Posted in: Games, Mobile Games, Niantic, Pokémon GO | Tagged: friendship day, Niantic, Niantic Labs, pokemon, pokemon go

Pokémon GO Friendship Day 2021 Event Review: Solid Gameplay

Yesterday, Pokémon GO hosted a mini-event in the middle of the Sustainability Week event. This unrelated three-hour event was called Friendship Day and it featured a focus on Grass-type Pokémon and trading bonuses. Let's dive into the details and see if this mini-event was worth playing.

What worked in this Pokémon GO event

• The Collection Challenge: Wow… XP galore. I was honestly stunned at the amount of XP given, as Collection Challenges have historically given less XP for our efforts than we'd get from catching Pokémon in the wild. Speaking of that, there was also an XP catch bonus during the event, which couldn't have come at a better time, as many trainers who have been leveling up beyond 40 are now starting to hit an XP wall. As a result of this, many Pokémon GO players are back on the XP grind, and this day was a big help.
• The trading bonuses: This bonus alone was enough to make the event worth it, and it was nice that the bonuses extended beyond the three-hour event for the rest of the day. 40 KM trade distance was active and Pokémon trading during this time had an increased shot at going lucky. While a lucky rate for the event hasn't been fully determined, Lucky's did seem very much increased from my point of view.

What didn't work in this Pokémon GO event

• Sylveon: The lack of Sylveon is so, so weird. Sylveon has been teased in the game through the opening screen as well as through its silhouette being active when its nickname is used. The fact that Friendship Day didn't include this most hyped release, when Sylveon's evolution is friendship-themed in the main games, seems like a huge miss. Other than the trading bonuses, there was nothing Friendship-themed about the event. It was more of a Trading Afternoon than anything else.
• Timing: This didn't need to take place during the Sustainability Week event. It could've and should've been its own thing, set between events so players could get maximum gameplay from both.

Overall

Overall, though the theme was misleading and leaves me wondering why the Sylveon opportunity was missed considering its release is imminent, this was a good day of Pokémon GO gameplay that showed immense generosity from Niantic on the XP front.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!