New Pokémon Snap review – chilled photography game could be snappier

Nintendo Switch; Nintendo
Trekking through forests and meadows in search of quirky creatures to photograph is a serene but repetitive experience

Pokemon is nominally about collecting and battling cute monsters but, like most children's fiction that has stood the test of time, these games draw you into an interesting and believable place - one where kids can live their dreams and humans exist in harmony with quirky creatures. It's a universe that has captivated a few generations, and for adults who grew up with it, their fondness runs deep. Even on a tiny, black-and-white Game Boy screen, what Pokemon has always offered is a world.

New Pokemon Snap has you looking at that world through a camera lens, as you glide serenely through different fictional habitats in a cheerful yellow observation pod. The Pokemon go about their business - a Machamp poses on the beach, Sawsbuck struts gorgeously around a forest, Combees doodle about in a meadow of flowers - and you line up the perfect shot. You need to be quick with the shutter to catch fast-moving airborne creatures, and patient to capture a dawdling Charmander in the perfect pose.