Pokémon Sun And Moon Review: 6 Ups And 3 Downs

8. The Overall Environment

Given how much of a fuss Pokémon games make about the regions in which they're set, there's never really been too much to separate one from another. Johto, Kanto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova and Kalos have all been pretty much of a muchness - large cities broken up by grass-laden roads and a few extreme weather environments. Alola feels completely different.

It's easy to pin that all on the fact it's in a more tropical setting, but even the very layout of paths and towns feels completely different to previous installment. Where other titles have felt like 2D games rendered in 3D, Sun and Moon feels as close to an open world setting as we've seen with the franchise. Paths wind around every-which-way and you're even presented with more than one route to take.

The island set up also gives a real sense of exploration and size to the overall game as well, with each individual land mass presented as its own entity with different areas and no linear path through it. Yes, certain areas won't open up until you've achieved certain things, but Sun and Moon lets you feel like you can explore.