New Pokemon Snap is a relaxing and fun game for any Pokemon fan. In the game, players are tasked with helping Professor Mirror explore the islands of the Lental region. With your research camera at the ready, you become a Pokemon researcher who explores islands and takes photos of Pokemon in order to learn more about them and the way they live.

You are given unlimited access to the NEO-ONE which is a high tech vehicle that allows you to teleport and survive in all kinds of environments. You do not control the NEO-ONE as New Pokemon Snap is an on-rails game but believe me, you won’t feel restricted in this game at all.

I was never able to play the original Pokemon Snap when it was released back in 1999, so I didn’t feel the nostalgia that many others did when New Pokemon Snap was announced. That definitely doesn’t mean that I wasn’t excited though.

Taking photos of Pokemon is rapidly becoming one of my favourite parts of the day. Who knew trying to take a photo of Magikarp while jumping would be so enjoyable?!

Upon first play, it can be a little overwhelming. There’s Pokemon all around you and you want to take photos of them all. But do not worry, you can return to the same course as many time as you’d like. This can even help you to memorise some of the Pokemon’s hang outs meaning that you can have your camera ready to take the perfect shot next time.

Although taking photos of Pokemon isn’t really all that much of a challenge and requires very little skill, the game does come with little tasks for you to complete which stops it from becoming boring. At the end of each course, you can show your photos to Professor Mirror and he will evaluate them. He bases his evaluation on a range of different things including the size of the Pokemon, other Pokemon features in the photo, the pose and even the placement of the Pokemon.

There’s also a star rating system that is used to evaluate your Pokemon photos. There are four star levels for each Pokémon, and each star level is rated bronze, silver, gold, or platinum. This is where it becomes more of a challenge as it’s not about getting a simple photo of the Pokemon. Sometimes you will need to snap a photo at the perfect time so you can catch the Pokemon in the middle of doing something.

One of my favourite things about this game is simply how cute it is. All of the Pokemon look amazing and there’s even a feature that allows you to edit your photos once you’ve taken them.

There’s filters, stickers and even frames that allow you to edit your photos to make them even cuter. To add to the fun, there’s even a social media style aspect to the game. I keep calling it ‘Pokemon Instagram’ because that’s what it reminds me of. You can upload your snaps to Your Page so that other people can see them and like them. It’s so fun!

Overall, New Pokemon Snap is super addictive and relaxing. It’s a great way to spend time and I can’t wait to spend many more hours playing.

Rating: ★★★★☆