Pokemon Legends: Arceus

 Switch
User Score
8.1

Generally favorable reviews- based on 3825 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,951 out of 3825
  2. Mixed: 388 out of 3825
  3. Negative: 486 out of 3825
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. samichsupernova
    Feb 8, 2022
    4
    I wasn’t sure what to make of PL:Arceus when it was first announced. On the one hand, GF and TPC appeared to be changing up the battle mechanics & adding real-time elements. On the other hand, its poor graphics and empty overworld left a lot to be desired. It was also unclear whether the game would be an experimental one-off, or an attempt to change/evolve the series’ core mechanics. AsI wasn’t sure what to make of PL:Arceus when it was first announced. On the one hand, GF and TPC appeared to be changing up the battle mechanics & adding real-time elements. On the other hand, its poor graphics and empty overworld left a lot to be desired. It was also unclear whether the game would be an experimental one-off, or an attempt to change/evolve the series’ core mechanics. As someone who’s played since the very first titles but finds the latest entries to be stale and disappointing, I went in with very low expectations.

    Pokemon Legends: Arceus’ trailers promised a decent story, and while I can attest that the writing receives more focus than usual, the presentation frankly sucks, as there’s still no voice acting, with most interactions consisting of characters awkwardly standing & talking.

    The real draws are the revamped combat and catching systems. The changes to gameplay, while not perfect, make Arceus initially far more captivating than its preceding games. First and most importantly, you can aim Poke Balls to interact directly with Pokemon on the field, & while exploring, you’ll be able to easily shuffle who’s next in line to battle, as well as send them to harvest materials from trees, shrubs, and mineral outcroppings, essential for crafting healing items and Poke Balls.

    Many Pokemon will either run or attack your avatar on sight, so you’ve got options - dodge like it's Dark Souls, sneak around and try to nab them without being spotted, ambush with your Pokemon to start a fight, lure/repel them with food, or run away. You’ll also get multiple Pokemon mounts to ride across the game’s several open areas.

    Combat is tweaked in many minor ways. While you’ll be dodging occasionally, aside from bosses, you don’t fight Pokemon in real-time, so the traditional four-move, turn-based core combat remains. The game introduces Agile and Strong variations to attacks (faster and weaker VS stronger and slower). Best of all, your Pokemon’s moves can now be easily switched outside of battle, making it infinitely more convenient to swap movesets. It really opens up a lot of possibilities - you can have your starter be a sweeper in one battle, and a defensive mon-catching tool in the next. Held items no longer exist. Status effects are tweaked, with most being weaker, and they thankfully disappear after each battle.

    These changes, as well as the limited pool of teachable moves, make certain builds, such as dedicated physical and special sweepers, far more effective. It’ll be in your interest to get battles done as quickly as possible, especially since you’ll often find yourself fighting multiple wild Pokemon at once with just one of your own. For the most part, the changes also help the game to flow smoother, since you’ll be covering a lot of ground in the great outdoors, often atop mounted Pokemon. However, due to the kneecapping of potential builds owing to the removal of breeding, and lack of variety in your foes making fine-tuning an afterthought, I grew bored of the battles halfway in.

    There are no gyms, no breeding, and very few trainer battles. Instead, you’ll spend time gathering/crafting, and on the Pokedex. This time your dex entries don’t end with just catching and trading. You’re also tasked with specific battle tasks. You’ll only need to fulfill ten challenges per Pokemon, so while it isn't daunting, it does feel like busywork.

    That brings me to the game’s biggest weakness - the world itself - and I don’t just mean the fact that there are limited ways to interact with the environments, or that the 242 Pokemon are a mixed bag of species. While the Pokemon models are often well-animated, the day-night and weather cycles add variety, and the game runs smoothly with minimal loading, there’s no sugarcoating the fact that the graphics and environments are subpar, featuring empty worlds, trees & textures that would look bad on the GameCube, pop-in and heavy aliasing, & a bland color palette tempered by muted art direction.

