New Pokémon Snap: Pocket Monster Photo Safari for the Switch

New Pokémon Snap

Do you want to be the very best like no one has been before? You catch it all by yourself, you know the danger? Do you maybe even roam the whole country and search far and wide for the Pokémon - to understand - what gives it this power? Then you are exactly right here! No, as the title suggests, of course, it's not about the next big Pokémon main game. Such a thing is currently not announced (however, it is very much remakes of the fourth generation for the Switch and Pokémon legends: Arceues, also for the hybrid console).

Table of contents

1 What is the? 2 The gameplay 3 A story? 4 Preview impressions No, instead we had the opportunity to take a closer look at another pocket monster game that was announced some time ago, namely New Pokémon Snap, at an online preview event. We weren't able to play ourselves yet, but we got around 25 minutes of gameplay from the adventure game, and we also had the opportunity to ask our questions to a representative from The Pokémon Company. He was clearly trying to answer detailed questions very precisely - the same applies to the pre-produced video, in which the various gameplay elements were explained in detail.

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What is it?

But first of all it is important to explain what New Pokémon Snap (buy now 59.90 €) actually is. It may sound surprising to long-time Pokémon fans (aged 25+), but not every pocket monster player knows the original or the first part for the venerable Nintendo 64. Developed at the time by HAL Laboratory and released for Nintendo's 64-bit box in spring 1999, Pokémon Snap had one particular powerful selling point: to display Pokémon in 3D and on the "big" screen.

Fan favorite Pikachu must of course not be missing in New Pokémon Snap! A total of over 200 different Pokémon from all generations are represented. Source: Nintendo Groß in quotation marks because, at the end of the 1990s, tube televisions in four-to-three format were still common, and rarely had a screen diagonal greater than 60 centimeters. Yes, back then the size of a television was usually not given in inches. Nowadays, of course, quite different, as LCD and OLED devices over 55 inches (that's almost 140 centimeters, by the way!) Can be found in most households, 4K resolution, dynamic HDR image, smart features and co . And they're cheaper than some tube TVs at the time, but that's not the point here.

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In the special including video you can find out which new Switch game highlights you can look forward to in the new year 2021. var lstExcludedArticleTicker = '1368509,1365095,1364032,1363235'; In other words: The basic requirements will be completely different in 2021, not only because of modern televisions, but also because of the Pokémon themselves. Little monsters in 3D, what should be special about it? A legitimate question in view of current Pokémon titles such as Sword & Shield, where the pocket monsters are of course shown in three dimensions. But that was different in 1999, when a lot of imagination was necessary. All over the world, gamers were used to mostly single-color Game Boy graphics, in an 8-bit look. What triggers nostalgic joys nowadays was back then the tough reality of technical limitations. And so the experience of seeing the beloved little monsters (apart from anime series and films) on the "big" television in their natural habitats felt lifelike (of course not really), a really impressive experience. And so back to New Pokémon Snap: Of course, it doesn't work the way it did back then. So the game has to score with other advantages in order to convince.

The gameplay

The premise is still the same for the Switch Snap: As a newcomer on an island, you make yourselves On behalf of a professor, who in this case goes by the name Mirror, on a photo safari through the different areas. Wild Pokémon live there and you have to take the best picture possible. Your vehicle, the Neo-One, shows the way, so you don't really move freely in the game world. This has an advantage because you can concentrate fully on the Pokémon photography. You can control the camera by classic control with the left analog stick or optionally with motion control, zooming is also possible with the shoulder button.

Recommended editorial content Here you will find external content from [PLATTFORM]. To protect your personal data, external integrations are only displayed if you confirm this by clicking on "Load all external content": Load all external content I consent to external content being displayed to me. This means that personal data is transmitted to third-party platforms. Read more about our privacy policy . External content More on this in our data protection declaration. You can encounter and photograph more than 200 different Pokémon, including special forms such as Alola Raichu. When working in the field, you don't just have to rely on the camera and the Neo-One, you can also use items like the apple or a melody function to get the wild pocket monsters to do something special, for example to dance. That in turn makes your snapshots prettier. After one round, you face Professor Mirror and his rating of your photos, one to four stars are awarded for each picture, depending on the performance. A total of eight criteria are used, including, for example, the position, size and viewing direction of the Pokémon.

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The more photos different monsters you shoot and evaluate, the higher your researcher level increases. This in turn unlocks completely new levels, as well as alternative routes to areas that are already accessible. You can explore the levels at different times of the day and night, which are not always the same. This means that while you are discovering a level, for example during day or night, you can choose between noon and sunset during another, and night and sunrise during another. After every safari you have the opportunity to edit your photos to adjust brightness, focus, blur, filters and more. In addition, stickers and frames are available to further embellish the pictures, and you can also assign a title. The Lumina spheres are a new item. With their help, you can make wild Pokémon beautifully light, which looks especially great at night. Source: Nintendo

You can optionally, but not necessarily, share photos online. You can assign and receive likes, especially popular snapshots are presented to all players on a separate start page. A paid Nintendo Switch online subscription is required to use the online features. Regardless of this, you can of course publish screenshots from the game directly on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter at the switch's system level in order to share your favorite moments from New Pokémon Snap with the world.

One Story?

There is also a story, you could also call it the main task, as we learned in a question-and-answer session after the video presentation. Too much has not yet been revealed, but in New Pokémon Snap we have to complete the so-called Fotodex, i.e. a Pokédex, only with photos instead of captured monsters. Since we're also dealing with a rival who goes by the name of Phil, there should be more story elements. Plus, there's Rita, Professor Mirror's research assistant. In any case, New Pokémon Snap is a pure single-player adventure, there is no multiplayer either locally or online. So if you were hoping to go on a photo safari as a couple, look into the tube.

Preview impressions

Speaking of looking into the tube: looking into the camera viewfinder and watching the wild Pokémon Taking photos should be as much fun in New Pokémon Snap as it was on the Nintendo 64 over 20 years ago. During the 25-minute gameplay video, we felt we were used to feeling again and again, namely the joy of portraying and staging well-known pocket monsters in a natural-looking environment. At first glance, the different times of day and night are a nice step forward. Not only do you meet different little monsters in the same levels, the atmosphere is always different. We got to feel that at the (presumably first) level "Blushing Beach", to which the video presentation was limited. The atmosphere is great, especially at night, and pretty snapshots are possible, also because Pokémon can be made to glow with the new Lumina balls. Anyone who owns a television or screen with adapted RBGW lighting will have a lot of fun with it. Aside from exploring, you can beautify your photographs with various tools, for example with filters. Source: Nintendo

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How many different levels there are in the game was unfortunately revealed when asked at the preview event not revealed, there are probably as many as the N64 original, at that time seven areas were available. Each level can be explored on different routes, some of which you have to unlock first. Each route, the gameplay video conveyed, should be completed in under ten minutes. When asked, we were told that all levels were similar in size to "Blushing Beach". So that means: New Pokémon Snap will certainly not be the most extensive game of all time, but it doesn't have to be, because quantity is not synonymous with quality. Older players in particular with professional, family and other obligations may even be more than happy about it. In addition, the game shouldn't be particularly demanding or even difficult, we quickly got this impression at the online event. In addition to the nostalgic older Pokémon fans, the developers will definitely want to take the younger ones with them too. This should work with New Pokémon Snap without any problems.