Pokémon Go has been, since its inception, a sport based mostly round neighborhood. At its launch this was by the character of the dimensions and pleasure of its playerbase. Some seven years on, it’s by determined brute pressure, as beleaguered developer Niantic refuses to simply accept the fact of its prime property, and by no means higher displayed than in its annual anticlimactic Pokémon Go Fest occasion. The theme for 2022’s Go Fest was blandness, and the price of admission $15.
2023’s Pokémon Go Fest technically passed off this previous Saturday and Sunday. I say “technically,” as a result of this yr’s “world” occasion felt like a reluctant afterthought following the month’s three earlier single-city occasions that passed off solely in London, Osaka, and New York. Gamers capable of flip as much as a kind of three cities skilled what this previous weekend needed to provide weeks forward of the remainder of the world, in circumstances ideally suited to its design. i.e. locations full of different folks enjoying.
In distinction, this previous weekend’s world occasion was a peculiarly empty-feeling, pale follow-up for anybody lucky sufficient to search out another person to play with. And it had the shock, last-minute twist that in case you had been to London, Osaka, or New York, your further $15 ticket for this previous weekend wouldn’t really safe you one other Diancie—primarily the one motive anybody had paid for entry within the first place.
Learn Extra: Pokémon Go Fest 2023 Is A Reminder The Recreation Is Meant For A Large Metropolis
Go Fest is historically anticlimactic. 2021’s was such a colossal mess that it constructed itself round a questline that might finish in gamers getting the legendary Pokémon, Hoopa, then spectacularly ended with out giving it to them. Saturday‘s programming had you ostensibly placing collectively a Pokémon music live performance, which ended with you attending to see {a photograph} of some Pokémon pretending to be in a band, with out even a tune to go together with it. Then Sunday it was all about catching Hoopa, with a questline that particularly talked about catching Hoopa, and then you definitely didn’t get to catch Hoopa.
2022’s was a extra complicated affair, dragged out over three days throughout two months, and that includes a deeply boring story concerning the sport’s primary character, Professor Willow, having gone lacking. It was higher than 2021’s in some methods—it promised quite a bit much less, and delivered on 4 new Legendaries—nevertheless it was nonetheless complicated to work out precisely what you’d simply spent $15 on.
2023 determined to lean in on the teachings of 2022, and simply make the occasion as outstandingly bland as attainable. With no fascinating build-up, no ongoing storyline, Go Fest this yr performed out much more like a daily month-to-month Neighborhood Day. Professor Willow’s preamble to the occasion on Saturday consisted of, “Hey, it’s good catching Pokémon, isn’t it?” after which at a seemingly random mid-point to the search chain, with seemingly no narrative logic, Diancie confirmed up in your display screen. Then you definitely caught a number of extra Pokémon, together with newbies, and it was completed. There have been Snorlax in cowboy hats (which admittedly was price $15 by itself), Pikachu in crowns, the arrival of Carbink, and, um, that’s about it.
What have been noticeably absent have been any of the intricacies which have grow to be related to the occasion in recent times. There was no selecting of a diverging path at a key second within the story, or choices to favor a specific sort of play to find out the challenges you acquired. There was no sense of a grander narrative round you, or a motive in your actions, nor the suggestion that this was all heading towards one thing important. As a result of it merely wasn’t.
Sunday was stated to be extra centered on raids, which translated to being extra centered on a raid: Mega Rayquaza. Aside from that, the raid monsters have been all those that’d been featured on Saturday: Pikachu, Snorlax, and Carbink. And what raids: At 88,000+ HP, defeating Mega Rayquaza took at the very least six folks, and ideally round 12. And, in fact, defeating a Mega Pokémon all the time ends in the disappointing second when it turns again into its common kind to catch, and Rayquaza’s been within the sport since 2018. So, y’know.
What stood out most to me on each days was simply how desultory the entire occasion felt. The duties have been probably the most generic the sport can provide, from “Spin 5 PokéStops or Gyms,” to “Catch 10 Pokémon,” whereas the Diancie encounter—primarily the one new factor you have been paying for all through your entire occasion—occurred after step 4 of six, the next step supplying you with the mega power you wanted to get Mega Diancie, and the ultimate step supplying you with, nicely, a handful of cosmetics.
Sunday was much more complicated for duties, given Professor Waffle’s abysmally written gibberish saved alluding to Mega Rayquaza, and steps three and 4 provided power for it, the entire occasion didn’t really contain doing something to do with the inexperienced dragon. What it as an alternative repeatedly required, infuriatingly, was reaching super-effective charged assaults, that are only a colossally tiresome facet of the sport. You want to completely type-match your Pokémon and its assaults to a raid, battle, or Staff Rocket encounter, after which seemingly additionally win that battle, and it’s only a ball-ache that few kids and most adults discover an annoying faff.
Shiny charges throughout the occasion have been as random as ever, leaving some gamers catching dozens of the issues, whereas others have been getting none in any respect. Within the group I used to be with, one child obtained nothing all day, regardless of a whole lot of encounters, and was depressing, whereas one other had a number of of every. I managed 14 shinies throughout the 2 days, which was miniscule given the hours spent wanting, though admittedly a kind of was the Rayquaza (and two blips off a shundo).
It was simply so arduous to shake the sensation that we have been wandering round within the reheated leftovers of what Niantic had thought-about the true Go Fest 2023—town occasions. There, the corporate was capable of implement its demand that individuals solely play the sport whereas on foot, endlessly strolling, able-bodied and wealthy sufficient to reside someplace the place that’s protected. And there, in these cities, it really works! Everybody’s enjoying, it’s a neighborhood, and also you’re by no means shy of individuals to crew up with.
In the meantime, in actual life, on Sunday me and my son have been lucky sufficient to stumble upon a gaggle of 4 folks enjoying at one level, and all of us chased down some Rayquaza raids. They then left to get some lunch, and we have been again on our personal, within the city’s busy, central park, the place we noticed nobody else enjoying for hours. Makes an attempt to at the very least get some charged super-effective assaults have been thwarted when the sport determined to not depend them once we didn’t beat the raids alone (we didn’t even dent its well being bar), there have been seemingly no Staff Rocket members spawning all all through the occasion, and we have been caught merely unable to proceed with the challenges.
It appeared noteworthy that in 2021, the hourly challenges required gamers globally to catch 20,000,000 Pokémon. This yr, that quantity was 5,000,000. So someplace at Niantic, they need to know. However the denial that it’s a sport that individuals now want to have the ability to play alone persists, regardless of income reportedly plummeting, and the corporate shedding 230 workers whereas canceling and shutting video games.
Working their one long-term profitable sport as one thing that solely works in case you reside in one in all three main cities on the planet doesn’t appear a wise business selection at this level. And me, I’m left questioning precisely what I spent $15 on (nicely, really, it was £15, so it was $19, because of the pleasant means Niantic likes to fuck over non-U.S. gamers—see additionally coin costs). A Diancie? Um, that’s a really costly drawing of a Pokémon in a sport that’s getting ever much less enjoyable to play.