As part of Nintendo’s Preview Event for 2026, the most exciting title we got to get our hands on was the upcoming cozy game Pokémon Pokopia. After spending just over an hour with the farming Pokémon sim, I was immediately charmed by its adorable character art, addictive gameplay, and seemingly endless amount of things to do, which has me very excited (and slightly concerned) about the amount of hours I’ll be sinking into this game when it comes out on March 5th.
Pokémon Pokopia is developed by The Pokémon Company, Game Freak and KOEI TECMO GAMES and is an upcoming farming and life-sim coming exclusively to the Nintendo Switch 2 on the 6th of March, 2026.
My hands-on preview session was based on an early-access build provided by Nintendo at their recent preview event.
First Impressions
What first strikes you as you start playing is the premise of this game. While it does feel like Stardew Valley meets Animal Crossing, it has a darker undercurrent, rebuilding the world after humans and the town have completely disappeared. I started the game playing as a Ditto, a shapeshifting Pokémon that can transform into any shape. You can customise your human appearance.
There weren’t many customisable options, but it was an early build, so perhaps there will be more in the final release. After a short tutorial to learn the basics of moving around and jumping, you meet a Tangrowth who feels like the Professor of the game. Giving you hints on where to go, what to do and introducing you to the mechanics of the game.
The goal of the game is to rebuild the world where the Pokémon and humans co-existed by making the environment habitable again and encouraging Pokémon to return. Each Pokémon creates its habitat in the area you build, depending on its abilities. Once you have successfully made them a home, you can then mimic their abilities, which will aid you in creating more habitats, reaching new areas, and attracting more Pokémon to your town.
In the short play time that I had, I was able to find and create habitats for Charmander, Squirtle and Hoothoot. When you find these wild Pokémon, create a habitat and then carry out tasks for them to make them more comfortable so they can establish a habitat. You can then freely decorate outside and inside with various objects; you get bonus points if you pair the items appropriately with the type of power the Pokémon has.
A New Way To Play
This seems like an interesting turn for the Pokémon series. After the less-than-stellar reception for Pokémon Legends Z-A, it’s nice to see the series doing something completely unexpected. The mechanics do feel like they have taken inspiration from the Dragon Quest Builders series, particularly in the opening moments of the game.
Waking up all confused, and the way that blocks of dirt and bricks look. It then morphs into Stardew Valley and Animal Crossing as you collect resources and then craft items to rebuild the town. As you unlock more parts of the town, you then need to create specific items to progress further in certain areas. Sometimes you will need Pokémon that you have befriended to assist you in these tasks, and it can take some time to complete.
We did have some time allotted for multiplayer in this preview, but regrettably, the build wouldn’t connect, and we couldn’t get it to work. Hopefully, I will be able to give more insight into this side of the game when it releases.
Thoughts So Far
Pokémon Pokopia was the surprise of the preview event. While we only got a small taste of what’s to come in the full release, there was enough to keep me intrigued as to how many hours I will be able to sink into the full game. The team at Game Freak has once again reinvented Pokémon with a brand-new game style that is a first for the series. Fortunately, we don’t have to wait too long for the game’s full release on March 6th.
Pokémon Pokopia was played as part of the Nintendo Australia Preview event. You can watch the other games we tested, including Mario Tennis Fever, Virtual Boy, Pragmata and Resident Evil Requiem, below:
Pokémon Pokopia will release exclusively on the Nintendo Switch 2 on the 6th of March, 2026.
