In an attempt to make Pokemon GO feel more representative of the real world, its abundance of nature, and the differences between all of its creatures, Niantic has implemented the biggest graphic changes the game has ever received.
With the "Rediscover Pokemon GO" campaign, various areas of the mobile game are being reworked through the end of April and beginning of May with the intent of providing players with an updated experience. These changes, tackling visuals, customization, and even augmented reality features, will slowly roll out globally to all players alongside events to celebrate the changes.
A More Realistic Overworld Map—and Pokemon Spawns
Upon logging into the mobile title, players will immediately notice changes to the game's overworld map, complete with new biomes that better match those that actually appear there in the real world—with even more subtle differences between similar areas. This also includes new shadow effects caused by a restructuring of the clouds in the sky, alongside other weather effects also having a considerable effect on the surrounding environments.
A brief in-game event celebrating the map changes is also now available, which encourages players to travel to different environments in order to discover Pokemon from the Kanto region—as well as the debut of the Garden Eel Pokemon Wiglett in beach biomes. Players that evolve their Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle into their final evolutions before the event ends on May 9 will grant them the moves Frenzy Plant, Blast Burn, and Hydro Cannon respectively, which are normally locked behind specific Community Days.
New Customization Options Lead to Widespread Backlash
Furthermore, Niantic has overhauled the player customization options, now accessible via the "style" button on the player profile screen. Players can now alter almost every element of their character's appearance, including face shape, body type, and a variety of new color choices for hair and skin.
A significant portion of the player base has voiced strong dissatisfaction with the changes made to the character models, which now feature more realistic body proportions compared to the original standard models. Numerous comments on social media have pointed out that the avatars not only seem lifeless and are riddled with graphical glitches, but also that the avatar items—often requiring purchase from the in-game store—no longer appear as they did on the previous models.
At this time, Niantic has not addressed the concerns from fans, nor have the changes been reverted.
A New Lens for the In-Game Camera
The final portion of the "Rediscover Pokemon GO" campaign, listed as "rediscover your reality," is listed to be revealed in full on May 7. Though no information on this has been revealed thus far, it is related to the GO Snapshot feature, where players are able to take pictures of wild Pokemon as well as their own. Players in Australia are to receive access to an experimental version of the feature before it is released globally.
Outside of event periods, however, where special spawns can sometimes appear as photobombs upon taking pictures, this feature remains rather underused, possibly prompting this overhaul to make it more enticing.
