New Pokemon Snap

 Switch
User Score
6.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 651 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 427 out of 651
  2. Mixed: 68 out of 651
  3. Negative: 156 out of 651
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  1. ScreenS
    Sep 1, 2023
    2
    Very boring, you honestly do so little that it actually feels like a prototype for Pokemon Sleep. The first game was a 90s novelty and this just exposes that fact.
  2. maluigario
    Apr 2, 2023
    3
    TL;DR: An exercise in tedium and repetition, New Pokemon Snap takes the relaxing idea of being a wildlife photographer in the Pokemon universe and instead forces you to repeat the same levels over and over in the hopes of capturing minute differences in Pokemon behavior between runs while stopping your progress with inane cutscenes.

    New Pokemon Snap is a game where you're a photographer    TL;DR: An exercise in tedium and repetition, New Pokemon Snap takes the relaxing idea of being a wildlife photographer in the Pokemon universe and instead forces you to repeat the same levels over and over in the hopes of capturing minute differences in Pokemon behavior between runs while stopping your progress with inane cutscenes.

    New Pokemon Snap is a game where you're a photographer helping the region's Pokemon Professor explore and document the area by taking pictures of Pokemon in their natural habitats. Much like the original Pokemon Snap, the game scores your pictures on a variety of things, like ensuring the Pokemon is in the center of the frame, facing towards you, takes up most of the frame, and so on. Also like the original, the game takes care of moving you along a set path and gives you some items to help you change the behavior of the Pokemon to get the perfect shot.

    Where this game deviates from its predecessor first is that every single Pokemon has 4 "behaviors" that must be documented. They all have their "calm" state, but then they all have 3 other states they can be found in. You may have to throw food for them to eat so you can capture them eating. You may have to bop them with your food so you can capture their confused look. You may have to play music so you can capture them dancing. This would be all well and good, except that each of these behaviors needs to be caught on camera separately, and you can only turn in ONE photo per Pokemon per trip, meaning it would take a minimum of 4 trips through a particular area to document all of the behaviors of a particular Pokemon. Not only this, but Pokemon behavior changes the more times you go through an area, so it may be impossible to document a behavior until you have made several trips through an area already. On top of it all, every area you can go through has both a day and night mode. While this ocassionally means finding new Pokemon, most often it means that you're taking pictures of the same Pokemon, just asleep now. As the final cherry on top, until you have seen the behavior, you have no idea which behavior the Professor wants to see, so you just have to experiment over and over: Try feeding it during the day. No? How about at night. No? Okay, well now you've levelled up the same area's day path, try again, maybe they'll act different now. No? Okay, back to the night version. Oh, hey, there's a branching path. Guess I'll have to do this level twice now to make sure I catch everything. What you end up doing is just repeating the same levels over and over trying to get whatever specific shots the Professor wants to see and trying to get enough points to unlock a new area so you can start the process all over again.

    As a minor insult to injury, the Professor and his other assistants will give you hints in the form of "Requests". They'll say they tried to capture a certain behavior of a certain Pokemon at a certain point in the level but failed, would you mind trying? But the requests stack up quickly. You'll get two requests for every level you complete and find yourself going back to try and catch one thing, miss it, and have to start over again. At least the old Pokemon Snap was kind enough to give you a speed-up button. This one doesn't even give you that.

    As if the game wasn't already busy wasting your time, once you've unlocked a new level, the game can't just give you a popup to tell you. You have to go back to the lab, watch a cutscene of all the guys in the lab being excited that you get to go somewhere new, and THEN you can go out.

    All in all, for a game that should be all about the relaxing idea of you going out and taking pictures and having a good time at your own pace, New Pokemon Snap instead insists on you playing the game ITS way, on ITS time, with no respect for your time as a player.    … Expand
  3. Catsup
    Nov 3, 2022
    0
    This is the most boring game I have ever played since all you do is press the A button to take pictures of the pokemon you see. It has some quality but it's ruined by the very simplistic gameplay, don't spend your hard-earned 60$ on this game, and instead go buy Xenoblade Chronicles 3 instead.
  4. BertKA88
    Aug 30, 2022
    2
    Honestly just found it boring and repetitive. Just grinding the same courses over and over isn’t my idea of fun.
  5. GenkiYokota
    Jan 27, 2022
    0
    One of the worst games I've ever had the chance to play.
    Very short (5 hours), repetitive ad nauseam, and without any evolution of the concept seen in N64.
  6. Sir-Gary
    Nov 23, 2021
    0
    Una vergüenza para el juego original, no hay casi evolución en la formula y se siente como un juego anacrónico en sus mecánicas y conceptos básicos.
  7. SammyHauguth
    Aug 4, 2021
    1
    The new DLC just came and I don't have access to it, and everyone is saying it should unlock automatically, which was not true.
  8. Seyta
    Jul 15, 2021
    0
    I was nostalgic cause I played it on N64 but this one is so bad, so slow, so repetitive...
  9. nahobino5_
    Jun 26, 2021
    1
    This game feels like it was made specifically for 5 year olds. Everything but the graphics is like a downgrade from the previous entry. But even the graphics aren't amazing or anything.
  10. NarHeresh
    Jun 6, 2021
    0
    No se merece ni el titulo de juego, es un fondo de pantalla móvil sobre railes digno de un salvapantallas de los años 80
  11. Xplocion
    Jun 5, 2021
    4
    The good:
    A new Pokemon Snap. You can photograph special Pokemons with silhouettes, shadows, plants (as in the original game)
    The bad: A continuation that no one asked for now (it was requested 5,10,15 years ago), came 20 years later. "New" for being a new game but it is as anachronistic as the original game, if you tell me that it is a Polemon Snap Remake with little monsters from    The good:
    A new Pokemon Snap. You can photograph special Pokemons with silhouettes, shadows, plants (as in the original game)

