THE FUSE

I’m still only a few hours into Pokémon Pokopia, and more than once I’ve felt my stomach drop at the sheer magnitude of things to do and see in the Animal Crossing-style life sim. My island still looks like a mess compared to the entire functioning towns other players have made for the Pokémon staying in their terraformed homes. And I still haven’t found My Boy (any form of Pichu, Pikachu, or Raichu) to bring back to my town to live with me. Everything about this game should overwhelm me just as Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, and Minecraft have in the past. Yet still, I’m itching to boot up my Switch 2 to get back to it even as I write this because Pokopia has given me something to latch onto beyond a terrifying amount of freedom.