Tips And Tricks For Playing New Pokémon Snap

New Pokémon Snap is a fantastic photography adventure, and there’s plenty to see, do and discover while you’re traversing each plain, river and forest in the game. But not everything is smooth sailing in Lental, and players will need to master a vast array of skills to discover every unique Pokémon on their photography journey.

The game doesn’t always tell you exactly what you need to do, so if you get stuck you might need a bit of advice.

Here’s everything you’ll need to take your photography skills to the next level in New Pokémon Snap.

Taking the best photos

To snap the best pictures of your favourite Pokémon, you’ll want to stick to a few key rules:

• Centre your Pokémon in the picture frame
• Make sure they’re large in your scope and their whole body is showing
• Snap them in a nice environment if possible (i.e. swing the camera towards a cool plain, the sea or something remarkable)
• Try and include other Pokémon in the background of shots
• Observe Pokémon until they do something strange like twitching or moving their arms, then snap the shot

You’ll also want to make sure you understand the best stimuli for each Pokémon so you can grab differently rated shots in the game and build out your Photodex.

Filling out your Photodex

To make sure you snap your chosen Pokémon in as many unique positions as possible, you’ll need to understand your arsenal of tools.

First, the fluffruit. This can be thrown to Pokémon for a nice snack or at Pokémon to provoke a reaction. Sometimes, hitting a Pokémon with a fluffruit will elicit a violent reaction — this is good. You might be annoying the Pokémon, but if you snap a shot in the aftermath of a fluffruit attack, you can usually nab a two- or three-star picture.

Also try rolling a fluffruit towards a Pokémon. Some welcome the snack and will reward you with a happy reaction. Likewise, playing music on your journey can be helpful. Some Pokémon like Bellossom and Cradily will react positively to the sounds and dance along to the tune.

Another great way to get a high quality snap (even up to four stars) is to use the Illumina Orbs you earn throughout the game. These can be tossed at a Pokémon for a fun reaction or thrown at glowing flowers to light up the environment. Some Pokémon will flock to this glow and perform special moves when the Illumina glow is present.

What you’ll need to do to fill out your Photodex is experiment with all these techniques and work out what works best for individual Pokémon. If you can’t quite get that elusive four-star snap, you might have to look for certain Pokémon in other areas of the game or unlock a higher level for new interactions.

Stay observant and you should be able to find each unique Pokémon pose to fill out your Photodex.

Spotting hidden Pokémon

Your journey takes place in an on-rails pod that moves at a constant speed, meaning you’re likely to miss particular Pokémon if you spend too long trying to snap every Pokémon in one go. Instead, you’re better off focusing on a few Pokémon at a time or concentrating on rarer finds.

Not all of the Pokémon on your journey will be easy to spot, and it’s very likely you’ll miss some along the way. If you want to make sure you’re not missing anything on repeat journeys, you can do a couple of things to make discovery easier:

• Constantly scan your environment — this will highlight hidden Pokémon
• Check lakes and streams for water-type Pokémon hiding under the surface
• Use Illumina Orbs to light up your way, particularly on dark paths
• Check tree branches for camouflaged Pokémon
• Watch for smaller movements behind rocks and trees
• Scroll over every unique icon when scanning — some reveal hints at what Pokémon are hiding where
• Toss a fluffruit into every crack, crevice and lake to see if anything bites
• Play music and see if that’ll entice any Pokémon out of hiding

There’s something new to discover in every stage so make sure you’re revisiting places you’ve already been when you level up or unlock new tools.

Advancing to new areas

At certain points in New Pokémon Snap, you’ll be required to unlock new areas by solving puzzles, levelling up or discovering Illumina phenomenon. While we won’t spoil exactly how you advance to new areas, you may need some tips on how to progress.

Here’s what you should try if you’re not sure where to go:

• Level up each area you visit by taking more photos and filling out your Photodex
• Discover a hidden Illumina flower to unlock further research
• Snap a four-star photo of a Pokémon to advance your area score
• Complete hidden area puzzles to unlock your next steps

While it may take a while to unlock everything, with a bit of patience and time you’ll be able to discover everything New Pokémon Snap has to offer.

With all these tips, you should be well on your way to becoming the best Pokémon photographer around.

If you do end up taking some great shots, feel free to pop into the Kotaku Australia Discord and share your best finds.