Technologies

Pokopia Is the Glorious Return of Animal Crossing in Pokemon Form

This Switch 2 exclusive might be its biggest killer app yet. I’m lost and in love with the cozy apocalypse.

Somewhere, on a lost and lonely island long abandoned by humans, there’s you. A lone, shape-shifting Pokemon named Ditto who’s taken on the form of its lost human trainer. And you’re looking for friends.

A big squiggly-faced beast named Professor Tangrowth meets you. From there, you wonder: Why is everyone gone? How can you make things better?

And then the Pokemon start to arrive.

I’ve been playing Pokemon Pokopia at home for over a week, and I’m feeling feelings I haven’t had since the early days of the pandemic back in 2020: cozy-living in a world where friends seem to pop up daily, full of needs and missions, and where I’m spending hours watering plants, fixing roads, finding food for hungry Pokecritters and decorating homes. It’s Animal Crossing, but in a new and more interesting way than even the latest Animal Crossing update.

I had literally no expectations for Pokemon Pokopia, and now I’m absolutely in love with it. And my youngest kid, a die-hard Pokemon fan, is absolutely crushed that this is a Switch 2 exclusive because he doesn’t have his own Switch 2 yet — which makes me convinced that Pokopia is the most diabolical Switch 2 killer app yet, even more so than Donkey Kong Bananza or Mario Kart World. That being said, you could do multiplayer between a Switch 2 and an original Switch with Game Share, but that’s not quite the same thing, is it?

It’s more than just a Pokemon 30th anniversary way to hold the fort until next year’s fantastic-looking mainline Pokemon Winds and Waves game arrives. This whole game’s Animal Crossing x Pokemon feel is brilliant, and it really works. And I’m not even a Pokemon superfan.

This game is the flip side of the last Pokemon game, Legends Z-A, which was all about battles. You’d fight, fight, fight and learn real-time attack moves. None of that’s here. You fight no one. You just make friends.

Just like with Animal Crossing, you’re always chatting with little buddies and doing daily things to make your world better. You have items to buy, items to craft, resources to collect, and little odd things to dig up or find. (A fossil remnant? A mysterious feather?) And you have an endless amount of Pokemon to discover, partly by happenstance and partly by creating habitats that attract these Pokemon later. One or two friends suddenly becomes 20, 30, or more. And while I haven’t done it yet, you can connect with friends and play together in the same world, building homes or other things, farming, or decorating.

I made a little leaf hut home with a kit I bought and then made a larger home. It totally looked like Animal Crossing. Even the menus and some of the character reaction sounds are similar.

Unlike Animal Crossing, the scale of Pokopia is way larger. It’s not one village: It’s a whole connected set of islands.

I have no idea how big it is, actually, even after a week-plus playing. Everything’s made of blocks, like Minecraft. You can break them down and collect them to build elsewhere. There’s definitely a Minecraft or Dragon Quest Builders (a series I never played) style here, but approachable. I never felt lost or overwhelmed.

Still, there are some big challenges. Creating new structures can extend to massive things that could take a long time to make. You have to rehabilitate and reconnect all sorts of ruins, including Pokemon Centers and more. It’s a game to chip away at.

There’s a central story line to follow, sort of, in which the player can go back and talk to Professor Tangrowth to get ideas of where to go next. But it’s so easy to get distracted: What’s that shiny thing over there? Wait, this Pokemon wants to ask me something. And this one. And oh yeah that side quest. These Pokemon sure are needy. I have no idea what it’ll be like when I maybe have hundreds of them. It’s Animal Crossing Unleashed.

My Ditto also has skills it can absorb from other Pokemon, which keep advancing what’s possible. This fluid evolution of the game keeps it mysterious and exciting. What if the next day in Animal Crossing your arms extended and could do something totally different, like cut trees or break new blocks? That’s Pokopia. I want to go back and keep discovering. The horizon remains unexplored right beyond the next wall of blocks.

I needed a cozy game like this to tuck into in the middle of a chaotic year. In the middle of a blizzard, it was a warm blanket. I’m worried about where all the humans went, and I feel a mournful, Miyazaki-like sadness draped over this game. But also hope. I’m cleaning up a broken world, bit by bit.

I feel like I have so much to do in this game, so much to tinker with. I’m not sure if there’s ever really an end — even if Nintendo apparently claims there is an end, about 20 to 40 hours in. I’m sure that’s just a story milestone, while the daily Animal Crossing-like things will just keep going. This is a game that feels like it’s worth the $70 price — even though I still feel like $70 is too high for games (grumble).

And it’s also a game that, finally, is making my kid want his own Switch 2. Nintendo may have found its upgrade moment, for my family at least. Going forward, Nintendo’s games are likely to be almost all Switch 2 exclusives. And this one is staying in the mix for a long while to come.

Technologies

Trump Maintains US‑Iran Negotiations Continue Amid Tehran’s Denials of Duplicity

President Trump insists that US‑Iran talks are ongoing despite Tehran’s denial of any negotiation plans, while warning that only a deal or total surrender will allow passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Conflicting statements from both sides have heightened uncertainty as the conflict enters its sixth month.

On Monday, President Donald Trump asserted that negotiations between the United States and Iran are still taking place, even after Tehran stated it has no intention of engaging in direct talks with Washington.

In a fiery Truth Social post, Trump labeled Iran’s leaders “unbelievably duplicitous,” claiming they are lying about ongoing peace talks “whether Iran wants to admit it or not.” He repeated his assertion that the United States completely controls the Strait of Hormuz, despite maritime traffic through the crucial route lingering at only a small fraction of pre‑conflict levels.

