Pokemon Go Fest 2021 Was One Of The Game’s Best Events Yet

Outdoors of a handful of official in-person gatherings across the globe, 2021 marked the second yr operating that Pokemon Go Fest–the Pokemon cell recreation’s greatest annual event–was largely held just about. Though developer Niantic has historically hosted Go Fests at real-world venues, the COVID-19 pandemic compelled the corporate to pivot to a digital format for 2020’s occasion. Regardless of the impromptu shift, Pokemon Go Fest 2020 turned out fairly properly, and Niantic constructed upon the teachings it realized final yr to make Pokemon Go Fest 2021 top-of-the-line occasions it is ever held for the sport.

Simply as final yr, the festivities had been unfold throughout two days, with totally different actions and Pokemon out there throughout every. Day 1 featured rotating digital habitats that shifted hourly and altered up what sorts of Pokemon appeared within the wild. In lieu of exploring exterior, this was a intelligent approach of simulating the expertise of wandering into a brand new setting and stumbling upon totally different Pokemon. Like final yr, it was enjoyable to test in all through the day to see which monsters I’d encounter.

Day 2, nonetheless, was the true spotlight. In distinction to final yr’s occasion, which was “interrupted” by a Staff Go Rocket takeover, day 2 of Pokemon Go Fest 2021 revolved fully round Legendaries. Each Legendary Pokemon that has appeared in Pokemon Go up to now returned to Raid Battles all through the day, which made for a fittingly epic technique to have fun the sport’s fifth anniversary. For a fairly informal participant like myself, who had seldom been capable of wrangle collectively sufficient individuals to finish a Legendary Raid previous to this yr’s Go Fest, the sheer prevalence of Raids was thrilling, and I loved spending the day raiding and filling out my Legendary assortment.

A part of what made this yr’s Go Fest really feel worthwhile was the truthful monetization. Whereas some parts of the occasion had been open to all gamers, you actually wanted to buy a digital ticket to get essentially the most out of it. Nevertheless, whereas tickets for final yr’s Go Fest ran for $15 USD (a reasonably steep value for what was in the end a wholly in-game expertise), Niantic decreased the price of a ticket to solely $5 USD for this yr’s occasion. On high of that, the studio generously doled out free objects all through. Due to in-game challenges, you can earn as much as eight free Distant Raid Passes throughout day 2, which made it all of the extra engaging to take part in Raid Battles. Whereas final yr felt a little bit missing relative to the asking value, Go Fest 2021 greater than justified its price of entry.

However what actually made the occasion gratifying was the presentation. Niantic has change into fairly expert at making Go Fests really feel like particular events, and that was definitely true for this yr’s celebration. All through your entire occasion, confetti and fireworks stuffed the sky on the map display, and in a pleasant contact tying again into the occasion’s musical theme, the background monitor differed relying on which of the 2 diverging paths–Rock Star or Pop Star–you selected.

Niantic additionally cleverly used the occasion to set the stage for extra actions to come back in Pokemon Go, specifically the debut of the Legendary Pokemon Hoopa. Whereas it did not make a bodily look throughout this yr’s Go Fest, the Legendary Pokemon loomed over day 2 of the occasion. Hoopa’s rings had been omnipresent within the sky, and Professor Willow defined the Legendaries’ sudden return as Hoopa’s handiwork. It is nonetheless unclear when precisely Niantic plans to introduce Hoopa to the sport, however integrating it into the story of the sport’s greatest occasion was a wise technique to construct pleasure for its eventual debut.

All of those parts mixed to make this yr’s Pokemon Go Fest really feel particular, and it was my favourite occasion within the recreation but. It appears to have been a rousing success for Niantic, as properly. Because the developer detailed in a weblog put up, gamers collectively caught greater than 1.5 billion Pokemon and walked greater than 125 kilometers throughout this yr’s occasion, dwarfing final yr’s numbers. Here is hoping Niantic continues to construct upon these successes for future Go Fests and retains a digital part to the occasion, even when restrictions ease and issues return to regular.

GameSpot was offered a complimentary ticket for Pokemon Go Fest 2021 by the developer.