The mood in Pokémon GO has been quite bad since the beginning of the year. Hundreds of players are complaining about the numerous bugs that Niantic has encountered in recent weeks.
So this is the current situation: If you look at the Pokémon GO subreddit, you can’t miss the numerous negative threads lately. The Pokémon GO community is generally quick to anger and likes to complain, but in recent days, these voices have been especially loud.
The reason for this is various bugs that the developers have encountered in recent days. Coupled with a lack of communication, this frustrates many trainers particularly.
These bugs were made by Niantic in recent weeks
This is what is being complained about: The list of mentioned bugs is long. Recently, the mood was further exacerbated by the issue with Lucky Pokémon. The Lunar New Year was supposed to increase the chances of Lucky Pokémon, but at the start of the event, the chance simply remained the same. Hundreds of players swapped their collected Pokémon and could not take advantage of the event’s bonus.
Previously, two missing Shinies heated the emotions of the trainers. Alolan Vulpix and Sneasel could not appear as Shiny in their quests. Only after a few days was the bug fixed.
Additionally, there are recurring bugs that affect gameplay flow. Currently, arenas suddenly do not show up at the correct locations, but appear in completely different spots. Furthermore, the connection between the phone and Pokémon GO Plus is also a major issue. The connection often simply does not work. At the beginning of the year, there was also a bug with the AR query in Pokémon GO, which made the app partially unplayable.
Like many others, I love this game despite its many bugs. I have always loved Pokémon, and when this game came out, it was like a dream come true. But the highly careless approach has started to diminish the charm of the game.
ShivyShanky on reddit about the numerous problems of recent weeks
This is what the content is criticized for: The first event of 2020, the Hatch Marathon, was also not very popular among fans. Players criticized that much too many things were hidden behind a paywall. You had to do raids or hatch eggs to obtain the event Pokémon. In the wild, they were mostly unavailable.
In our Facebook group for Pokémon GO, the current event for the Lunar New Year is also being criticized. Here, almost only red Pokémon hatch from the 7 km eggs, and the new monster Flampion can only be obtained through these eggs. Besides Flampion, only Riolu is currently interesting in the eggs. The rest of the Pokémon are also very common in the wild.
“I think it’s a good idea to keep the pool of eggs small for an event to increase the chance of an event Pokémon. However, including the biggest trash in it, I find outrageous. Many want Flampion, but then even using purchased incubators is a real waste for Wurmple, Magikarp & Co.”
Patrick V. about the Lunar New Year event in our Facebook group for Pokémon GO
This is what players wish for: On reddit, one wish is particularly strong: communication from Niantic with the trainers. Many bugs, like the one with the Lucky Pokémon, were not communicated at all and became known only thanks to the community.
Niantic rarely provides insights into development and usually only announces events in the game. On reddit, the developers are also only sporadically present.
This is very different in many other games. There, bugs are openly talked about, and it is also communicated when a bug has been found. The trainers of Pokémon GO want this as well.
Is the current criticism justified? In general, a lot is complained about in Pokémon GO. Nevertheless, it is indeed the case that in recent weeks many mistakes have been made that partly disturb the players rightfully.
Especially the accumulation of various bugs is the main criticism of the trainers.
A new costume Pikachu could soon find its way into the game:
