Summary
SomePokemon GOfans are currently taking to social media to criticize a recent update that significantly altered avatar appearances. While the changes do not appear to be available globally as of late March, manyPokemon GOplayers that took the time to reflect on them appear to agree that they switched things up for the worse.
All but the most minor ofPokemon GOupdatestend to go through several limited tests until they are rolled out to all users. Niantic has historically favored restricting its pool of testers geographically. The game itself doesn’t have an actual beta tester program, meaning players can find themselves receiving features that are not yet available to everyone.
Pokemon GO Players Bemoan Altered Avatar Appearances
While those changes are often received positively, that hasn’t been the case with thePokemon GOavatar systemrevamp that the developer started testing in the second half of March. On the contrary, a lot of the social media chatter surrounding the experimental update has been negative, with some fans flat-out asserting that their new avatars have been made uglier. The specifics of such complaints appear to vary quite a bit; some players have posited that the desaturated skin tones make their avatars “look like potatoes,” while others have taken aim at their new poses, which appear to be much stiffer.
Based on recent social media reports, it would appear that the changes are currently only being tested in the United Kingdom and parts of the U.S. Some British users have also claimed that Niantic actually rolled back the avatar update around March 25, only for the changes to come back the following day. This is fairly standard practice for the developer, as the company will often revert updates during testing to apply fixes and redeploy them. It is hence not a firm indication that Niantic is considering reverting the patch, although that is always a possibility with experimental updates.
Pokemon GO’s New Avatar System Does Show Some Promise
While the player reactions to the update appear to skew negative, some fans have still pointed out that the changes are not all bad. For example, the revamp appears to address some recent complaints aboutPokemon GOavatar customization feeling outdated. It does so by delivering a much more robust system that allows players to customize their avatars to the tiniest details.
Another change that Niantic is currently testing concerns one group of catch screen backgrounds. Specifically, thePokemon GObeach biome received a visual makeoverfollowing the game’s latest update, although the new visuals are still not live globally.
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