Pokopia can be too cozy for its own good

Pokemon Pokopia is great fun. I had a blast with it during the preview stage, and when I picked up the full game last week, I've spent way too much of my free time befriending wild creatures before taking on the role of trusty shape-shifting landscaper. This post-apocalyptic world needs some serious TLC, and I have all the tools to make it shine.

Koei Tecmo and Game Freak have developed a wonderfully satisfying formula that takes the elements of beloved titles like Animal Crossing, Dragon Quest Builders and Minecraft, just before putting their own unique spin on the cozy genre. I'll admit that replacing a generic assortment of NPCs with familiar Pokémon is a seriously effective strategy, especially when each one is equipped with specific wants and needs that we must try to meet.

The early hours are a whirlwind of satisfying tutorials and piecemeal exploration that pulls you into an ever-growing suite of mechanics that I can't wait to experiment with further. But it's hard to deny that the open world and its many adorable passengers lack some much-needed friction. Each of them is too nice for their own good.

I wish the Pokemon in Pokopia would be mean to me

Every Pokemon you discover in Pokopia will not hesitate to become your best friend. After discovering that you're not human, but instead a fellow Pokémon simply pretending to be one, you end up with an endless list of besties, whether you're talking to a lowly Pichu or a legendary creature straight out of the sea. They are all extremely nice and will wait until the end of time for you to fulfill their countless wishes. While there are gameplay advantages to making habitats as comfortable as possible or completing side quests for specific Pokemon, I have yet to encounter any barriers to progress for doing anything else.

It's normal for several Pokemon to run up to you every day and just tell you how awesome you are before handing over a meaningless gift like a pile of rocks or a rotting stick. I appreciate the effort, but its endless stream of saccharine interactions makes Pokopia's world feel like it has no stakes. That everything about it is designed to continuously reward us and make us feel good for the slightest performance. I understand that this is the purpose of cozy games for many people, but many in the genre and those like Pokopia take obvious inspiration from shine because of this conflict.

One of my favorite Pokopia moments so far is Bulbasaur yelling “Let's get this place wet” for years when I was trying to make it rain. What a good boy he is.

The player takes a selfie with lots of Pokemon in Pokopia.

Take Viva Pinata, which is one of the cutest and most adorable games out there. Your whole goal is to create a cute garden and fill it with fictional creatures named after candy. It's achingly sweet, brought to life by excellent visuals, catchy music, and NPCs that lean even further into this sickly sweet fantasy.

But Rare also wasn't afraid to give this world and its inhabitants an attitude. Players often had to deal with obstacles like Sour Pinatas that waltzed into your garden to kill plants and make your pinatas sick by leaving behind a bunch of poisonous candies. You had to manage or things would remain difficult, but it never felt so overwhelming that it took away from the sweet parts of the experience.

An evil mastermind called Professor Pester and his cavalcade of Ruffians would also enter your garden and outright murder your most expensive Pinata before snapping its chocolaty insides in two. It soaked up the moment, but it also made you determined to get revenge by completing the missions necessary to eradicate them for good. After several hours with Pokopia, I have yet to encounter an obstacle of this magnitude, or any character willing to view my existence with even the slightest hint of antagonism.

Pokopia is in dire need of some serious efforts

It would have been great if a select group of Pokémon had created a rival settlement and wanted to restore this broken world, just like I was, but with a different ideology driving them forward. You could have given them unique names and outfits to resemble a faction like Team Rocket while also spicing up the dialogue so it wasn't the same mix of 'Oh my god Ditto you're the coolest person ever, and I love you, so here's some wood I found on the floor.'

Given that Pokopia is set in a post-apocalyptic world where humanity has been wiped out, there is plenty of room for more grim events. Notes and other discoveries throughout the open world are written in a melancholic manner, proving that this game has what it takes to explore different emotional tones that can make players feel uncomfortable, or at least challenge them emotionally.

The main quest is compelling enough for now as I continue to rebuild large structures and start moving into new biomes, but there is a lack of friction in the main story that Pokopia fails to introduce. It wouldn't hurt its cozy identity. If anything, it would make me love these elements even more, as I have to fight to keep them intact. Imagine if the Pokémon you created habitats for weren't instant besties, but remained controversial despite being residents of your small township and had the potential to create compelling interactions that felt both unique and rewarding.

Pokopia's crafting and customization systems are otherwise fantastic, making its passive flaws all the more noticeable in the end.

Perhaps these qualities will emerge as I move beyond the initial handful of areas, either that or Pokopia is fully committed to being the least offensive cozy game possible at every turn. I don't want a Team Rocket agent swooping in and kidnapping my passengers, but it would be nice if things were a little spiky. To give me reason to worry or think strategically about the world, I am cultivated beyond potential aesthetics. Other games in the genre have pulled it off and are much better because of it, so why not this one?