    It's a testament to the strength of Arceus’ core mechanics that the bland environments, lack of trainer battles, and unfinished feel of the game don’t completely sink the experience. Perhaps it’s because my expectations were so low going in, but I can safely say that in spite of its many faults, Arceus is the most fun I’ve had with a Pokemon title since the days of the DS. It also shows that the franchise in general still has potential. That may sound like faint praise from someone who has been critical of the mainline franchise for years, but I think most fans will appreciate the real-time elements, the easily-swappable movesets, and the additions to the world-building and lore. My only hope is that Nintendo is able to build upon what was established in this title and utilize it to take the franchise forward in a bold new direction. Rated 4/10 to balance out all the shills.    … Expand
  2. Nobilis1984
    Jan 30, 2022
    4
    A nice Pokemon game. Is wonderful for milking the brand.
    After all, it looks good, but purely in terms of gameplay, it's all scheme F. Nintendo releases a Pokemon game without really thinking about it. You don't have to be creative anymore because it will be bought anyway.
  3. Redman_07
    Dec 10, 2022
    4
    Remove pokemon and it would be a 4-5. Nothing but hype. Gameplay is awfully repetetive and not demanding at all. Dead and empty landscape. Graphics, please. Holy. Stop celebrating bad games please!!!
  4. amandra
    Aug 11, 2022
    4
    Exceedingly mediocre linear "fake open world" game. They copied so many great games and failed to deliver even a passable copy of any of them. There's some fun to be had here, but it's a completely skippable game.

    Bought for the kids who are obsessed with pokemon and they both moved on to other games after a few hours of game time. There simply isn't all that much value here. I played to    Exceedingly mediocre linear "fake open world" game. They copied so many great games and failed to deliver even a passable copy of any of them. There's some fun to be had here, but it's a completely skippable game.

    Bought for the kids who are obsessed with pokemon and they both moved on to other games after a few hours of game time. There simply isn't all that much value here. I played to help explain the mechanics and rushed through the second half of an abyssmal story. There's nothing to draw you back in if you aren't a sadistic completionist.    … Expand
  5. Blindman
    Sep 30, 2022
    4
    Open world is nice.
    Catching pokemon is fun but catching the same one over and over not so much.
    Fighting pokemon is fun but fighting the same one over and over...... Boss fights are fairly terrible. English translation is very bad, hopefully better in Japanese but for those that don't have that option well its very sad. I gave it a 4/10 as I did complete it but I wish I had given    Open world is nice.
    Catching pokemon is fun but catching the same one over and over not so much.
    Fighting pokemon is fun but fighting the same one over and over......
    Boss fights are fairly terrible.
    English translation is very bad, hopefully better in Japanese but for those that don't have that option well its very sad.

