Pokemon GO Players Aren't Happy About the Avatar Changes

Some Pokemon GO players aren't happy about the game's latest update. The new patch radically changed the appearance of Pokemon GO avatars, prompting an ongoing wave of backlash from the fandom.

Niantic dubbed the controversial update "Rediscover Yourself," having positioned it as the opening set piece of its Rediscover campaign, a series of patches meant to modernize its hit mobile game. Rediscover Yourself rolled out to Pokemon GO players globally on April 17.

Some Pokemon GO Fans Think New In-Game Avatars Are 'Ugly'

A vocal subset of the fandom has immediately decried the update as moving too far away from the game's established aesthetic. Within the first 24 hours of its release, the patch prompted thousands of players to voice their displeasure with the changes on social media. A lot of the recent criticism echoes the grievances that some players have already voiced in late March, claiming that the beta version of the same Pokemon GO update made "potatoes" out of their avatars.

While a significant chunk of the ongoing backlash simply involves players calling the new avatars "ugly," a number of fans did attempt to articulate more constructive feedback for Niantic. Some such opinions highlighted how the new update eliminated many middle skin tones, while others criticized the fact that the necks of their Pokemon GO avatars have been shortened to what they deem a bizarre degree.

Multiple players have also discovered a problematic bug following the Rediscover Yourself update, where wearing a skirt and placing a small Pokemon to defend a Gym results in an unintended camera angle that inappropriately highlights the avatar's lower body on the Gym screen. Aside from such technical complaints, some fans have also claimed that they are struggling to design their avatars in a way that doesn't make them appear too androgynous for their liking. Meanwhile, others said they would have been fine with the new appearance options were they offered in addition to the old ones, rather than as their replacements.

Prior to the controversial patch entering beta this spring, some players have been calling for Niantic to revise the game's avatar system, arguing that Pokemon GO customization has been starting to feel outdated. And while the Rediscover Yourself update did introduce more customization options, even more fans now appear to be pleading with the developers to roll back the changes. The chances of that happening appear slim, not least because Niantic has been touting the Rediscover campaign as its attempt to modernize the game for the next decade.