Pokemon GO had a remarkable landing in 2016 with a gameplay loop so addictive and adventurous that it changed mobile gaming. In the seven years since Niantic's hit originally burst into the industry, the player base has naturally shrunk well below its initial viral size, but it in turn has cultivated a passionate following that rivals nearly any other gaming fan base. Sadly, though, some players feel that many missing Pokemon GO features will never come, and the result is an app that can feel stale in 2023.

This stagnation isn't something that's gone unnoticed among Pokemon GO fans. On the contrary, it's actually been a point of contention and frustration that has sparked multiple debates online. If Niantic wants to build its biggest name back up to glory again, it needs to address some of Pokemon GO's stale features.

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Pokemon GO Spawns Are Too Uniform

A large part of Pokemon GO's appeal is supposed to be that sense of wonder and adventure that comes with exploring the real world and finding Pokemon while doing so. That was the pitch that initially brought millions into the app back in 2016, and it's what continues to intrigue new players to try the game out nowadays. A world full of diverse Pokemon sprinkled through every location isn't what's to be found in Pokemon GO today, though.

The same Pokemon spawn essentially everywhere, and which critters are spawning really just boils down to which ones are currently in rotation to spawn at any given time. The result of this is that the exploration that should be a primary hook of the game can feel pointless since the player can find the same Pokemon regardless of where they are. On top of that, there's rarely an opportunity to get any Pokemon outside of Niantic's designated Pokemon spawn events, and once those events are happening it's equally hard to find anything but those creatures because they spawn in large numbers. That means that, for example, if the player isn't interested in catching a Kanto starter during a Kanto starter event, it can be hard to achieve something else for the next 24-48 hours.

The Battle System in Pokemon GO Remains Weak

One of the primary complaints about Pokemon GO from the very beginning has been its lackluster battling system. The changes Niantic has implemented throughout the years have ultimately proved ineffective in actually making Pokemon GO's combat something worth taking an interest in. To this day, Pokemon GO's combat boils down to tapping the screen really fast until the opponent faints, and the small complexities that come in the form of various TMs and QTE-esque special moves don't do much to alleviate this.

The solution to this feature isn't entirely clear, but many fans question why a turn-based combat system similar to what's used in the main series games isn't possible. It's possible that Game Freak doesn't want this to avoid too much overlap between Pokemon GO and mainline Pokemon games. There is a potential risk of hurting the sales of main series games if a Pokemon GO turn-based combat system proves too effective, but that doesn't change the fact that Pokemon GO ultimately hardly benefits from its current method of combat.

Towards the beginning of the game's life cycle, these features received feedback, but fans were optimistic that Niantic would continue to update the app and eventually address all of these problems to create a better experience. The problem is that with Pokemon GO in 2023, many feel that the game is not being updated consistently enough to solve its core issues, and minor updates can instead feel stale.

Pokemon GO is available now for iOS and Android mobile devices.

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