Pokémon Pokopia has been one of the more welcome surprises of 2026, offering an excellent package that simultaneously delivers both innovation and classic charm . Fans have taken notice, with the game selling over 4 million copies in the short time it's been available, and Nintendo is following up fairly quickly with strong post-launch support. The Pokémon Pokopia Expansion Pass will eventually deliver three waves of new content, with Part 1, entitled Bubbly Basin, recently dropping alongside a free 2.0 update.

Does Pokémon Pokopia: Bubbly Basin successfully build on the core game? Or does the DLC lose its way in the murky depths? Dive in to find out...

Note: This is an opinion piece and, thus, not as detailed as a full, scored review would be.

Regardless of whether you've purchased the Pokémon Pokopia Expansion Pass, everyone who downloads the 2.0 update will gain access to a major new power — the ability to dive underwater. Maneuvering underwater does take some time to get used to, but you'll get the hang of it eventually, and ultimately, getting around is less disorienting than it is in a lot of other games. The makers of Pokopia have, wisely, held back from going overboard with the underwater physics. Yes, you can swim around in 3D space, but you can also just kinda walk around and do your regular building stuff underwater without having to worry about things floating away or a limited oxygen supply (thank God).

While there's not that much to see underwater in Pokopia's existing regions, if you've bought the Expansion Pass and meet the requirements (basically, you need to achieve an Environment Level of 5 on Bleak Beach) you'll gain access to the Bubbly Basin area, which is when the real fun begins. Bubbly Basin is no small offshoot or side area — it may be the biggest and most complex Pokopia region yet. The centrepiece of the area is a flooded town (the ruins of Cerulean City) surrounded by plenty of blocky wilderness. Of course, you'll be able to befriend a host of new aquatic Pokémon here by building a variety of underwater habitats.

Perhaps the thing that makes Bubbly Basin most interesting is its layered design, somewhat reminiscent of Nintendo's lasagna-like approach to Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's Hyrule. In addition to Bubbly Basin's main flooded area, you can also make your way above the waves to explore several small islands, or go the opposite direction and delve into the inky depths, which you can illuminate with a patchwork of lights, wires, and electrical devices. Oh, and if you're into Pokopia's surprisingly dark eco disaster backstory, there are plenty of new lore documents to be found throughout the region.

Bubbly Basin's subnautical setting also provides some fun new opportunities for the hardcore Pokopia builders out there as the things you create no longer need to be tethered to the ground. Certain buildings, like the shark-shaped submarine house you're asked to build as part of Bubbly Basin's main quest line, naturally float in the water, but with the new buoyant blocks you can suspend your creations pretty much anywhere in the water, which makes for even trippier potential designs.

Make no mistake, Bubbly Basin doesn't radically alter Pokopia's campaign or overall impact. This DLC is basically just more . Another sandbox added to the five the game already had. That said, it's a very good sandbox, which serves as a potent reminder of how great Pokopia is for anyone who might have fallen off on the game since launch. And you shouldn't overlook some of the free additions included in the 2.0 update either. On top of swimming, there are a number of new quality-of-life features, including some fresh building options and updates to the inventory system that even let you share a limited number of items between regions. Clearly the makers of Pokopia are listening and hopefully players will be able to catch some more improvements in the coming months.

These impressions are based on a copy of Pokémon Pokopia and the game’s Expansion Pass provided by publisher Nintendo.

Pokémon Pokopia: Bubbly Basin kicks off the game’s post-launch support the right way with a great new watery region to splash around in and an unusually-robust-for-Nintendo collection of free quality-of-life improvements for everyone. The $35 price tag for Pokopia's Expansion Pass may seem slightly steep at first glance, but given the depth and quality of Bubbly Basin, and the fact that another upcoming region is included in the pass, I can already fairly confidently recommend Pokéfans take the plunge.

Pokémon Pokopia: Bubbly Basin, the first of three content waves included in the game’s $35 Expansion Pass, is available now.

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