>>38802456This actually made me excited for the game.
The graphics are underwhelming but it's a fucking Pokemon game, it's looked like shit on every console it's been on. As long as the designs are good and the animation aren't complete trash I can live with it.
I'm interested in Pokemon games based on how cute they are, the quality of the new Pokemon, and the design of the overworld. I don't have very high standards for the series. I hated the Gen 6 games and liked SuMo, and this looks like SuMo with a better overworld.
The framing of the story in SuMo was really cute so this game having more of that is a good thing, honestly. Pokemon's always had this very personal and nostalgic feeling of making friends and going on a journey to the big city, so having a group of NPCs you really get to know and a plot thats not "evil organization remaking the universe by capturing god" suits it well. The characters already look charming and the rival seems more likable than Hau so it's off to a good start.
The wild area is really cool too. The story is bound to be linear as shit because it's Pokemon but the routes being wider and full 3D still provides an outlet for secrets and exploration. Dynamic weather and roaming Pokemon help make it feel more alive like Let's Go tried and failed to do, and I'm glad it still has random encounters as well for easy grinding and hunting. It's a good compromise of the current Go direction and the mainline series and what I've imagined a 3D Pokemon game should be for a while.