    I gave it a 4/10 as I did complete it but I wish I had given up earlier.
    I rate this the worst pokemon so far.    … Expand
  6. MikeGold
    Jan 31, 2022
    4
    While the story and new mechanics are truly amazing and mark a great progress in this old franchise, everything is let down by the terrible engine in the game which brings everything down. The amount of details is terribly low, framerates are well below acceptable, resolution is low and the game even in docked mode looks and plays really bad. The world is simply empty and still theWhile the story and new mechanics are truly amazing and mark a great progress in this old franchise, everything is let down by the terrible engine in the game which brings everything down. The amount of details is terribly low, framerates are well below acceptable, resolution is low and the game even in docked mode looks and plays really bad. The world is simply empty and still the framerate dips quite often. It is really sad, because the new story, mechanics and the whole idea for the game is great. We can't even blame Switch for this state of the game. We had the games like BOTW or Xenoblade that had a really well made open world. It's a major disappointment considering that the Pokemon games are always sell like crazy.… Expand
  7. majr
    Jan 31, 2022
    4
    After completing the game and spending about 25 hours in it, I sadly have to say it is a hard pass on a reply. I wanted to like it....I tried to like it....but the only reason I even beat it at the end was to say I did. A lot of small things overall irritated thought out my time playing this game, that will be excused cause it is not as buggie as other "AAA" titles. I will give it all theAfter completing the game and spending about 25 hours in it, I sadly have to say it is a hard pass on a reply. I wanted to like it....I tried to like it....but the only reason I even beat it at the end was to say I did. A lot of small things overall irritated thought out my time playing this game, that will be excused cause it is not as buggie as other "AAA" titles. I will give it all the credit in the world for being playable, but it's sad were in a age where that is a thing.… Expand
  8. Mattaj
    Jan 30, 2022
    4
    I was hoping for Pokemon to finally catch up with times but it feels like they only developed a game that should have been released 10 years ago. It even further convinced me that publishers/developers of pokemon games only aim to milk nostalgic players and children who just started their adventure with pokemon. Minimum amount of effort for maximum amount of profits looks like has becameI was hoping for Pokemon to finally catch up with times but it feels like they only developed a game that should have been released 10 years ago. It even further convinced me that publishers/developers of pokemon games only aim to milk nostalgic players and children who just started their adventure with pokemon. Minimum amount of effort for maximum amount of profits looks like has became the motto for a while now. Still, could enjoy bits and pieces but I was falling asleep most of the time.… Expand
  9. chlxowns68
    Jan 29, 2022
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I tried to play Pokemon but I still see a lot of room for improvement.
    I'm looking forward to the next one.    … Expand
  10. Stoikil
    Jan 30, 2022
    4
    Por fin han dado el paso, mundo abierto, las batallas contra los animales salvajes son muy rápidas, la recolección es muy rápida y agradable, poder completar entradas de la pokedex de diferentes formas es una buena decisión... Ahora bien, el apartado artístico es un desastre, técnicamente no aguanta, constantes popeos de elementos en un mundo vacío y que no insta a la exploración, el juegoPor fin han dado el paso, mundo abierto, las batallas contra los animales salvajes son muy rápidas, la recolección es muy rápida y agradable, poder completar entradas de la pokedex de diferentes formas es una buena decisión... Ahora bien, el apartado artístico es un desastre, técnicamente no aguanta, constantes popeos de elementos en un mundo vacío y que no insta a la exploración, el juego no te para de llevar de la mano evitándote cualquier sensación de libertad, el lore es un desastre, no se sostiene por ningún lado, en fin... Lo hubiese puesto un 6 pero viendo la cantidad de 10's que tiene me parecería que estoy siendo injusto con la industria, a este juego le faltan 2 años de desarrollo para ser un 8.… Expand
  11. Poochingus
    Mar 3, 2022
    4
    This game is almost average. Gamefreak still has a long way to go to justify their literally biggest media franchise in the world budget.

    What this game did right is being a fun spin off with great out of the box thinking. It was fun to actually find new pokemon and keep coming back to interact with them. The concept was solid as could be. The feeling of pokemon being a genuine danger    This game is almost average. Gamefreak still has a long way to go to justify their literally biggest media franchise in the world budget.

    What this game did right is being a fun spin off with great out of the box thinking. It was fun to actually find new pokemon and keep coming back to interact with them. The concept was solid as could be. The feeling of pokemon being a genuine danger came across quite well, and it was fun to actually focus on how it would be in real life. I also enjoyed the different pokeball types too. I appreciate that for the most part, you are finally just allowed to explore and enjoy the game instead of being stopped every 10 minutes for some exposition. You get to take the story at your own pace. The actions in the game being tied to speed and having two additional combat styles was also a very neat concept that I think was done pretty well.

    That, sadly is about where it all ends. The bad outweighs the good. This is still a game that had the world of money behind it, and it felt more like an indie game than a real AAA game. Overall, the general UX and UI were half baked. I look forward to the day gamefreak realize you can speed up combat by adding a 2x, 4x, 8x speed shift too. Combat may start and end faster, but its slow as ever in the actual fights. Speaking of that, the battles were sparse and boring. They also often pit you against 2 or 3 enemies with your just 1. Why can't I use multiple pokemon per battle? They fell back on being to conservative in that aspect. Combat was sadly easier than any game to date, and I realized I hardly ever needed to fight. The boss fights were all literally the same, and it was boring every time after the first one. Graphics improved, animations improved, but are still sub-par, in time it seems that will be iteratively improving, but I don't excuse it either way in the here and now. The end of the story felt very rushed and messy. Overall the story had me rather bored, and side quests were also a literal waste of my time so I stopped doing them. There are no unique quest rewards, just common items I can craft in low quantities. Crafting, while interesting, was admittedly, rather limited. I'd have liked more than just 3 pokeball types. Also full heals were pointless because after battle you got cured of status conditions. Another weird thing was a glitch that for me at least, %100 accuracy moves would often miss, for both me and the enemy. The only items I ever seemed to use were pokeballs and potions, and then occasionally food to feed to wild pokemon for pokedex goals. The "HM" pokemon were nice here. They were a great idea in sun/moon but the goofy baby safety gear ruined the vibe, so here they looked good. However I did find the way they worked didn't quite make sense. The flying one was especially bad, it was really just slowly falling, not flying. The lack of ability to do anything multiplayer of note outside of trades was also wildly baffling. This could have been a chance to explore and fill out the pokedex together with a friend in the survey corps. and each task you both did together filled out both pokedexes at once. Of course the biggest thing missing is battles. Honestly why not let me battle someone else? Makes no sense except to keep people buying the terrible gen 4 demakes. This would make up for the fact that this game has no satisfying battles in it at all. Also they removed held items and abilites. So there is that.

