This week, the newest game in the Pokémon franchise arrives with the long-awaited debut of Pokopia. I played the company’s first-ever life-simulation game to see if it was worth the wait.

A lone, shape-shifting Pokemon named Ditto who's taken on the form of its lost human trainer. And you're looking for friends.

Developed by Omega Force, Pokémon Pokopia is a blocky life sim that applies the universal language of Pokémon to the creative joys of Koei Tecmo’s Dragon Quest Builders series. That doesn’t just mean ...