Common Sense Media Review
By Angelica Guarino
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Wildlife adventure lets you "catch 'em all" in photographs.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Play
Videos and Photos
New Pokemon Snap
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 2 parent reviews
What’s It About?
In NEW POKEMON SNAP, players arrive at Professor Mirror's biology lab playing the role of a Pokemon photographer. After meeting Professor Mirror and his assistant Rita, as well as going through a series of tutorials, players are free to explore environments such as parks, jungles, and volcanoes both during the day and at night. The player's main task is filling their Photodex with pictures of as many Pokemon as possible. While some are easier to spot than others, and some are less comfortable with human interaction, the challenge is positioning the camera in the perfect location and waiting to snap the best shot possible. At the end of your journey through an area, your photos will be evaluated by Professor Mirror based on how rare or unique the action captured happens to be based on a four-point scale. For example, a creature eating is common, and would be a one star pic, while finding one that plays with a bucket and sand toys might be a three star shot.
Is It Any Good?
This adventure is quite successful at capturing the simple, yet consistently effective appeal of the Pokemon franchise. Though this game is a sequel to a game released in 1999, enough time has passed to reasonably warrant a remake in New Pokemon Snap. Many players have never experienced this safari-like simulation before, making this feel like an entirely new experience with their beloved characters. But New Pokemon Snap is fitting as follow-up, reveling in the unpretentious joy of watching a Grookey eat some berries or run through a field of flowers with its friend, Pichu. The environments are beautiful, and since the quests provided by Professor Mirror and his team are open-ended and pressure-free, the gameplay experience is very relaxing. The controls are certainly beginner-friendly as well, as players really only have to master a zoom-in motion in addition to camera positioning to capture their photographs. While longer stretches of play can feel repetitive, this is something to keep in mind, instead of being a dealbreaker.
But it's also worth noting that this title has the same hefty price tag as a full-length Pokemon adventure. While sinking 40-50 hours into the main series installments is often pretty easy, New Pokemon Snap players may not all clock the same amount of time. Some gamers will become obsessed with filling their Photodex to 100% competition, but it's likely that other players may hit a wall of monotony after about 5-10 hours of playtime that they just won't want to invest the time in breaking past. Overall, it's the love for these creatures that fans of the franchise feel so deeply that carries New Pokemon Snap through. With a perfectly balanced mix of old and new faces to search for, there's always the giddy feeling that the next trip onto a course is going to be the best one yet. Though long-time fans have already technically seen Pokemon in their natural habitats either in previous games or in episodes of a Pokemon TV series, New Pokemon Snap is a chance to fall in love with the same wonderful and mysterious creatures yet again.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the similarities and differences that New Pokemon Snap may have with real-life wildlife experiences such as birdwatching, hiking, or going on a safari. If players enjoy the in-game tasks of wildlife photography, is that reason to try out these real-life activities? How can families help manage expectations about the differences between what these activities look like in-game versus in real life?
If someone were unfamiliar with Pokemon before, what are the possible effects of beginning to engage with a franchise of so many games, movies, TV shows, and toys?
Game Details
- Platform: Nintendo Switch
- Pricing structure: Paid
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: Nintendo
- Release date: April 30, 2021
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- Topics: Adventures , Science and Nature , Wild Animals
- ESRB rating: E for No Descriptions
- Last updated: December 15, 2021
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