    Overall I feel this was a promising step forward, but gamefreak still need to learn how to step up to the plate, and they need to stop pumping out games too fast. This will probably be my last pokemon game that I buy for myself. In future I may borrow a game or sail the high seas, but this feels like the last I'll be playing. The franchise is giving out at this point in the videogames department.    … Expand
  12. Javieraso12
    Jan 29, 2022
    4
    No es lo suficientemente bueno. Disfruté el juego pero porque pokemon es la franquicia de mi infancia, por lo que si eres como yo probablemente te lo pases bien. El juego en si es una costra, tiene muchos glitches visuales, se ve como el culo y tiene unas caidas de frames en las animaciones brutales. La historia es la cosa mas horrible y plana que te puedan echar a la cara, creo que me hanNo es lo suficientemente bueno. Disfruté el juego pero porque pokemon es la franquicia de mi infancia, por lo que si eres como yo probablemente te lo pases bien. El juego en si es una costra, tiene muchos glitches visuales, se ve como el culo y tiene unas caidas de frames en las animaciones brutales. La historia es la cosa mas horrible y plana que te puedan echar a la cara, creo que me han repetido minimo 100 veces los mismo puntos principales de la historia, me sentia tonto. Las mecanicas de combate son lo peor de cualquier entrega, lo de los turnos va fatal y esta explicado como el culo, me atacan tantas veces que hay veces que saco un pokemon y no puedo ni seleccionar movimiento porque ya ha muerto, es patetico. Hay algo que te engancha, creo que son las capturas o ver los pokemons en el mundo andar, pero es que eso ya lo hacia y lo hace mejor pixelmon, asi que este juego no tiene nada y esta hecho sin cariño. Me decepciona en que se esta convirtiendo esta franquicia, pero es el mejor juego 3d de toda la saga, por lo que no se que mas decir.… Expand
  13. Northon720
    Jan 31, 2022
    4
    Pokémon es la saga más famosa que conocemos, nadie que esté mínimamente metido en el mundillo lo podría negar, el problema es que los que hacen el videojuego también lo saben y aplican la ley del mínimo esfuerzo en cada juego desde hace unos cuantos ya, pero es que en este es una pasada de rosca monstruosa, me explico.

    Vamos a pasar este tema rapidito porque es el que más destaca a    Pokémon es la saga más famosa que conocemos, nadie que esté mínimamente metido en el mundillo lo podría negar, el problema es que los que hacen el videojuego también lo saben y aplican la ley del mínimo esfuerzo en cada juego desde hace unos cuantos ya, pero es que en este es una pasada de rosca monstruosa, me explico.

    Vamos a pasar este tema rapidito porque es el que más destaca a simple vista, pero no es ni de lejos el mayor de los problemas, los gráficos y la dirección artísitca, los pongo juntos por el simple hecho de que mi opinión sobre los 2 es la misma, lamentable, las texturas están sacadas de un juego de ps2 (y de los mediocres), aun por encima el juego es horrendo visualmente, no es ni bonito de ver, tiene una paleta de colores horrenda, lo único que es decente es el cielo, que está bien, FIN.