    The bad:
    A continuation that no one asked for now (it was requested 5,10,15 years ago), came 20 years later.
    "New" for being a new game but it is as anachronistic as the original game, if you tell me that it is a Polemon Snap Remake with little monsters from recent generations, I believe you. Even with the improvements that have been in matters of open worlds and exploration, the game is on rails

    What Meh:
    As a Pokemon fan since GB games, I am bothered by the franchise's excess and overexploitation in ridiculous games like this one. If they give it to you, go ahead, but it is not an essential game in the Pokemon collection    … Expand
  12. Ikarito
    May 23, 2021
    1
    60 USD to take photos of pokemons, nothing more.
    It's like an Android game but the Android games are a lot cheapier
  13. Bushwhakka
    May 15, 2021
    3
    Boring. It is so sad that they charge the same amount for this game and Breath of the Wild. If BOTW is 60 dollars then Pokemon Snap should be 3 dollars. Because that is how much effort they put into this game. I have never felt ripped off by a game in all my decades, but this is the first
  14. BayEzio
    May 12, 2021
    0
    This game is one of the Worst games that is on switch. Don’t waste your money to this sh*t
  15. Kaspi
    May 10, 2021
    3
    This game is a huge step down from the original game. less secrets, more grindy gameplay, lazy "level design" (which is just turning a night filter on) The illumina stuff is fun the first time and then becomes a boring addition that adds nothing but padding. The fact that this game has a higher score than the original is a disgrace and an insult to the classic game
  16. Monachopsis
    May 10, 2021
    0
    Repetitive, boring and shockingly overpriced. I really wish I bought a hard copy, rather than digital, so I could have sold it. My most regrettable Switch title purchase.
  17. SomeDopeMojo
    May 9, 2021
    4
    Does not have puzzle elements and secrets like the original, very lazy directing
  18. Zekroxin
    May 8, 2021
    0
    I would play but i fall Asleep everytime so i just play other Games its not Worth maybe for 10€ yes otherwise man theres really much better Games out there.
  19. dhananjaybawa19
    May 7, 2021
    3
    it's just okay.. gets boring. ends too fast .. would not give it a zero but a three seems fair. might not be for me
  20. CorixAsk
    May 4, 2021
    0
    60 bucks for a photo mode on Pokemon congrats consumer robots keep consuming your daddy Nintendo needs your money
  21. eltabaco
    May 4, 2021
    0
    simplemente antes era un juego que iba con el pokemon stadium de gratis y ahora siendo un juego con no mucho más contenido de ese allá por los 2000´s te lo venden a 50€ lo normal es que la gente pues se cabree de un juego con tan poco que hacer y tan caro en el hecho de repetitivo me diras bueno los rogelike son repetitivos ... si y no cada partida es diferente, desbloqueas nuevas cosas ysimplemente antes era un juego que iba con el pokemon stadium de gratis y ahora siendo un juego con no mucho más contenido de ese allá por los 2000´s te lo venden a 50€ lo normal es que la gente pues se cabree de un juego con tan poco que hacer y tan caro en el hecho de repetitivo me diras bueno los rogelike son repetitivos ... si y no cada partida es diferente, desbloqueas nuevas cosas y lo más importante no parece una atracción de feria movida en railes por un mapa tan corto con solo 3/4 mecanicas.
    relajante quizás para un día de estres pero como juego sinceramente es una basura a ese precio y con ese contenido, no todo es defendible por mucho que te guste una saga.    … Expand
  22. DistantKingDumb
    May 3, 2021
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Many times I have criticized previous Pokémon games for the same problem, so my criteria will be consistent with this one.
    That there are only 200 pokémon and little else, considering that there are currently 1000, is a lack of respect for TPCI when it comes to spin-offs.

