Pokemon Go 2 could be the clean break the game needs

Pokemon Go 2 may seem unlikely, but it could be the answer to all of the ongoing concerns about the game. A sequel to Pokemon Go could be monumental for the franchise.

If you’ve been playing Pokemon Go since it came out in 2016, you’ll have seen it go through a huge number of changes.

Some of these changes have been fantastic, and they’ve introduced exciting elements into the game, while others – like the now infamous avatar update – have gone down badly with the player base who feel let down by the quality of content and attention to detail.

Whatever your stance is on Pokemon Go right now, it’s hard to deny that there is a lot to keep tabs on when playing. Put simply, the game feels massive – but not necessarily in a good way. Pokemon Go feels quite bloated right now, with unnecessary screens and lengthy animations.

Keeping track of your items, Pokemon, Eggs, and Tasks, is a lot of conscious effort, and even understanding Pokemon stats takes a good while. Information is hidden behind lengthy animations and split-up in-between screens, and it’s hard to engage with the game unless you’re willing to sink lots of time into it.

That’s not to say it’s a bad game by any means. One of the main reasons why I write about Pokemon Go so often is I absolutely adore it – Pokemon is a huge part of my life, both as a gamer and as a journalist, so I want Go to thrive for many years to come.

It just feels too cluttered and busy at times, though, and this sentiment is echoed by other players in the community. A recent fan discussion introduced the idea of a complete game overhaul, pointing out issues like tedious stat-checking, underwhelming graphics, and a lack of depth.

One fan discussed how they felt trying to find Pokemon ratings and statistics, noting “The UI is very poor and it is too easy to close out the appraisal with either the direction or the star. Not to mention bugs where the game hangs for up to 15 seconds.”

Niantic

It’s a fascinating idea. Could we see a complete overhaul — or even an entirely new game? It’s important to note that this is speculation; nothing official about this has been mentioned by Niantic. The idea of Pokemon Go 2 has been kicking around for a few years, though, and it could be the perfect way to revitalize the title.

Out of all the fan complaints and issues looked at for the research portion of this article, one of the most common issues was how nothing in Pokemon Go feels streamlined. There’s nothing overtly terrible, but there are lots of small details and processes that could be improved upon drastically.

A brand new Pokemon Go title would give Niantic the time to flesh out a sturdy foundation for the game and build it with player ease in mind. Commonly critiqued elements like the Egg system and Shadow Raids could be fixed from the get-go, and more options for graphics and characters could be provided, too.

It’s important to remember that Pokemon Go has been around for well over seven years now, which is a long time for a mobile game. The gameplay ideas and artwork have improved tenfold since then, but the foundation could be enhanced greatly.

It’s highly unlikely that we’ll ever see a sequel to Pokemon Go, though. Generally, live-service mobile games don’t ever go down this route, and we’re much more likely to see further updates, tweaks, and alterations. It is set to be a fantastic year for Pokemon Go, after all, with plenty of interesting events.

A fan can dream, though — Pokemon Go 2 could be just what the title needs. If Niantic made a sequel and ensured that players could transfer over Pokemon, items, and poses, chances are it would go down well with the community, too. I’d love to see this in the future, no matter how unlikely it feels, but I’d settle for some solid updates, too.