    El mundo, Jesús bendito menudo insulto, "mundo abierto" pero que va, llegas al pueblo, que viene siendo el "hub" entre misiones e investigaciones, llegas a la puerta y, sorpresa! Te sale una pantalla la cual seleccionas a la zona de capturar que quieres ir, a lo Monster Hunter, pasémoslo por alto, porque claro, vamos a explorar al menos una zona con detalle e interés, bien, la primera zona es una pradera y puedo contarte lo que encontrarás, 3 tipos de árbol diferentes, montañas que delimitan la zona, una textura de suelo PLANA, mineral al cual le tiras un pokémon y lo recoge, lo mismo con los arboles que dan bayas, rocas de adorno (iguales) y por supuesto los Pokémons, tiene un interés nulo, no hay secretos, no hay zonas que llamen la atención, la distancia de dibujado es ínfima, es que es una cosa que de verdad, lo ves, y jamás dirías que está hecho por una compañia millonaria a todos los niveles, es una falta de respeto a los fans alucinante.

    (Para los que ponen de excusa "es que es la Nintendo Switch que es una patata y los gráficos pues cojean", claro, es que el Monster Hunter Rise o el Zelda salieron para PC y por eso parece que están 2 generaciones por encima, tanto por gráficos, como esfuerzo en hacer un mundo interesante que explorar, este pokémon esta más cerca de un pokemon snap con una mínima historia y quitando los raíles que de cualquier otra cosa.

    Ya he opinado sobre la saga en su momento, y tengo que reconocer que la idea de este juego me gusta, capturar los pokemons de forma más "salvaje" explorar el mundo si este fuera interesante, y los combates iniciándolos sacando tu pokemon al mundo directamente, fluye, pero es que es tenemos que exigir mucho más a una franquicia gigantesca, me encantaría que siguiera por esta línea, esta idea de juego, el problema es que el siguiente será otra aberración porque saben que venderán una locura haciendo lo mínimo posible por los fans que se hartan a soltar 10 y 9 solo por ser Pokémon, a otra compañia no le permitiríamos esto y lo sabemos.

    CONCLUSIÓN:
    Si mañana me dijeran que el juego lo han hecho un estudio desconocido que se dedica a portear juegos de móvil me lo creería sin dudarlo, parece un early access en una versión muy muy temprana, pero no, es la franquicia más grande del mundo riéndose en tu cara.    … Expand
  14. Lorenzo3006
    Jan 29, 2022
    4
    Don't buy it, if you really like pokemons and want Game Freak to do better, it's the only way we as consumers can make the difference. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying that every thing in there is terrible but we, as players, deserve better than this for 60€ (or what your currency is). If you like gameplay loop play Monster Hunter, if you like open world play Zelda, if you like pokemonDon't buy it, if you really like pokemons and want Game Freak to do better, it's the only way we as consumers can make the difference. Don't get me wrong I'm not saying that every thing in there is terrible but we, as players, deserve better than this for 60€ (or what your currency is). If you like gameplay loop play Monster Hunter, if you like open world play Zelda, if you like pokemon battles play BDSP, what we have here is nothing to be praised.… Expand
  15. Sacapof
    Jan 30, 2022
    4
    Points positifs : tentative de renouvellement de la Licence honorable, les zones ouvertes, le crafting, les montures, quelques bonnes idées parmi les quêtes secondaires. La DA est plutôt sympa et a un énorme potentiel (la technique & le vide ne lui font pas honneur)

    Points négatifs : la technique très mauvaise (qualité des texture, clipping, aliasing) et pas du tout à la hauteur de ce    Points positifs : tentative de renouvellement de la Licence honorable, les zones ouvertes, le crafting, les montures, quelques bonnes idées parmi les quêtes secondaires. La DA est plutôt sympa et a un énorme potentiel (la technique & le vide ne lui font pas honneur)

