Pokémon GO developer Niantic launched its new Party Play system today in which four trainers (of level 15 and above) can now form a local group and travel together on the same map. The feature has been met largely with frustration by the player base, however.
Party Play, for what it is worth, promises to be plenty of fun for anybody who likes to play the game with others. Party Challenges will be exclusive missions for your group to complete which offer more in-game rewards. Furthermore, Party Power is a new bonus accessible to trainers during raids. This buff doubles the damage of Charged Attacks and recharges with every Fast Attack. The larger the party, the faster the charge rate.
Celebrating the launch, a new Special Research named ‘Welcome Party’ is now available. Completing this will see players gifted with Kanto Eevee-themed shirts.
To say that the feature has received a mixed reception would be understating it somewhat. GO has been suffering community backlash for a couple of years now with its latest controversy surrounding the increased monetization of Remote Raid Passes. Not only are they harder to obtain in general, but their price has increased within the last six months. Even the big money spenders weren’t safe from the widely berated update with a five-per-day limit imposed in an effort to curb their perceived advantage over others.
Niantic is not a company well-regarded currently and it shows.
As of writing, the most liked comment under the feature trailer on YouTube makes a plain and simple request. “Fix Remote Raid Passes,” @Vaelel__ said. Further responses from @atharvbhujade7003 and @SuperLoneStarBros further demonstrate the bleakness felt by some in the community. In their minds, “they won’t listen, they literally don’t care.”
Over on Twitter, belief in Niantic is so low that some are even expecting the feature to find itself beset with issues. “Glitches gonna go crazy,” said @ShinyCramorant, who found themselves just one of several negative voices in response to a thread created by @SerebiiNet. @AmyTeamLH focused more on the benefits being geared primarily towards those in big cities with plenty of people around: “Us rural/disabled players getting shafted once again.”
This is not to say that there isn’t some excitement about Party Play, but it does paint a picture of a company that is coming across as a little tone-deaf. Pokémon UNITE players are facing a similar situation with TiMi Studio Group, where there is little to no communication at a time when the game is suffering through outrageously overpowered releases in the form of Mewtwo X and Mewtwo Y.
In the eyes of many Go players, Niantic is simply aiming to extort as much money out of the game as they possibly can. In that cauldron of toxicity, it is hard to see any new feature being welcomed with open arms.
