Just to be clear, I did not play every single game that came out this year. I know, that may surprise some of you, but as it turns out, having a full-time job keeps me busy pretty much all of the time that I’m not sleeping. There was, however, one game that I played consistently more than the rest though, and as you’ve probably guessed by the title, that game is Pokemon Go.
Pokemon Go wasn’t just a game. It was a phenomenon.
The initial, stunning, surge of popularity has mostly faded, even though Pokemon Go still remains one of the most popular free games on iTunes.
I still play every day though. I still hit my local Pokestops when I’m out and about, I fastidiously check the CP of every Pokemon I catch to ensure I’m only keeping the strongest Pokmeon on my roster. The updates to Pokemon Go have been few and far between, much to the disappointment of fans , but I’ve stuck around. The game just scratches an itch that no other mobile game has managed to scratch for me.
The game is just so simple, so straightforward, and it’s always exciting for me to check my area and see what Pokemon are near by. I still get excited when I see a Pokemon I don’t have pop up, or one that I’m collecting in order to evolve into something stronger.
While plenty of games are as simple, and as fun, as Pokemon Go has been…what makes Pokmeon Go my game of the year is the entire atmosphere that exploded around this game. It was one of the most amazing game-related things I’ve ever seen, and I really doubt I’ll ever see anything like it again.
When the game first came out, everyone was playing it. I live near one of the biggest universities in The United States, and us nerdy millennials in our mid-twenties are at that perfect age where nostalgia would draw us to the game. But what I didn’t anticipate was that Pokemon Go pulled in people of all ages. While visiting a popular Pokestop destination (shout out to Crane’s Roost Park!) I saw little kids eagerly dragging their parents around, their parents glued to their phones as much of the kids were. I saw people my parent’s age, sitting at picnic tables, playing Pokemon Go. It really seemed like everyone was out, partaking in this gaming experience.
I’d go grocery shopping and see packs of teens, and college-aged kids walking around the outdoor shopping centers, all eyeing their phones, some of them unmistakably swiping Pokestops or flinging Pokeballs at Pokemon on their screens. It was a sight to behold, so many people, universally bonding playing a game about pocket-sized monsters.
Pokemon Go certainly was not the best game of the year, but it delivered a real-world an experience that I will not forget for a very long time.
