Niantic Introduces New Challenges to Party Play in Pokémon GO, But Players Face Locking Screen Issue, Is There a Fix?

Trainers, you’re probably aware that Pokémon GO is always looking for ways to keep the game exciting. One of those ways is through Party Play, a feature that allows up to four players to team up and tackle challenges together once they’ve reached level 15. Now, the word on the street is that Niantic and Pokémon GO wanted to crank up the heat by making Party Play challenges even more, you guessed it, challenging. Sounds like a blast, right? Well, not so fast, because you might end up getting stuck on the Party Play Challenges screen for an hour.

See, not everything is going according to plan. Players are reporting that they’re getting stuck on a Party Play challenge screen, and they can’t do anything until the party wraps up. So, you’re essentially frozen in limbo, which is a total mood-killer when you’re trying to catch ’em all. Now, what are these new challenges, and are they worth your time?

Here’s a quick rundown:

• Catch 30 different species of Pokémon: 2 Max Potions
• Walk 5km: 4 Razz Berry
• Use 20 Berries to help catch Pokémon: 3 Razz Berry
• Battle 8 TGR Grunts: 10 Mega Pidgeot Energy
• Make 25 Nice Throws: 3 Razz Berry
• Catch 50 Pokémon: 6 Razz Berry
• Catch 25 Pokémon in Ultra Balls: 5 Mega Pidgeot Energy
• Battle 8 TGR Grunts: 10 Mega Venusaur Energy
• Catch 50 Pokémon: 5 Pinap Berry
• Win 3 Raids: 20 Mega Venusaur Energy
• Catch 75 Pokémon in Ultra Balls: 15 Mega Blastoise Energy
• Make 45 Nice Throws: 5 Pinap Berry

We understand that Niantic intends to increase the stakes, but these rewards aren’t exactly screaming “worth it.”

Adding insult to injury, there’s a bug that’s literally breaking the game. Players find themselves stuck on a ‘Challenge Screen,’ unable to interact with the game in any way. And before you ask, yes, people have tried everything, from restarting the game and force-stopping the app to clearing cache and even rebooting their phones. Nothing seems to work. Players even tested going further apart in case that would break the lock, but no dice.

While the intentions behind updating Party Play were good, the execution leaves a lot to be desired. The challenges are harder, sure, but the rewards aren’t scaling up to make it worth the effort. And let’s not forget the elephant in the room: the screen lock issue that’s been frustrating players left and right. We’re all hoping Niantic will swoop in with some fixes ASAP because, as it stands, these issues are making Party Play anything but a party.