OK so, as for the game itself FINALLY releasing after it being seemingly cancelled for good alongside Detective Pikachu 2 after they were both revealed in the Pokémon Press Conference in 2019, I think it 𝘪𝘴 great to see it come out at all.

Especially considering how they positioned it in it's reveal, being snuck into a Pokémon GO Milestone sizzle real. As this being a rather 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 game to Pokémon GO. With Pokémon GO being positioned as the game you play when you go outside, whereas Pokémon Sleep, being positioned as the game you play when you 𝘦𝘯𝘥 your day. So in that mindset, yeah, it does make sense why they'd attempt this with the goal of a somewhat companion game to another game while ensuring the two would be RADICALLY different. Because, yeah. As it currently stands from my experiences and from what I've seen, there really isn't a 𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦 quite like Pokémon Sleep.

And I feel that there would be some debate as to whether this could even be considered a "𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘦" per say. Because a lot about it feels like essentially a sleeping app. However, taking into account other things in general in nature of life that 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 been turned into gaming experiences before, like fitness, something like the heart measuring meters in Ring Fit Adventure, is especially doing a similar thing to what Apple Health does after you exercise. Only also, adding the exercising to an RPG experience, making Ring Fit Adventure quite unique as both a legit exercising tool, as well as a stand out game among the other fitness games out there.

Different comparison points for sure, but that definitely does show that something like that 𝘤𝘢𝘯 be turned into a game built around it. Now, of course, a key difference between that and Pokémon Sleep, is that, you're actually 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 when doing the exercise. Where as here, as the title suggest, you're sleeping. Making it a bit questionable how this would attest as an interactive experience if you're not 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 with it, but rather 𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 alongside it. Though to that I'd say, that sleeping to it, 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 be interacting with it. With how not only does it try to 𝘱𝘶𝘵 you to sleep, but also with how it reads HOW you sleep and applies it to it's "mechanics" one could say.

With how there's VASTLY different ways people sleep by nature (face above face bellow, sideways, curled up, etc) as WELL as the amount of time someone would spend on either regular sleeping or a nap, that, by nature, makes everyone's experience with Pokémon Sleep unique. And Pokémon Sleep TAKES said uniqueness of every sleeper into account. With how it associates a type of Pokémon to specific Sleep Types as it calls them and how that matches with you.

And with how it detecting how you sleep, as well as the sounds you make, adds to a beating goal of completing a Pokédex, much like most Pokémon games, makes it so that you may think about switching the way you sleep in order to GET said Pokémon. So far I've only done one Sleep with this game, so I'll definitely come back to it once I've had more time with it, but so far after that session it has 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘶𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘺 put me to think about the ways I can 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 my sleeping routine in order to complete the Pokédex. maybe sleep facing up, take more naps than usual, sleep 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘳 than usual, etc. Something that I wouldn't have 𝘥𝘰𝘯𝘦 had this been JUST a sleep tracking app. But BECAUSE of it's interactivity and how different Sleep Types apply to 𝘪𝘵, what you're working towards and the rewards you get (the Pokémon you catch, not to mention there being SHINNIES you can obtain), I would truly say that, yes, this IS a game. Offering an experience quite unique for what it sets out to do, and while I haven't dived deep into it yet, for the first Sleeping session with it, I really liked my time with this game so far.

Now, as for 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 aspects of the game itself 𝘣𝘦𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘥 the sleeping, what else is there? Well, for starters I really like the presentation this game has. Every Pokémon and part of the environment having this Line-less style, in addition to each and every one of them having their own unique sleeping animation tied to their sleep type (with so far 4 different sleep types variables for EACH Pokémon) is a nice attention to detail. And there's even also a Curry Dex in a way, returning from Pokémon: Sword & Shield, being the main food you give to Snorlax, with the rest of the Pokémon getting Berries. And I think it's a nice addition to have as an 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢 side objective for this type of game. And it fits in pretty well.

I also really like Professor Neroli's design. It's simple but cute and I like the way he sticks out from other Pokémon Professors, even considering Spin off Only ones like Nia from Pokken Tournament. His vibe applied to studying the sleep styles is quite charming and I love his personality and how parts of his design align with his passion for the side of sleeping like the Snorlax Sleep Mask.

