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

Pokémon GO Holiday 2020 Event Review: Another Odd Shiny Release

The Holiday 2020 event has ended in Pokémon GO, finishing off a year of events, new releases, and game-changing features. Did this final event do Niantic's year of incredible change justice? Let's break it down in this review, which will examine what worked and what didn't about 2020's final Pokémon GO event.

What Worked for this Pokémon GO Event

• The costumes: Love them or hate them, Costumed Pokémon are here to stay. This time around, considering Niantic didn't really do a Shiny release (more on that below), hunting the new costumed forms of Delibird, Pikachu, and Cubchoo was essentially all there was to do. Pokémon GO is partly a collector's game and as a collector, I personally like the extra level that Costumed Pokémon add to an event. What doesn't work as well, though, is when they're the main feature. They should be a lovely spice that accentuates flavor rather than the main course as they were here.
• The spawns: The spawns were decent, with a mixture of event Pokémon and the standard spawns we've been seeing through the Season of Celebration. It was fun seeing the now Shiny-capable Abomasnow on the map, and the Winter Weekend which saw event spawns more attracted to Incense was a good move.
• The bonuses: The rotating bonuses also added some much-needed interest to this event, allowing players who needed Stardust and XP a great chance to grind.

What Didn't Work for this Pokémon GO Event

• Shiny release: This was a mess. I hate to say it because I love Pokémon GO and honestly feel that Niantic gets a ton of unnecessary flack, but this event was mishandled in a major way. Maybe Niantic doesn't understand how anticipated the annual Holiday Event is, but it's well-known to be the most beloved time in Pokémon GO after the annual Halloween Event. For Niantic to have Jynx, which was already available as a Shiny when evolving up a Shiny Smoochum, as the "shiny release" was underwhelming. Then, to make Jynx a raid exclusive outside of the Winter Weekend was beyond comprehension. Also, this makes two events this month where the Shiny release was raid exclusive (looking at you, Rufflet), making the second half of December and odd and frustrating note to end an otherwise incredible year of gameplay on.
• Vanillite: There's flat out no reason that a stage one Pokémon in a three-stage evolutionary line should be so difficult to catch. Having to use multiple Ultra Balls on a Pokémon of this kind during its release event felt like a purposeful item drain.

Overall

Unfortunately, in their best year yet by far, Niantic ended 2020 with one of the worst Pokémon GO events ever. At least we can say that 2021, with the release of Shiny Snivy imminent in January and the highly anticipated Pokémon GO Tour: Kanto, is already set to get things back to Niantic's fun and exciting standard. Next year, though, I hope that this company, that has done so well bringing this beloved franchise into the real world, can approach the Holiday Event with the knowledge that this should be as big of a blowout event as the Halloween event. Super hype raids, at least one major new Shiny release, a new species release that makes sense, new costumes, and bonuses are what trainers expect and, hopefully, Niantic can make that happen next year.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

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