I am not a big mobile gamer, but what I definitely am is easily sucked into the latest trends. Pokemon Go was the mobile game I played the longest, only losing interest after a good few years as new features were added and updates proved overwhelming, while my passion for Peridot fizzled out in mere days. The latest to hook me is Pokemon Sleep, a game I’ll gladly embrace as a serial nap-taker.
The game only allows you to record two sleep sessions a day (unless you fiddle with your time settings), and that’s probably wise, as I don’t need any more excuses to nap more than I already do. However, over the past week, I’ve learned that there is a big issue with how Pokemon Sleep works: the sleep types and how it restricts your Pokemon collection.
There are three sleep types — dozing, snoozing, and slumbering. The app identifies which of these you fall into during a sleep session based on the amount of sound and movement you make. It appears dozing is more movement and sound, while snoozing specifically targets snorers, and slumbering types are people who barely make a sound and don’t move much. Whichever you rate the highest for will dictate your sleep type, which then affects the Pokemon that appear around Snorlax.
Having the Pokemon locked to specific sleep types is annoying when the aim is to ‘catch them all’, or at least get a snapshot of each one for your Sleep Style Dex. How are you meant to fill your Dex if you always sleep the same? For me, it leads to another problem — my husband snores. Constantly. All night. My research recordings each morning are filled with the sound of my husband snoring. This means each night, I am stuck firmly in the ‘snoozing’ camp, with my husband ruining my chances at getting Pokemon from the other sleep types.
I had a nap yesterday and managed to get the slumbering sleep type and bag myself two slumbering Pokemon Dex entries. As someone who generally moves a lot in their sleep and sleep talks, I think if I kicked my husband out of bed, I’d easily get the dozing sleep type overnight. My Pokemon Sleep research data backs this up, as my second-highest sleep type is dozing each night. I must have just been dead to the world during my brief nap, and by brief, I mean 90 minutes as that’s the minimum you have to sleep for the app to register as a session.
It’s a bit daft to have a completionist element to a game but then restrict players from being able to actually collect everything. At least, not without cheating. For those fortunate enough not to share a bed with a snorer, I imagine a few nights of playing snoring audio will help them fill their Dex. For me, I might have to murder my husband and get Snorlax to help me hide the body.