The gaming forums on Reddit are amusing to read about this game.
"It's just Ingress, but missing loads of features"
"There is nothing around me, I have to travel for ages to get anything"
"It needs turn based battles, PvP, in game chat etc..."
"This game is rubbish, i'm having to organise what to do with people outside of the game as you can't do it in game"
All totally missing the point
The reason it is popular is that it is simple, with a good nostalgic IP, and is something that non-gamers are enjoying playing, precisely because the game is simple and has social interaction, not in spite of it as they seem to think.
Be interesting to see how long the popularity lasts and what comes next.