Pokemon Pokopia doubles down on its weird pseudo-post-apocalyptic setting where humans are "gone," but maybe that's a good thing as they seem better off without us

Pokemon Pokopia - the upcoming crafty life sim that looks like Game Freak mashed Dragon Quest Builders into Stardew Valley – has doubled down on its seemingly post-apocalyptic setting. Yes, humans aren't around anymore. And, yes, the Pokemon are much better off without us.

Pokemon Pokopia's extended gameplay trailer from earlier today dove deep into the game's wholesome loop that essentially boils down to: help friendly Poke friends, nurture a liveable environment for more species, explore, and decorate. But it also gave us insight into what's happening in the wider Poke world.

A press release explains that our main character, Ditto, awakens from a "long slumber" into a world in which "humans and Pokemon once lived." Professor Tangrowth, our mentor, mentions that it's been "quite some time" since he saw another human around these parts, and although "this place was once home to many humans," now "they're gone."

What happened to humans in Pokopia is still a mystery. Natural disaster? War? Famine? Murderous, rampaging Pokemon? Your guess is as good as mine, but the dilapidated Pokemon Center at the start of the trailer hints that they've either been missing long enough for an entire building to degrade or something disastrous caused the building to collapse in the first place.

Either way, in the absence of humans who would otherwise seek to capture Pokemon and force them into a cycle of never-ending violence/breeding, the iconic creatures instead choose to build community, to raise crops, to live sustainably and erect monuments in celebration of one another. It almost makes me feel guilty about my hundreds of hours spent in the mainline games. Almost.

Still, Tangrowth has one particular line that makes me think humans might just show up before we get to the credits: "It would warm this old heart to see humans and Pokemon living happily together once more." Perhaps they're just off on a different region, eh?

Pokemon's new Animal Crossing-like life sim Pokopia gets a March release date, but it looks like it might be a controversial Switch 2 Game-Key Card title.