Pokemon Go Fest Customized Special Research Options Are A Game Changer For Casual Players

thegamer.com:

The last year of Pokemon Go has been marked by contention between the players and Niantic. As Covid restrictions expanded and contracted and CDC recommendations updated, Niantic began slowly but surely reverting almost all of the quality-of-life improvements players had gotten used to. From Niantic’s perspective, the pandemic allowances were always meant to be temporary. The purpose of Pokemon Go is to get out into the world, be active, and engage with other players, and the game needs to be more physically demanding of players in order to achieve those goals. From the player perspective, Niantic relaxed certain requirements during the pandemic, which made the game more flexible and approachable, but now the developers are restricting it again, forcing everyone to play Go in one very narrow, specific way. There’s been constant pushback to every change Niantic has announced, many compromises have been made, but there’s still a lingering sense of resentment among the community.

I’ve experienced some of that consternation myself. Having gotten used to a more lax playstyle that has allowed me to keep up with the game passively, I feel like my time isn’t being respected as much, the game is asking too much from me, and I’m not rewarded proportionally for the effort I put in. I’ve fallen out of love with the game to some degree, without really realizing it or understanding where those feelings were coming from.

Related: Pokemon Go's Stufful Community Day Was A Much Needed Return To Form

Today, Niantic revealed details for Pokemon GO Fest 2022, an annual event I wouldn’t dream of missing, even if it was the only time I picked the game up all year. This year introduces a new way to customize your Special Research assignments