New Pokemon Snap is one of the big spring games to come out for the Nintendo Switch, drawing in old-school fans that played the original Nintendo 64 version back in the day. New Pokemon Snap seems to be a modernized version of that title, bringing in many more new Pokemon to the world, and giving players more types of regions to explore.
Today is a big day for excited fans, however, as the game's review embargo has just been lifted, giving people a chance to see critics' opinions on New Pokemon Snap. Is the game just as good as the original, or are there some new features that are lacking? Fans will be happy to know that the Switch game is currently sitting at a Metacritic score of 80, so it seems that most critics would agree that New Pokemon Snap is a great game overall. However, some critics thought differently.
Down below, readers can find a round-up of several New Pokemon Snap scores from various outlets, so that they can see the pros and cons from different reviewers:
TheGamer (Cian Maher)
"New Pokemon Snap has issues when it comes to tedium between courses, arbitrary solutions, and boring, barely functional extra mechanics, but the courses and Pokemon are legitimately incredible. The Photodex is a marvel, multiplayer creates healthy competition for replayability, and just being able to inhabit Lental is a spectacle in and of itself. I’m not sure I’d recommend it to someone who can’t tell Bagon from Beldum, but if you’re a born and bred Pokemon fan, New Pokemon Snap could be your sleeper hit of the year."
Score: 4/5
VG247 (Alex Donaldson)
"If you’re the sort of player who got really mad about the national Pokedex in Sword & Shield, you might also bemoan the level of content here. But I think this is plenty, delivering far more than the original and with a whole lot of replay value – it’s just a shame the developers felt the need to stretch it out artificially to justify what they’ve managed to build. Even with the grind, I do adore this game, though. It’s a video game safari that manages to evoke the sense of wonder of the real thing. It’s a worthy successor to the beloved original; a comforting, gorgeous, lovely little thing that soars when it just basks in its core conceit and lets you at its content."
Score: 4/5
Nintendo World Report (John Rairdin)
"New Pokemon Snap is exactly what the name implies. It is a new Pokemon Snap and that’s it. It doesn’t reinvent the gameplay, nor does it add to it or even clean it up. Quality of life issues that were present in 1999 stand proudly untouched in 2021. That being said, if you just wanted another Pokemon Snap, this is exactly that. It is significantly bigger than the original, and photo editing options in combination with Twitter and Facebook integration make it a somewhat more social experience. While it is easy to say this is the definitive Pokemon Snap experience, I can’t help but find myself wanting something that truly feels new rather than simply more. New Pokemon Snap is a loyal-to-a-fault sequel, that hopefully harkens to something a bit more adventurous down the line."
Score: 7.5/10
Twinfinite (Rebecca Stone)
"I think at first fans will be critical of the number of unique courses in the game. However, when you consider the number of course variations, branching paths, and differences in research levels, it is easy to see that there’s a lot of content here (much more than there was in the original game) and enough, in my opinion, to justify a $60 purchase... New Pokemon Snap is easy to recommend to a wide audience. It’s a fun game for Pokemon fans, a worthy sequel for those who enjoyed the original, and a unique experience for those who are looking for something new to pick up and play in short bursts."
Score: 4/5
Screenrant (Zackerie Fairfax)
"New Pokémon Snap is a stunning experience that, at its best, feels like Pokémon for the first time. It's a little awkward to start, and the number of Pokémon on screen at one time can feel overwhelming, but it quickly becomes a relaxing and enjoyable trip through a newly discovered region. Despite not having the intense battle sequences of mainline entries in the series, New Pokémon Snap is just as exciting and challenging as a traditional creature battler. New Pokémon Snap is a game that Pokémon fans will fall in love with, while anyone put off by the battling aspect of the franchise will find a game that extolls the aesthetic virtues of the series in a much calmer, often engaging manner."
Score: 4.5/5
So far, most critics seem to agree that while New Pokemon Snap is a much prettier version of the original with some added bells and whistles, it's ultimately the same game when it comes down to it. Players will ride a machine that takes them through various locales to snap photos of Pokemon to then get those photos ranked by the professor. If diehard Pokemon Snap fans are excited to jump in, they'll most likely enjoy the content available here, but for new players, it might feel a bit repetitive and somewhat grindy at times.
At the end of the day, New Pokemon Snap is still a Pokemon game, which means that it's bound to sell plenty of copies, especially since there are many Nintendo Switch's out there in the wild that have been sold. And thanks to the social media, photo editing, and online implementations this time around, people can expect lots of posts on Twitter and Instagram with fans sharing their beloved Poke-photos.
New Pokemon Snap will release exclusively for the Nintendo Switch on April 30, 2021.