I think I’ve been luckier than most when it comes to 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:New Pokemon Snap. My top five Pokemon (168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Gardevoir, Sylveon, Absol, Milotic, and Gengar, if you wanted to confirm I have excellent taste), are all in the base game. Gyarados, my sixth favourite, probably should have b🅘een, but joins in the first DLC anyway. For most people though, their favourites haven’t made the cut, but that&r♈squo;s a good thing - New Pokemon Snap is brilliant at spotlighting unusual ‘mons, and the three new levels that recently arrived i𒁃n the free update are no different.

Some major ‘mons remain absent. While Gyarados makes the cut - 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:as well as S👍norl𒅌ax and its strange teeth - most of the new arrivals are relatively average ‘mons. Shroomish, Drilbur, Swalot, Crustle, Salazzle, Scolipede, and Tropius are all fairly forgettable, yet they’re here for the DLC. With only 20 new Pokemon arriving, it must have been tempting for the developer to go with big hitters instead. Yet the choice to go with relative nobodies ꦗfor the new stages underlines exactly what New Pokemon Snap has always excelled at.

Related: I Can't Believe New Pokemon Snap Still Doesn't Have ShiniesMewtwo, Lucario, Rayquazza, Garchomp, Mimikyu, and Greninja are all frequently mentioned when it comes to ‘most popular Pokemon’. None of them feature in the photography sim. In fact, Greninja - a serious contender to Pikachu and Charizard for the single most popular Pokemon - is not only absent, the en🌠tire Kalos starter family doesn’t make the cut. A whole region’s starter trio, one of the most important Pokemon categories, is completely absent from the 234 strong roster. Vivallion, Swanna, Bounsweet, Unfezant, Crabawler, Stunfisk, Sandygast, and Clawitzer are there though, aye? Great, I’ve alway🐎s wanted to do a cover shoot with Stunfisk.

new-pokemon-snap-barren-badlands-all-pokemon

With New Pokemon Snap though, the unpopularity is the point. It’s not that the game has chosen Swanna because it knows everybody is indifferent to it, but because Swanna fits what the game is trying to do. I don’t t𝄹hink it’s consciously trying to spotlight underrated Pokemon, but through💟 its storytelling, it’s impossible not to.

New Pokemon Snap excels at telling stories and allowing you to crඣeate your own. The actual narrative is bland, and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:the human cast is terrible. Phil is the worst ‘rival&𒆙rsquo; I’ve ever seen - please 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:bring back Silver - and 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Todd Snap is a fraud. It’s storytelling is instead done out in the wild, with all the different Pokemon interactions. 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Grookey, for example, is everyon✅e’s mate, and plays with a variety of different mons across the game. In 🐬168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Outaway Cave, Pokemon’s best cave in🅷 years, you need to lure out Diancie to𝕴 g꧋et past Mawile - these ‘mons are picked not because they’re beloved, but because they work for the story.

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The new DLC doubles down on this philosophy, designing the levels first and the 'mons second. We've had a lot of watery levels, but nothing where we're pulled along by the current of a river, and so 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Mightywide River joins the party, and suitable Pokemon - popular are not - are added to it. The shrinking level has a big n♔ame star in Snorlax, but aside from that it introduces Shroomish and Foongus, because the pint-sized mushroom 'mons are the best fit for this mechanic in Florio Nature Park. New Pokemon Snap has made consistently smart choices, from its level design to its roster to its interactions. The smart thing to do nex𝔍t would be to take us into space for the next update, and if it does, it will undoubtedly add 'mons that fit instead of launching the Pokemon that sell the most cuddly toys into orbit.

Swalot is in the game because the new level suits it perfectly, and because the devs get 🔯to have a lot of photogenic fun with it. You could dump Lucario on the map, but it wouldn’t be the same. New Pokemon Snap isn’t about taking pictures of your favourite Pokemon, it&ꦬrsquo;s about taking pictures of Pokemon and finding new favourites in the process.

Next: New Pokemon Snap Should Be A Proper Live Serviꩲce Game