Now, when it comes to the tutorial side of things, yeah. it IS quite heavy tbh. More than I was expecting. And some of it 𝘸𝘢𝘴 a bit too long all things considered, especially when I just wanted to go to sleep with it. But the latter middle parts of it preparing you to sleep with the right instructions, I think makes perfect sense and were well done all things considered. With the 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 specific steps this app detailed to require when it's trailer released, it's nice that they made sure that it was everywhere and easily understood by everyone trying the app out.

Now, as for the bad side of thing of this game so far, yes, there 𝘪𝘴 a part emphasized on Micro-Transactions in here. Even having a "Sleep Pass" which, I NEVER had expected to hear those words ever in my life, but, here we are. All things considered so far it's not something that's required or seemingly pushed to be THAT necessary. One night in and so far I'd be totally content with how it is right now without payment. Although, I sort of said the same thing for Pokemon GO, and a few months later the signs of pushing me to pay more were starting to show more easily. So like I said, it'll all depend with my time spent with it and how it goes from there.

And also, idk if this is just me, but so far I'm a bit disappointed with how the Curry Dex of sorts is handled. I thought there would be some cool mini-game with the touch screen having to cook it, similarly to how it's done in Sword & Shield, and ESPECIALLY considering that the developer's last game (SELECT BUTTON) was Pokémon: Magikarp Jump, a solid game working with a restrictive concept of just using Magikarp's Splash, and turned into a solid high score based game, so I hoped for something akin to that applied to the Curry cooking portion, especially when, again, taking into account it being like that in Sword & Shield to begin with. But instead the only option I was able to select was the automatic one, which turned into a loading screen I wasn't able to get out of. Now, there IS another option I wasn't allowed to choose the first, time, but on-wards after that I can, so maybe THAT one 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 have the mini game of sorts I'm hoping for, but I'll just have to wait and see.

And, this isn't really a critique with the game, more so something I found
𝘰𝘥𝘥, being that, due to the setting of the game it's sets it so each and every time per week you have to go to a different Island to sleep and gather different Pokémon from each island. And like, this isn't a 𝘣𝘢𝘥 setup by any means and it fits well with the research topic at hand here, but also, I question if it really had to be this way, when it could have been something more like Pokémon Snap, where multiple time is spent on one island rather than just one Photography section. And I feel like that would have helped the UI of the part progression feel a bit more organic. Because as it is, the island swapping part when it comes to the UI, while perfectly fine, 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 feel a bit sluggish, whereas with how it was in Pokémon Snap, I feel that it might have been a bit quicker and more organic feeling.

And while this hasn't impacted me, seeing on the patch notes that people were having issues where the app stopped functioning after something like receiving a friend request from someone with over 50 friends, feels a bit iffy. Hopefully they can figure out the stability of this game so that it stays consistently solid.

And, another thing to note when it comes to this game, is that as you may be able to tell by it's name, being that, by it's inherent nature, it's not a game you're going to play constantly. It's a game meant to be experienced a few times a day. Which fits into the perspective with how they positioned and developed this game with in mind. That of being a 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 piece to Pokémon GO. And even though you may not even like or even 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 Pokémon GO, it's companion like design will be very apparent to you once you play it.

Will this be BIG enough to stick around 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 Pokémon GO? That remain to be seen. And how did this game took about 4 years to come out I have NO idea. My guess would be that when trying to figure out the concept they had to scrap and restart it multiple times until they got the right structure for this project. In which I 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 say they succeeded. And maybe also the fact that this game being rather difficult to think about 𝘩𝘰𝘸 to show it and release it, that in tangent may have also affected the 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 to show it and release it.

And now, as for why Detective Pikachu 2 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 likewise took 4 years to come out?...idk I guess we'll find out in a developer interview or something lol

But all things considered, this is a pretty unique and solid little game. And an idea that I'm genuinely surprised by it's creative use and implementation and hopefully it inspired of other uses of Sleeping as a game mechanic in the future in other games. And it's a game that I feel everyone should give a try at least once. And I'll definitely stick by it for the following nights whenever I can and I'll update this with my thoughts after a good couple of sessions.