    Points négatifs : la technique très mauvaise (qualité des texture, clipping, aliasing) et pas du tout à la hauteur de ce que devrait proposer une des licences les plus lucratives. Le monde manque cruellement de vie, les Pokemon sont posés là, à attendre qu'on les capture, ce qui ressemble plus à un zoo qu'à des terres sauvages (trop de sentiment de sécurité, et il aurait été appréciable et plus immersif que les Pokemon mènent leur vie, chassent, se battent, se cachent, jouent, ...).    … Expand
  16. Dom007
    Jan 30, 2022
    4
    Man the graphics in this game are bad. Looks like a ps2 game. The gameplay is not fun.
  17. Escueroi
    Jan 31, 2022
    4
    La verdad la idea es buena, el cambio es algo que rescatar en la jugabilidad para tener en cuenta en futuras entregas, no obstante carece de mucho apartado gráfico, visual, se nota que fue hecho con cero cariño, en muchos pasajes del juego hay escenarios muy cutre, ni hablar del delineado en los personajes en partes oscuras, es un chiste mal contado. No representa un modelo artístico,La verdad la idea es buena, el cambio es algo que rescatar en la jugabilidad para tener en cuenta en futuras entregas, no obstante carece de mucho apartado gráfico, visual, se nota que fue hecho con cero cariño, en muchos pasajes del juego hay escenarios muy cutre, ni hablar del delineado en los personajes en partes oscuras, es un chiste mal contado. No representa un modelo artístico, representa la mediocridad de las desarrolladores para hacer un juego que no tuvo el suficiente tiempo de desarrollo para salir en condiciones decentes. La historia pues.... Cómo siempre deja mucho que desear. Y la cantidad de texto que tiene el juego es una completa locura, tanto que llega a aburrir… Expand
  18. Ingleberg
    Mar 29, 2022
    4
    subpar graphics, subpar battling, repetitious, very little to say in the way of sound, too much pokemon aggro, makes it hard to do anything in an area sometimes without killing literally every mon in a 100 mile radius who sometimes even see you in the grass, weird system of ganging up on you, unintelligible and uninteresting story, questionable crafting, obnoxious side quests (most of themsubpar graphics, subpar battling, repetitious, very little to say in the way of sound, too much pokemon aggro, makes it hard to do anything in an area sometimes without killing literally every mon in a 100 mile radius who sometimes even see you in the grass, weird system of ganging up on you, unintelligible and uninteresting story, questionable crafting, obnoxious side quests (most of them at least), and a massive map that still some how makes it a pain to traverse. Also the new designs are butt ugly. That isn't to say there's nothing to enjoy about it, but i find it more tedious than fun, more sleep-inducing than exciting, and more discouraging than motivating. And some of the boss battle mechanics are really questionable.… Expand
  19. Frank-byert
    Jan 29, 2022
    4
    Un buen intento por innovar en la saga , sin embargo es extremadamente decepcionante que game freak (compañia billonaria) no pueda manejar una buena dirección de arte.
  20. 2bitplayss
    Feb 2, 2022
    4
    as yall already know the graphics are really bad like a unity terrain tutorials look better
    its not really open world and you know that is not the worst problem
    so you have like 5 smaller areas with a hub world but they somehow made this 5 smaller areas really empty and bland battle system is boring cathing pokemon is not the worst thing ever but it gets old after a while couldnt    as yall already know the graphics are really bad like a unity terrain tutorials look better
    its not really open world and you know that is not the worst problem
    so you have like 5 smaller areas with a hub world but they somehow made this 5 smaller areas really empty and bland
    battle system is boring

    cathing pokemon is not the worst thing ever but it gets old after a while

    couldnt get more than 13 hours in before geting really bored
    and if u like it thats fine but il take a break from all the crappy games that have come out the past 9 years    … Expand
  21. eliteshadowx
    Jan 29, 2022
    4
    The maps and the graphics are downright ugly and disappointing. I think the catching mechanic is a lot of fun, but after the first 10-20 hours, my enjoyment dropped off fast. The lack of trainer battles makes leveling up and raising different Pokemon virtually pointless. There are some nice quality of life improvements in this game, such as the move select and evolution menu, and the agileThe maps and the graphics are downright ugly and disappointing. I think the catching mechanic is a lot of fun, but after the first 10-20 hours, my enjoyment dropped off fast. The lack of trainer battles makes leveling up and raising different Pokemon virtually pointless. There are some nice quality of life improvements in this game, such as the move select and evolution menu, and the agile and strong style mechanic is interesting. But again, the lack of trainer battles makes this game have zero replay-ability after you beat the main story.… Expand
  22. Slmft
    Mar 7, 2022
    4
    The new ideas are fresh and exciting. But the game came out ~2 years too early. And it's bad and lazy developed from technical side. Good graphics are not a must have, but this is garbage. Too bad, that too many people still supporting Game Freak. Can't recommend the game for the people who played pokemon since gen1. Scores above 7 are unbelievable.
  23. Gzen1
    Feb 3, 2022
    4
    I wanted a game, not an unpaid job