He wrote, “Nothing reaches Iran unless we allow it, and nothing will pass unless a deal—or total surrender—is achieved.”

Earlier that day, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters there is no imminent plan for U.S.–Iran negotiations, contradicting Trump’s earlier comment that talks would resume Monday afternoon. Baghaei added that Iran’s only current discussions are with Oman concerning the Strait of Hormuz.

The conflicting statements have heightened uncertainty over the peace‑talk process and the broader conflict, now in its sixth month.

Trump’s assertion about new negotiations came a day after he said on Truth Social that he had agreed to cancel a massive strike against Iran “subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL.” He said in the same post that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked him to hold off on that attack because “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

Trump has claimed dozens of times throughout the more‑than‑five‑month‑long war that a deal is at hand. No permanent deal has been signed, and a temporary ceasefire reached in June has fallen apart.

Trump has also repeatedly threatened to launch devastating strikes against Iran before backing off. After the latest example, oil prices on Monday fell and stocks surged.

BMI, a research unit of Fitch Solutions, said in a note Monday that a broader diplomatic understanding on reopening the Strait of Hormuz is still achievable this quarter, while raising the probability of its escalation scenario to 35% from 25%, citing mounting military, diplomatic and economic signs of rising U.S.-Iran tensions.

“Diplomatic progress is likely to be punctuated by periodic military flare-ups, while miscalculation by either side could trigger a renewed escalation,” BMI analysts wrote in a note. The firm said the key issue to watch is the future governance of the strait, as the Iran-Oman talks — potentially backed by Gulf states, China and the U.S. — point to efforts to build a post-conflict shipping framework.

Shipping risks persist even as diplomacy appears to be advancing. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said it received a report of an incident 20 nautical miles (23 miles) northeast of Khasab, Oman — at the mouth of the strait — with a tanker’s master reporting an explosion in close proximity to the vessel at about 20:37 UTC Sunday (4:37 pm ET). The vessel and crew were safe and authorities are investigating, UKMTO said, advising ships to transit with caution.

The proposal Trump announced over the weekend calls for the U.S. and Iran to return to negotiations and continue ironing out some of the thorny issues that had derailed diplomatic efforts, according to The Associated Press, citing a regional official involved in the mediation efforts.

The official said the proposal also includes a reopening of the Hormuz Strait and halting attacks across the region, including by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq on the Arab Gulf countries and Jordan.

The U.S., for its part, will end its naval blockade on Iran and allow Tehran to export its oil, the official said, adding that no deal has been reached, although the mediation efforts remained underway.

Trump’s weekend reversal has lowered the temperature after days of escalating attacks across the Gulf. Kuwait said Saturday that Iranian forces launched a wave of drones within its airspace, with its military destroying multiple aircraft after Iran targeted critical infrastructure in the country’s north.

A parallel track with Muscat is also advancing. Iranian diplomats said Tehran was close to reaching a new arrangement with Oman to manage shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a deal critical to preventing the war from escalating further, according to the Financial Times.

Iranian officials said negotiations over future management of the Hormuz Strait with Oman, which sits on the opposite shore of the waterway, are in their final stages. The agreed shipping route would be different from those used before, according to Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Baghaei, adding that the new route was separate from the issue of the strait’s reopening or continued closure.

Technologies

Oil Prices Slide as Trump Halts Planned Iran Strike

Oil prices dropped after Trump cancelled a planned strike on Iran, with WTI down about 5% and Brent near 5% lower. He said the move followed requests from Tehran and regional allies for a pause while a deal shaping the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program is negotiated.

Oil prices fell on Monday after President Donald Trump announced he had cancelled a planned strike on Iran. WTI futures dropped roughly 5% to $80.34 a barrel, while Brent slipped about 4.7% to $83.77 a barrel.

Trump said early Sunday he called off the strike after Iran and several Middle Eastern nations asked him to hold off, noting that the outlines of a deal had been agreed upon. He added that the prospective accord would entail the immediate, full opening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, according to his Truth Social post.

The president had been considering another round of strikes as diplomatic hopes waned since the conflict began on February 28. He said the U.S. and Iran would meet for talks on Monday, but Iran denied any scheduled negotiations with Washington, citing PressTV. Iran’s foreign‑ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei clarified that Tehran was only discussing shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz with Oman. In a follow‑up Truth Social message, Trump insisted that, regardless of Iran’s acknowledgment, the United States is indeed discussing a solution to a long‑standing problem created by Iran.

Technologies

Oil Prices Drop as Trump Cancels Planned Attack on Iran

Oil prices fell sharply after President Trump announced the cancellation of a planned strike on Iran, citing a new deal that would open the Hormuz Strait and end Iran’s nuclear threat.

Oil prices fell sharply on Monday after President Donald Trump announced that he had called off a planned strike on Iran.

West Texas Intermediate futures, the U.S. benchmark, slipped roughly 5% to close at $80.34 per barrel, while Brent crude, the international benchmark, declined 4.7% to settle at $83.77 a barrel.

Trump made the announcement early Sunday, saying he had canceled the strike following requests from Tehran and other Middle Eastern countries.

In a Truth Social post, he wrote: “We have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to.”

The president indicated that the proposed agreement would include the immediate, complete, and total opening of the Hormuz Strait, as well as an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.

Trump had been weighing additional strikes amid diminishing prospects for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict that began on Feb. 28. He stated that the U.S. and Iran would hold negotiations on Monday.

Tehran denied that talks were planned with Washington, according to state news outlet PressTV.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran was only holding talks with Oman regarding the routes ships can use through the Strait of Hormuz.

In a subsequent Truth Social post, Trump added that whether “Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused for decades.”