Pokémon Sunset Is A Brand-New Game For Old-School Fans
By Published Apr 11, 2026, 5:00 AM EDT Chris is a Gaming Editor at ScreenRant. He has been a professional writer since 2009, and has written for top TV, comics, movie, and video game outlets like Engadget, Polygon, Destructoid, and more. He brings with him an expertise in every game genre, no matter how niche or mainstream.
You may know him as the former Managing/Reviews Editor of Destructoid, where he published hundreds of game reviews across every genre, including MMOs, sports games, and Metroidvanias.
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During any given generation, there's generally not a consensus about what fans want. Some want Game Freak to move forward and introduce new mechanics, while .
With remakes, there's room for both, but it doesn't always work out that way. On , though, fans are celebrating the release of Pokémon Sunset, which is a decidedly old-school tint to the series that should keep hardcore fans happy.
Pokémon Sunset Is An Old-School-Inspired ROM Hack
There's Still A Market For That
Crafted by the creator of Emerald Seaglass, Pokémon Sunset imagines the world of Pokémon "under the spell of an eternal sunset." It's a great premise for a Pokémon adventure with high stakes, and there are even new "sunset forms" of Pokémon that can change type. So why is this project old-school-inspired? Well, it doesn't have modern concepts like level caps, shiny charms, physical/special splits, and custom game modes.
It takes place in the Ilios region, which is Greek-inspired, and sports a new team with "350-400 Pokémon" to capture. There are no "Fakémon" planned for Pokémon Sunset, meaning all the characters you can get are official, albeit with the aforementioned additional forms to navigate. According to the creator, it will be based around replay value, and it even has a hard mode to boost Gym Leader difficulty.
It's not quite , but it's a good medium for fans who are used to modern conveniences and quality-of-life, but want a more challenging experience.
Pokémon Fans Should Check This One Out
Sooner Than Later
Fans are already loving it now that it's out: "Oh I can't wait to play this! It looks amazing! I love the warm sunset colors. Thank you for making the Johto Pokémon available throughout the game too, instead of just for the post-ending like the original Leafgreen did. This was something that I always disliked in the original and I'm so excited to be able use a Johto team (especially the starters, Chikorita my beloved!) Congrats on the release and thank you for your hard work making this."
Others like it so much that the creator is now on their radar: "Just wanted to say I've been playing this the past two days. I have a feeling it's going to be up there with my favorite hacks. Some minor fun and interesting changes. Beautiful and creative theme. Really good stuff. Thanks, OP. I'm interested in anything you do in the future."
Pokémon is one of those franchises that just won't go away. Whether it's through official or fan-created means, it will live on for decades to come. No matter what, there's something out there for everyone.
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