    I don't ask for all the existing pokémon to be there, but at least half would have been something more appropriate, as well as more open areas to explore and have some control where we want to go to take photos.
    New Pokémon Snap feels like a short game whose potential was left halfway, in pursuit of making more money with the brand.    … Expand
  23. Ravagon20
    May 3, 2021
    3
    Copy paste copy paste lo mismo de lo mismo..nada nuevo en jugabilidad,Cpiando descaradamente otros juegos de años atras. Cero historia,mismas graficas de un telefono móvil. Si bien es para niños...por lo menos mas calidad!
  24. PotatoPen
    May 3, 2021
    1
    I gave it 1 because I'm a fan of Pokémon, this series should leave the laziness of Nintendo, and gets some Sony high quality love or Microsoft's bigger budget, Nintendo proved again and again that wii was their maximum limit & capability..they cannot do more than that, and I believe that Nintendo still exists because the loyal fans.
  25. GenuineOpinion
    May 2, 2021
    4
    This is a fair, thorough review. The original game was better, here's why:

    1) The developers seem to not understand the point of the game. The game is not the act of taking photos of pokemon. The *game* is more like a puzzle, you're supposed to figure out how to create situations with the pokemon using the tools you've been given. Can't figure out how to move onto the next level? Figure    This is a fair, thorough review. The original game was better, here's why:

    1) The developers seem to not understand the point of the game. The game is not the act of taking photos of pokemon. The *game* is more like a puzzle, you're supposed to figure out how to create situations with the pokemon using the tools you've been given. Can't figure out how to move onto the next level? Figure it out. New Pokemon snap has removed the puzzle solving element of the game almost entirely. Levels are unlocked, not through unique and cool discoveries, but through a mundane leveling system that literally locks certain pokemon from a level until you grind through it a few times....

    not worth writing more.    … Expand
  26. SimilarNickel6
    May 2, 2021
    3
    Thus game should NOT be full price this is a $10 game at most, the game is almost identical to the arcade games we used to play at fun zones arcades or the like but with a skin of Pokémon slammed on top.
    Is boring and repetitive every time i finish a level i expect a message to pop up saying "inseret a coin" this could work great as a mini game inside a mainline pokemon game, other wise is    Thus game should NOT be full price this is a $10 game at most, the game is almost identical to the arcade games we used to play at fun zones arcades or the like but with a skin of Pokémon slammed on top.
    Is boring and repetitive every time i finish a level i expect a message to pop up saying "inseret a coin" this could work great as a mini game inside a mainline pokemon game, other wise is a waste of money    … Expand
  27. RUDYROLLERXx
    May 2, 2021
    0
    60 euros por esta basura Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
  28. nikolas1289
    May 2, 2021
    1
    un robo sin pistola nadie con mas de 3 de iq gastaría 60 dólares en tomar fotos a pokemones por 10 horas lo único bueno son los gráficos
  29. Dovahnoob
    May 2, 2021
    0
    Repetitive and boring. Each course is the exact same each time you play them. Nothing new happens.
  30. LoganWren
    May 2, 2021
    0
    God does this game suck. All you do is take pictures of pokemon! If I wanted to take pictures of animals, I would go outside and do just that! Instead, I wasted 60 dollars, hoping that everyone's constant praise for the game was for a good reason. But no, it wasn't. Not by a long shot. Incredibly slow, incredibly boring, incredibly stupid. The best part about this game was the fact that IGod does this game suck. All you do is take pictures of pokemon! If I wanted to take pictures of animals, I would go outside and do just that! Instead, I wasted 60 dollars, hoping that everyone's constant praise for the game was for a good reason. But no, it wasn't. Not by a long shot. Incredibly slow, incredibly boring, incredibly stupid. The best part about this game was the fact that I could get a full refund on it. Do not buy this piece of trash in a game case. You are just wasting your own time.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

80
#80 Best Switch Game of 2021
7
#7 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
79

Generally favorable reviews - based on 116 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 89 out of 116
  2. Mixed: 27 out of 116
  3. Negative: 0 out of 116
  1. CD-Action
    Dec 7, 2021
    80
    In a nutshell: as a researcher, you travel to various places, interact with wild Pokémon and take photos to document their behavior. This simple concept only works thanks to the Pokémon, but it doesn’t have to be a drawback, because the game shows the world of pocket monsters more realistically and vividly than any title before it. [07/2021, p.72]
  2. Ninty Fresh Magazine
    Dec 3, 2021
    75
    New Pokémon Snap looks beautiful and is packed full of exciting Pokémon, but the increased complexity has brought the game to a grinding halt. [Issue #4, p.51]
  3. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Oct 6, 2021
    90
    New Pokémon Snap isn't totally perfect, but it is a lovingly, intelligently updated take on a now 22-year-old original that only came to life because it was imbued with Mr. Iwata's magic. I know seeing this sequel would have made him smile. [Issue #53 – July/August 2021, p. 69]
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