Article

New Pokémon Snap turns a camera into a safari adventure

1 October 2026

Ride through beaches, jungles, deserts, and glowing caves while photographing wild Pokémon and building a colourful Photodex in New Pokémon Snap.

I expected New Pokémon Snap to be a quiet game about taking nice pictures. Then a Pikachu turned away at the exact second I pressed the button, another Pokémon leapt into the shot, and my careful photo became a brilliant accident. This game feels less like a normal Pokémon adventure and more like a safari where anything can happen.

Instead of catching Pokémon or battling trainers, your main job is taking photos. You travel around the Lental region in a little research pod called the NEO ONE. It follows a set path, so you can concentrate on looking in every direction and using your camera. Pokémon wander through beaches, jungles, deserts, forests, caves, and other colourful habitats. Some are obvious, while others are hiding behind rocks or sleeping in a corner that is easy to miss.

Looking everywhere matters

The best part is how alive each course feels. A Pokémon might be splashing in the water on one trip, then doing something completely different when you return. Looking behind the pod can be just as important as staring ahead. I like that the game rewards curiosity without making everything stressful. There is still a rush when a rare moment appears, but you do not have to worry about losing a battle because you pressed the wrong move.

Professor Mirror checks the photos at the end of each research trip. The score depends on things like the Pokémon’s pose, its size in the picture, where it is facing, and how well it sits in the frame. A blurry photo of a tiny Pokémon disappearing into the distance probably will not win any awards. A close picture of one doing a funny or unusual action can earn more stars and points.

That scoring system makes taking photos surprisingly tactical. You need to decide whether to press the button immediately or wait for a better pose. Waiting can give you an amazing shot, but it can also mean the Pokémon vanishes behind a tree. I have had plenty of game moments where being patient helped, but New Pokémon Snap makes patience feel like the whole adventure.

Tiny tricks create big moments

The camera is not your only tool. You can toss fluffruit to get a Pokémon’s attention, play a melody, and use other research items as the story continues. These tools are not about hurting anything. They are ways to see new reactions and encourage Pokémon to move into interesting spots. Tossing a fluffruit near the perfect place might set up a great picture, or it might cause complete chaos when several Pokémon notice it at once.

Courses can change as your research develops, which gives you a proper reason to revisit them. New routes and behaviours make a familiar place worth checking again. Day and night versions also feel very different. A sunny beach can be calm and bright, while a night course has glowing plants, sleeping Pokémon, and creatures that were nowhere to be seen earlier.

The Lental region also has the mysterious Illumina phenomenon. Certain Pokémon and plants glow, and your research with Professor Mirror helps uncover what is happening. It gives the game a story to follow without getting in the way of the relaxing photography. The mystery is interesting, but stopping to watch a bunch of Pokémon behave like wildlife is still the main attraction.

Building a Photodex

Every useful photo adds to your Pokémon Photodex. Filling it feels a bit like completing a giant nature scrapbook. The clever bit is that one ordinary picture is not always enough. Each Pokémon can have photos for different star categories based on its behaviour, so there is always another expression or action to find.

You can also save favourite pictures to an album and adjust them with Re Snap after a course. Brightness, blur, zoom, frames, filters, and stickers let you turn a good shot into something extra silly or dramatic. Nintendo’s official game page also says a free update added three more areas with day and night versions, plus another 20 Pokémon to photograph. That makes the safari even bigger once you have explored the original courses.

New Pokémon Snap is a single player Nintendo Switch game, but it is still fun with family nearby. People can help spot a Pokémon at the edge of the screen or argue about which picture Professor Mirror will like best. It is easy for someone else to understand what is happening because the goal is right there in the viewfinder.

A calmer kind of Pokémon game

This is not the game to choose if you only want fast battles. The pod moves steadily, courses are replayed, and getting a brilliant photo sometimes takes several attempts. I reckon that is exactly why it works. It turns slowing down into a challenge. You start noticing tiny movements, strange sounds, and possible hiding places instead of charging straight towards the next objective.

The game also shows that a Pokémon adventure does not need to copy the usual formula. There are no complicated teams to build and no huge list of attacks to remember. A camera, a curious eye, and decent timing are enough. Younger players can enjoy spotting favourites, while anyone chasing high scores can spend ages improving the position and timing of every shot.

New Pokémon Snap feels cheerful, clever, and a little bit magical. One minute you are calmly photographing something asleep beside a river. The next minute a rare Pokémon appears, everyone in the room yells, and you spin the camera around too late. Even the missed shots become funny stories. When you finally capture the perfect moment, it feels like discovering something for yourself rather than simply ticking off another task.