    ............... Looks average, better than sword & shield, good for kids I guess if you're desperate
  24. HeraticParadox
    Mar 13, 2022
    4
    To start off with something good, I enjoyed the alpha Pokémon mechanic. I like that any Pokémon has a rare chance to spawn as an alpha, and I enjoyed hunting alpha variants of the Pokémon I wanted to add to my party. It made my party members actually feel special and unique from all the other Pokémon running around in the over-world. That’s pretty much where my praise for the game ends.To start off with something good, I enjoyed the alpha Pokémon mechanic. I like that any Pokémon has a rare chance to spawn as an alpha, and I enjoyed hunting alpha variants of the Pokémon I wanted to add to my party. It made my party members actually feel special and unique from all the other Pokémon running around in the over-world. That’s pretty much where my praise for the game ends. The core game-play loop of catching Pokémon and filling out the Pokédex was acceptable, although the boss fights felt really bland and out of place. I felt just entertained enough to keep playing, but it never really felt great. I often felt that it was just barely enough to let me ignore the game's glaring flaws for long enough to complete the game. Clearly the graphics and performance of the game are some of it’s low points. This game might be the worst AAA title graphically in video game history when compared with other AAA titles releasing within a year. There’s a ton of pop in, especially when flying and there are significant frame rate drops for objects that aren't even that far away from the player. That being said, the poor graphics and performance were hardly what I disliked most about the game. The writing in this game was just painful, which is a shame because the story had so much potential. There were some seriously good story beats there, but the writing just made everything feel flat. None of the characters are relatable, the choices you make feel meaningless, and everything from the main quests to the side quests just feel completely lacking in substance. On top of that, the Arc Phone might be the laziest game mechanic in the history of lazy game mechanics. Why on earth, would a character who is literally a part of the survey corps responsible for SURVEYING the land and Pokémon who live there not just make a map. Instead the Arc Phone just magically gives you maps of new areas, and the other points in the game when the Arc Phone activates is just sheer disrespectful hand-holding on the parts of the developers. They must seriously think their player base is the most unintelligent group of people on the planet earth. This game feels like a bare bones tech demo for a game set to release in a year or two. It’s a shame that more effort was not put into it, because I can see the potential and that, to me, is what makes the failure to give us a solid finished product so much more painful.… Expand
  25. davidsrjr
    Jan 29, 2022
    4
    Here is a game that on paper gets me excited for a Pokemon game. After years and years of the same repeated game with different skins comes a new game that tries to be different. The problem is that each new idea feels cut short and never truly fleshed out. The visuals are boring and flat. People seem to confuse "graphics" with things like ultra realism or RTX but that is not what I amHere is a game that on paper gets me excited for a Pokemon game. After years and years of the same repeated game with different skins comes a new game that tries to be different. The problem is that each new idea feels cut short and never truly fleshed out. The visuals are boring and flat. People seem to confuse "graphics" with things like ultra realism or RTX but that is not what I am speaking about. A game can have simple graphics but still manage to set itself apart and look visually interesting. This game needs voice acting of some kind. The lack of voice acting just feels low budget and boring. Even a grunt would bring it up a point in my book at this point. The game play is fun and I would have enjoyed the open movement to play a bigger part in the battles. I think we are at a point where we can start to move away from the turn base battles. Final fantasy had a great solution in its remake where it could be toggled on for those who enjoy it but was not forced onto the player. Combat could be so much more by doing it real time. Heck even just getting rid of the one Pokemon limit when battling would be an improvement! It feels like they picked this time period so that they could finally do something different with the Pokemon formula but then chose not lean into it fully and we are left with half baked new features that just leave us wanting more. Hopefully this game will lead a future where Pokemon games can be something more than just an advertisement to sell merchandise!… Expand
  26. TheTurtule
    Jan 29, 2022
    4
    alors que dire du jeu, il n est pas mauvais mais il aurai pue être clairement mieux! on ce sent très vite dans un espece d'espace vert simulator ou un no man sky a ces début du vide du vide et rien que du vide zero dresseur a part dans le scenario avec de la cinématiques a ne plus en finir juste pour comblé le manque de contenue voila le jeu ne mérite pas une sale note mais ce n estalors que dire du jeu, il n est pas mauvais mais il aurai pue être clairement mieux! on ce sent très vite dans un espece d'espace vert simulator ou un no man sky a ces début du vide du vide et rien que du vide zero dresseur a part dans le scenario avec de la cinématiques a ne plus en finir juste pour comblé le manque de contenue voila le jeu ne mérite pas une sale note mais ce n est clairement pas le jeu Pokémon révolutionnaire tant attendu espérons que ce jeu soit juste une phase test pour faire patienté et que la 9G sera a la hauteur de nos attente avec ce gameplay… Expand
  27. EvilDFM
    Jan 29, 2022
    4
    The pathfinding work on the map is really painful, and I don't just focus on the graphics.
    come on nintendo..
    the world of Biomutant was more alive...
  28. Xroud
    Jan 30, 2022
    4
    It's an ok pokemon game, but it's not a good game. The world feels empty, graphics are outdated and pretty inconsistent, the story and characters are weak even for a pokemon game and once the novelty wears off the gameplay loop is really repetitive. This game really needed more time in development to create a world worth exploring and to refine all the new ideas, but right now this feelsIt's an ok pokemon game, but it's not a good game. The world feels empty, graphics are outdated and pretty inconsistent, the story and characters are weak even for a pokemon game and once the novelty wears off the gameplay loop is really repetitive. This game really needed more time in development to create a world worth exploring and to refine all the new ideas, but right now this feels like a precursor to a great game and definitely not worth the price tag.

