New Pokemon Snap has been out for a few months now and is getting its first big content update. On August 3rd, players can look forward to logging into New Pokemon Snap and finding some completely new features to play with, areas to explore, and of course, Pokemon to photograph. The update is completely free, so no one is getting left out.
Rumors have been circulating for quite some time about a DLC coming for New Pokemon Snap, and that might still be coming in the future, but for now, the content update is an exciting addition. While New Pokemon Snap got mostly positive reviews and is a delightful game to relax with, many fans were disappointed in the number of levels and the amount of Pokemon featured in them. New Pokemon Snap did a lot to keep levels exciting by having day/night options and including a lot of secrets to uncover, but many players still found themselves missing their favorites.
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In addition to some cool new features, like being able to shrink the NEO-ONE so that small Pokemon appear massive, the new update promises to add 20 new species to New Pokemon Snap. That means players who've completed their Photodex will need to pick up the game again and can expect at least 80 new photo opportunities.
All 20 Pokemon haven't been officially revealed yet, but the update trailer did showcase a handful of the Pokemon that are being added. Many of them are smaller additions, but there are several fan-favorites. So far, 8 out of the 20 new Pokemon have been confirmed, including Rockruff, Swalot, Snorlax, Gyarados, Psyduck, Shroomish, Feraligatr, and Tropius.
Snorlax, Gyarados, and Psyduck are probably the most exciting Pokemon revealed so far as they're all from Generation 1. Gyarados in particular was conspicuously absent from New Pokemon Snap, considering that Magikarp was featured in multiple levels. Where there are Magikarp to be found, there must be a Gyarados somewhere.
The same still applies to many of the Pokemon featured in the game, with only one evolutionary form being featured. That's one thing about New Pokemon Snap that didn't work particularly well because as a safari simulator, it doesn't make sense to have an unevolved Pokemon without also showing the adult version, or vice versa. The original game also had a feature that allowed players to trigger Pokemon evolutions, which is absent from New Pokemon Snap.
New Pokemon Snap also featured a handful of Legendary Pokemon that could be discovered, so hopefully, this new update adds at least one or two more. Raikou and Entei were noticeably missing while Suicune was featured, so maybe the remaining members of the Legendary Dog trio will make it into the game this time. Similarly, it would be nice to see Zygarde and Yveltal, considering that they are often seen with Snap's featured Legendary, Xerneas.
Given that the base New Pokemon Snap game only has about 200 Pokemon, there are still hundreds that could be added to the game. New Pokemon Snap might not have space for all of them, but several of the stages are still feeling a little bit empty. The addition of completely new stages would be more than welcome as well.
In order to keep New Pokemon Snap relevant and exciting, Bandai Namco should look into adding even more Pokemon into the mix. The free update is a great first step and will definitely get players to go back to the game, but even bigger updates could be made with a full-fledged DLC or consistent, but smaller updates that slowly expand the world.
New Pokemon Snap was creative in how it handled the limited amount of Pokemon it featured by implementing three different research levels. Depending on the player's level, different Pokemon appear and behave in various ways. It's a great way to keep things fresh, but regularly adding in new Pokemon could take an already amazing game one step further.
New Pokemon Snap is now available on Nintendo Switch.
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