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We tried Pokémon Sleep at an exclusive overnight pre-release experience

Shannon Jul 17, 2023
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We’re pretty sure it will make you want to sleep more and better.

After getting a video preview of Pokémon Sleep, a project that was announced nearly five years ago, we were hoping it wouldn’t be long before we got to try it out. And luckily, we did! Our Japanese-language reporter P.K. Sanjun was invited to an exclusive overnight pre-release test play experience. We’ll tell you how it went and whether it has any relation to Pokémon GO.

▼ But first, let’s get you up to speed.

In case you missed our previous article about the sleep-tracking game, Pokémon Sleep‘s game concept is to help you look forward to waking up. According to developers of the game, it took so long to create because while there are plenty of sleep tracking apps out there, none of them are games like this. It’s rough breaking totally new ground!

P.K.’s Pokémon Sleep experience took place at Snow Peak Headquarters Campfield, a glamping facility in the middle of Niigata Prefecture. Pre-release event attendees got to spend the night there–which also has relaxing amenities like a spa–to track their hard-earned sleep.

▼ P.K.’s tent had a Ditto on it. How cute!

The only bummer about the event is that he couldn’t actually play until he went to sleep. There are some elements of the game you can use during the day–like giving Snorlax some home cooking–but the main highlight is at night.

▼ Here’s a real-life representation of what you’ll see in the morning.

At night, it tracks your sleep. In the morning, you can see what Pokémon have joined your Snorlax for a nap. During the day, you can help your Snorlax grow even more.

To start the game, you first tell it when to start tracking your sleep, and then you place your phone on the bed–under a pillow, for example. A desk or night stand won’t work, as the game needs to track subtle movements. P.K. was all set for a peaceful slumber after his spa experience.

In the morning, he checked his Pokémon Sleep app and saw some new friends! He had collected Squirtle in a shell, a snoozing Igglybuff, and an alert Larvitar.

Out of the three sleep categories tracked in the app–drowsing, napping, and slumbering–P.K.’s highest score was in slumbering.

The above image doesn’t show P.K.’s breakdown, but it’s what a typical summary will look like, with your three sleep types broken down into percentages.

There are over 100 Pokémon you can collect with different sleeping faces, and there are strong hints that more will be added as time goes on. It will take you a while to collect all of them, though, considering most people only get deep sleep once a day.

▼ But what about the other important Pokémon-related release, you may be wondering?

If part of your excitement for Pokémon Sleep comes from your love of Pokémon GO, you’re probably wondering whether or not the two correlate. In summary: not really. P.K. asked an official from the developing team and this is the response he got:

“We’re sure many people will think Pokemon GO+ and Pokemon Sleep are correlated with one another since their release dates are so close, so we want to be clear: There is no direct benefit to playing Pokémon Sleep for Pokémon GO trainers.

However, there are some benefits for Pokémon Sleep trainers by playing Pokémon GO. You can accumulate items more easily by visiting Pokéstops in Pokémon GO+. In that sense, there is some correlation between the two games.

Since Pokémon GO encourages you to go venture outside into the world, we wanted to create something on the opposite spectrum: a game you “play” while you sleep. They were designed to not have much overlap, so you can enjoy both games to their fullest in equal measure!”

P.K. found this to be true when he tested out Pokémon Sleep. To play Pokémon Sleep, the least you have to do to play is measure your sleep patterns and check your Pokémon when you wake up. Once you’re out and about, you can switch to Pokémon GO seamlessly.

▼ And maybe Snorlax can have some food sometimes.

To be completely honest, P.K. was a bit disappointed that there wasn’t much correlation between Pokemon GO+ and Pokemon Sleep. But after testing out the game, he realized they’re each fun in their own sense.

▼ There will be fun and tasty things waiting for you when you get back!

Most importantly, he was glad to have tested it out at a cool camping event at Snow Peak Headquarters Campfield. We hope you’re ready to play when it’s released at the end of this month (exact date still TBA)!

Insert images: Press Release ©Pokémon ©Nintendo/Creatures Inc. /GAME FREAK inc.
Photos ©SoraNews24
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[ Read in Japanese ]