    If you enjoyed the games before or have a strong connection to the franchise you'll likely enjoy it and appreciate the changes, but it's probably not winning over new fans. Hoping they actually take the time with the next one and run with the new ideas because it could make for a genuinely amazing game.    … Expand
  29. Ulvson
    Jan 30, 2022
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Demasiado Fan Boy, se conforman cada vez con menos, así sólo seguirán fomentando los malos juegos de Pokémon.… Expand
  30. RileyLan
    Jan 30, 2022
    4
    Better than Pokémon Britian, but could have been way better. There's a whole lot of useless, empty space with nothing around to catch interest. Looks like the environment department took 98% of the texture & modeling budget, b/c while the buildings & such looks good the character models did need more touch up as lighting reveals the models' polygons on occasion, or characters' mouthsBetter than Pokémon Britian, but could have been way better. There's a whole lot of useless, empty space with nothing around to catch interest. Looks like the environment department took 98% of the texture & modeling budget, b/c while the buildings & such looks good the character models did need more touch up as lighting reveals the models' polygons on occasion, or characters' mouths continously open/close like a singing bass on a wall. Completing the pokedex is tedious busy work now more than ever as completion criteria is random & sometimes requires 40+ interactions with a single type of Pokémon. Models visibly appear/disappear when in/out of rendering range. Pokémon animation visibly tanks to 3 frames at a distance.
    The evolution animation is the best, and the music is top notch.    … Expand
prev
Page:

Awards & Rankings

41
#41 Best Switch Game of 2022
2
#2 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2022

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
83

Generally favorable reviews - based on 118 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 102 out of 118
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 118
  3. Negative: 0 out of 118
  1. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Jan 30, 2024
    80
    Definitely not a bad game. It handles its mechanics perfectly, and as long as it doesn't try to talk at you, you'll enjoy it. It's the first step on the road to new games with Pokémon on the cover, and the good sales could be the main reason to continue similar work and experimentation. [Issue#317]
  2. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Oct 19, 2022
    85
    Acreus came out just a few months after Diamond & Pearl remake. Isn’t that too soon? Actually, no. Pokémon Legends: Arceus is the most innovative, revolutionary, and maybe simply the best Pokémon game of the last decade. [Issue#259, p.48]
  3. Nintendo Force Magazine
    May 13, 2022
    90
    This really does feel like a big step forward for a series that famously plays things safe, and I'm excited to see where the franchise will go next! [Issue #58 – March/April 2022, p. 72]
See all critic reviews »