Sleeping Pokémon was finally released in some regions earlier this week as an open beta for Android devices. After being the target of every joke when it was first announced and then experiencing a series of delays, it’s now officially “coming out soon” according to The Pokémon Company.
Developed by Select Button (also known for Magikarp dance), Pokémon Sleep is, for the most part, gamification of your nap time. Based on our first impressions of the Android beta, it not only tries to promote healthy sleep patterns but also tries to entice trainers with popular F2P and P2W mobile tactics by invite them to “friend” the entire Pokédex.
When you launch the app for the first time, you’ll be introduced to Professor Neroli – a new professor specializing in the field of sleep. He loves researching Pokémon sleep patterns, and for this he calls on your help to gather data on Pokémon’s different sleep patterns. So every time you go to bed, you’re helping!
All kinds of information are provided to you right from the start in Pokémon Sleep with one guide to another menu screen, but to start the chase, the main priority is to record your sleep (and of course is to help Professor Neroli). To do this, you need to give the app access to a bunch of features on your phone, and yes – this includes your microphone initially, so the app can record you as you go. Sleeping (that’s not scary at all…). If this concerns anyone, there’s an option in the menu to disable this part of the app. Logs are also supposed to be automatically deleted within 24 hours or before your next sleep session. And if you really want to, you can go in and manually delete each audio file yourself so no one has to hear the weird dreams you’ve had for a few hours.
The ideal amount of sleep is 8.5 hours according to the app, and you can sleep twice per day, but they should be at least 90 minutes. From here, you set an alarm in Pokémon Sleep to remind you to go to sleep, and then set an alarm to wake you up. You should then connect your phone to a charger and place it next to your pillow so it can track and record your movements and sounds. And that’s when the fun beginszzzz…!
You can leave it running overnight or take a nap. You can also play relaxing sounds to help you doze off, but for some reason we had no luck with this option – with the app playing Pokémon-themed music at full volume until when we can turn it off.
Sleep is technique part of the ‘play’ aspect of Pokémon Sleep, but there’s actually a number of things to do before and after your nap. When you wake up, the app will chart your movements, noises, etc., to compile a “sleep report”, then log stages like how long it took to fall asleep , when you doze off and whether you fall asleep. in a very deep sleep.
Pokémon will then spawn around Snorlax based on how you sleep. Several types appear based on the quality of your sleep. You were initially given a Pikachu and after our own first session we received a Bulbasaur, Metapod, and Mankey, representing the “sleep” pattern. During our second run, three Pichus appeared.
Once you’ve had at least one nap, a bunch of other options will be unlocked – such as the ability to cook and feed your Pokémon. The quest each week is to pick a spot on the island and then help Snorlax grow by cooking and feeding it, which will allow you to attract and befriend even more Pokémon. Again, we’ve only sampled a small portion of all of this so far, but it’s basically about adding new items to the “Sleep Style Dex” (basically a Pokédex) of the Pokémon you befriend in the game. There seem to be hundreds of Pokémon to encounter, but in these early stages your Dex profile is an empty board.
And that’s usually how Pokémon Sleep works. It also includes tips on healthy eating and other aspects of your life, in the hope of helping you improve your sleep quality and sleep schedule. It will also score your sleep sessions out of 100, with players able to work towards achieving a perfect sleep score over time. Looks like you can also play the whole system if you don’t really want to sleep and just want to play the Pokémon part. However, if you’re more interested in catching them all, we’d recommend one of the main games, or even Niantic’s. Pokémon GO mobile game.
As for this whole concept, one issue during our brief time with this app (aside from it wanting to record audio), was the way it required players to sleep with their phones right next to them. While a healthy sleep pattern is certainly important, we’re not sure if it’s worth sleeping with your cell phone on your head or by your side all night, every night. There’s even a warning not to wrap your phone in a blanket or put it under a pillow and it might not be the best app if you want to save battery. Alternatively, you can register your phone for a Pokémon GO Plus+ device, but at the time of this practice we do not have access to this product.
