turn logs into lumber, Charmander can light things on fire, Slowpoke can make it rain, Vespiqueen offers items in exchange for honey- the list goes on. The Pokemon that you meet and befriend truly do end up feeling like valued neighbours and little virtual friends- which is exactly what you want from a Pokemon life sim.

"Together, Pokopia’s Animal Crossing-inspired life sim elements and Dragon Quest Builders-inspired elements come together in surprisingly cohesive fashion."

Of course, the different Pokemon and their unique requirements also shape gameplay in other ways. Once they’ve moved into habitats that they find appropriate, Pokemon will often come to you with requests for everything from food to different items – like lights or decorations or furniture – or even new homes. Seeing to the overall contentment of your Pokemon neighbours is an important part of Pokopia, because doing so raises your Environment Level, which in turn unlocks new items for purchase at the Pokemon Center. It’s a very well though-out loop, not just because of the satisfying progression, but also because of the impressive variety and surprising strategy it adds to the process of slowly building the land back to life, and seeing it flourish bit by bit.

Beyond the delightful life sim mechanics, Pokopia has a whole other construction aspect to it, where it borrows heavily from the likes of Minecraft and Dragon Quest Builders- which makes sense, given that developer Omega Force worked on Dragon Quest Builders 2. Everything is made of individual blocks – wood, sand, grass, soil, stone, and so on – and you can break up these blocks, suck them up with a Kirby-like (and very Ditto-appropriate) suction ability, and then use them to alter the environment however you see fit, and construct whatever you can conjure up.

Personally, I’ve always been incredibly quick to succumb to the addictive charms of exactly the sort of gameplay loop that Pokemon Pokopia offers up, and it’s no surprise to me that I’m completely eating it up here. The building mechanics are an absolute blast- their Minecraft-like simplicity and Dragon Quest Builders-inspired interface allows them to strike a perfect balance between complexity and accessibility. There’s also a solid range of variety on offer in the items, furniture, decorations, building options, and more. Everything generally works the way as intended, and elements and objects can interact with each other in fun and surprising ways, allowing for an impressive level of freedom, flexibility, and creativity.

Though the main campaign is structured a lot like the Dragon Quest Builders games, with players moving from one map to the next, eventually, Pokopia also lets players let loose in a massive map, which is where its freeform, sandbox construction mechanics really flourish. I imagine there will be many players – like myself – who will be spending inordinate amounts of time in this particular map.

Together, Pokopia’s Animal Crossing-inspired life sim elements and Dragon Quest Builders-inspired elements come together in surprisingly cohesive fashion. There are some minor foibles – like frustrating storage restrictions, and long wait times as you wait for construction on buildings to finish, especially in the early hours of the game – but by and large, Pokopia keeps finding ways to keep you engaged in its charmful mundanity. There’s no doubt in my mind that this is among the best Pokemon games I’ve played in recent memory- and maybe even ever.

This game was reviewed on Nintendo Switch 2.

This is a guide to effectively ‘time travel’ in Pokemon Pokopia and the benefits of doing so for the impatient player.

How To Time Travel In Pokemon Pokopia

Begin by saving your game to fix your progression thus far. Next, navigate to the Home screen and System Settings. The game can remain open in the background without any issues arising.

Scroll all the way down on the left to System, then access ‘Date and Time’ about half way down on the right.

First, toggle the switch for ‘Synchronize Clock Using the Internet’ to Off. This will permit you to manually adjust the ‘Current Date and Time’.

From this screen, you can change the date a whole day forward, or wind the clock ahead just a few minutes, depending on your needs.

Each new day in Pokemon Pokopia begins at 5AM rather than midnight, and if that is what you are looking to do specifically, you will need to set the time to that as well.

Back in the game, you will respawn at your house as the map reloads in the background.

Here are the various macro time slots in the game:

Morning: 6AM to 9AM

Day: 9AM to 5PM

Dusk: 5PM to 7PM

Night: 7PM to 6AM

Why Time Travel In Pokemon Pokopia

There are over a dozen Pokemon that spawn exclusively at Night. This time slot is considered to run from 7PM to 6AM. Being able to manually set the time to within that range will allow you to encounter them whenever you please. These nightly Pokemon include:

• Cacturne
• Clefable
• Clefairy
• Cleffa
• Crobat
• Duskull
• Golbat
• Honchkrow
• Hoothoot
• Misdreavus
• Murkrow
• Noctowl
• Oddish
• Umbreon
• Venomoth
• Venonat
• Zubat

As for construction, buildings can take anything between a few minutes to an entire day to complete based on material cost and size, the Pokemon Centers being a prime example of laborious construction.

Impatient players can just turn the clock forward an appropriate number of minutes or hours to quickly have a completed structure in place.

Once you are satisfied with the results of your time travel, be sure to save before you change the date and time back to what it really is, and you can be assured that your progress will not be lost.

That is everything about how and why you should manipulate the progression of time in Pokemon Pokopia.