Pokémon Pokopia is so much more than an Animal Crossing clone

The Pokémon series is, once again, about to evolve. After embracing open-world design and experimenting with real-time combat, The Pokémon Company’s next creative swing is reimagining its monster-collecting series as a cozy life sim. Launching March 5 for Nintendo Switch 2, Pokémon Pokopiaseems poised to capitalize on Animal Crossing: New Horizons‘ breakout success in 2020 by copying some of its notes. It’s a flattering transformation fit for a Ditto, but early trailers have yet to make it clear if Pokopia is much more than a convincing copycat.