The recent Pokemon Go update removing default AR in favor of VR+ has proven controversial, with players demanding Niantic reverse the change.
Pokemon Go‘s latest update has frustrated players speaking out, demanding that Niantic reintroduce the game’s original AR mode after replacing it entirely with AR+.
Whileearly reactions were split, with some praising the game’s new non-AR options for interacting with Buddy Pokemon, reception towards the change has become overwhelmingly negative. This includes aReddit post by Jiqu0r, who lays out why making AR+ the only option is “not okay.”
As they explain, “We can no longer take simple photos in small areas, playing at night is now more difficult, the flow of the game has been destroyed for catching and encountering Pokémon, and so much more hinderances with the removal of Natural AR.”
They also criticized the fact that Niantic implemented the change with “no warning or testing … before it occurred” and said players downplaying the changes were being “insensitive” to those who had come to rely on AR for catching and grinding.
Comments on the post are full of players who say they’ve either turned off AR+ or stopped playing altogether. “Literally the main reason I played the game was to get silly pictures of Pokemon in random places,” said one.
Another commenter got specific in explaining how the update hurts Pokemon Go photographers, explaining, “If you ever want to take any sort of AR picture, AR+ sucks. It’s clunky, slow, and less flexible.”
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AR+ makes encounters more immersive, but it also makes catching far more difficult, which is why players want to have the option to switch between them.
Noelle Corbett was a Senior Writer on Dexerto’s US team. She is a Gaming expert, covering Pokemon, Baldur’s Gate, Dungeons & Dragons, and RPGs. She also has bylines at CBR.
