Pokemon Pokopia is both the most recent Pokemon spin-off and the latest Nintendo Switch 2 game to stir a craze. Pokopia takes the approach of cozy life sim with monsters where players control a humanized Ditto and befriend Pokemon to help rebuild a town in ruin.
With the overwhelming popularity that Pokopia has found since release, it is rather interesting to consider other franchises that could take a similar approach. Here are five franchises who could put their own spin on the Pokopia/Animal Crossing-like formula and create a title that is just as loveable as the spin-off.
Dragon Quest
The Dragon Quest series is a perfect fit, as this franchise is quite well-known for having friendly monsters/creatures. Players can build up a town, raise monsters, and assign them helpful roles around the growing community/village. From decorating the houses in the village to running shops and completing quests from villagers as you acquire them, or even monsters, this would create a relaxing and enjoyable gameplay loop.
There are already some similar aspects in Dragon Quest Monsters, which focuses on breeding and raising monsters to fight for you. Dragon Quest Builders, on the other hand, has the player build up a town out of blocks. Combining elements of the two could result in a lovely little experience similar to Pokopia.
Yo-Kai Watch
Yo-Kai Watch is another video game franchise that is similar to Pokemon in the form of having many unique and interesting creatures inhabiting the world. A Yo-Kai Watch take on Pokopia could involve building a friendly town where both humans and Yo-Kai can live together in peace. Quests could involve helping spirits settle, decorating homes in the town, and completing various chores and tasks.
Similar to Pokopia, certain Yokai can also play a part in progression and quests through their different skills, quirks, and personalities. Playful Yokai may play pranks around town or create a mess that you need to maintain. Others could be assigned to various tasks around town. It’s really not that far of a stretch. Plus, it would be nice to see Yo-Kai Watch make its way to more modern consoles, such as the Switch 2.
World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft is home to a high-fantasy world, but what if they were to shift things away from raiding and grindy quests? Such an environment could be perfect for building a peaceful settlement while finding work, raising creatures that inhabit the world, and building a community.
There’s a lot of potential for cozy but engaging mechanics and features, such as decorating homes/designing a village, running a tavern, brewing potions, selling items as a shopkeeper, raising creatures, ranching animals, and more. Similar to Pokopia, players could perhaps befriend unique people and creatures, such as Murlocs, and use their skills and abilities to help build and run their settlement.
The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda is one of the most popular Nintendo game IPs of all time, right up there in the top category alongside both Pokemon and Animal Crossing. What better franchise to join the mix of cozy life-sims than The Legend of Zelda? In a title such as this, players could take on the role of Link in a much more relaxed, cozy experience.
From harvesting resources and farming around Hyrule to befriending Koroks, Gorons, or perhaps even creatures who are usually more hostile, to unlock new areas and complete objectives, Hyrule is the kind of environment that just feels naturally relaxing and cozy for such a setup. Plus, who would say no to a cute, relaxing Zelda game? A chill, ambient soundtrack, the ability to raise animals, craft items, and sell to vendors, while you rebuild a home or a village, sounds like a lovely experience.
Digimon
Let’s face it, Digimon has always been the biggest competitor Pokemon has had, both in the anime and video game fields. With the overwhelming success of the more recent Digimon Story: Time Stranger title, it would be nice to see the franchise possible explore different formulas or spin-off titles.
A cozy Digimon life-sim could function very similarly in which players must befriend Digimon and use their abilities to change the world around them. Unlike Pokopia, which does not feature evolution, a Digimon life-sim could play around with this, perhaps not through battle but through friendship mechanics. Either way, Digimon has a lot of lovable monster designs that could be perfect for a project such as this. Plus, there’s probably the most potential here out of anywhere else, considering the studio behind Time Stranger is expanding and planning additional projects.
The post 5 Games That Could Make a Cozy Life Sim With Monsters, Like Pokopia appeared first on VICE.
