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
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  1. Quart22
    Feb 7, 2022
    0
    Quite the different Pokemon game from the main line series. However, this is one of the best Pokemon gaming experiences I've ever had. 10/10. 100% would recommend to fans of the franchise.
  2. Kadanka
    Feb 7, 2022
    5
    Game was really fun at first, due to novelty. Got really boring really fast. I am struggling to stay awake most of the time. The story is very bad, don’t let others tell you otherwise, it’s backwashed horses semen. Just bottom of the gutter story. Items are annoying, item storage even more so. Only hope I have for this is that there are more than 3 zones and hopefully some free patches. IfGame was really fun at first, due to novelty. Got really boring really fast. I am struggling to stay awake most of the time. The story is very bad, don’t let others tell you otherwise, it’s backwashed horses semen. Just bottom of the gutter story. Items are annoying, item storage even more so. Only hope I have for this is that there are more than 3 zones and hopefully some free patches. If I could go back in time, I wouldn’t have bought this. This Pokémon game was my last one, I just don’t think Pokémon is for me anymore.… Expand
  3. LuigiCuau
    Feb 7, 2022
    9
    Simplemente es impresionante, más de 45 horas de juego tengo actualmente y aún no termino todas las misiones secundarias, es verdad que gráficamente le falta razón por la cual no le doy el 10, pero mi problema principal es la historia, yo se que PKM no se distingue por la historia pero al ser un juego llamado "leyendas Arceus" esperaba más pues se debería mejor llamar "leyendas Sinho oSimplemente es impresionante, más de 45 horas de juego tengo actualmente y aún no termino todas las misiones secundarias, es verdad que gráficamente le falta razón por la cual no le doy el 10, pero mi problema principal es la historia, yo se que PKM no se distingue por la historia pero al ser un juego llamado "leyendas Arceus" esperaba más pues se debería mejor llamar "leyendas Sinho o leyendas diamante y perla" pues es casi nula la presencia de Arceus tanto en historia principal como post game, fuera de eso es un juegazo .… Expand
  4. PHE_AT_SL
    Feb 7, 2022
    1
    Legends Arceus is just incredibly ugly. In addition, so much is not ideally thought through and is boring and repetitive. I just don't know how an "established" company like GameFreak has so little attention to detail. I just miss it in too many places. No.. Without me.
  5. PatrizioItaly
    Feb 7, 2022
    7
    I've completed the 100% of the game last night. I'll always recommend this game to the franchise's fans but not without many criticisms.
    This game changes the game play completely with many long awaited new mechanics that we can only hope will stay in the future games. It's still a major improvement from the past games especially the recent BDSP remakes.
    Unfortunately the technical    I've completed the 100% of the game last night. I'll always recommend this game to the franchise's fans but not without many criticisms.
    This game changes the game play completely with many long awaited new mechanics that we can only hope will stay in the future games. It's still a major improvement from the past games especially the recent BDSP remakes.
    Unfortunately the technical aspects of this title are lacking and may lower the enjoyment of this experience by a lot.
    It's sad to know that your avatar is exploring a forest just because of its name appearing on the top corner and not by the visual environment. It's unsatisfying having many places very similar to one another inside the same map. The art direction is great as always but the immersion is ruined by its lacking.
    We knew of this lacking by the trailer but I would have still granted an 8 out of this game if not for another very disturbing aspect. The writing in this game is a new low. Pokémon had always had childish writing but in this instance every other dialog contradicts the one before. We are in a time where pokémon are feared but 50% of the village population is from a well established region where they already have pokéride, HM and are living peacefully with the pokémon. We are told that no one knows how to capture pokémon then they explain to us how to do so. They told us we are the greater battler but we have a teacher for that way more skilled than us. We are told that all the pokémon are fearsome then we are shown other character knowing that there are many species that are very peaceful toward them and easy to catch or to live with.
    I know this game is mostly for children but I would love to have a game not contradicting itself so often.
    The combat mechanics are an improvement but they need some fixing especially while battling other trainers. If you build, like me, a slow team it might occur that when one member is KO the next one entering will have to wait 2/3 moves from the opponent resulting in another KO without being able to do anything. In late game I had to rethink my team because one trainer attacked 13 times in a row demolishing my team. This is not a rise in the difficulty but some design flaw since I might want to play with my favorite pokémon without having such a disadvantage and all slower pokémon fill penalized.
    Over all the game is a good one and the game play loop in enjoyable. If they keep working on their optimizations skills and fix up the few problem this game could be a new starting point for the brand,    … Expand
  6. TadaoKou
    Feb 7, 2022
    10
    Well, normally I wouldn't give this game a 10/10 but an 8/10 but because there are so many morrons here which give the game a 0 or 3/10, I will give it a 10.
    Giving this game just a 0 or a 3 or even a 5/10 is just objectivly not true, even if you dislike the game.
    Now, where to start with this game...I personally absolutly adore it. I have over 70 hours right now put into it and I    Well, normally I wouldn't give this game a 10/10 but an 8/10 but because there are so many morrons here which give the game a 0 or 3/10, I will give it a 10.
    Giving this game just a 0 or a 3 or even a 5/10 is just objectivly not true, even if you dislike the game.

    Now, where to start with this game...I personally absolutly adore it.
    I have over 70 hours right now put into it and I think it is the best Pokemon game since Black & White. Personally I was never a fan of the 3D Pokemon games until Legends Arceus came out.

    Now, I want to address the biggest issue people have first: The graphics.
    The graphics are a 2 sided coin in this game. If you look at the game in TV mode, it looks terrible. Simply terrible. The performance in TV mode is also terrible. It often feels like a 20 FPS game.
    But...if you look at this game in handheld mode, it can actually look really pretty in some parts. If you have the game already, just compare a run through Jubilife Village between the TV mode and the handheld mode.
    You will notice that the handheld mode runs extremly well and looks really good in some areas.
    But you will also notice that the TV mode is the opposite of that.
    I would advise anyone to play this game ONLY in handheld mode! Personally, I can only say that this game is an 8/10 because I only played in handheld mode.
    If I have to judge the game by it's TV mode, it would be a 4 or 5/10. That's how big the difference is.

    Even despite me acknowledging the bad graphics in TV mode, I still think a lot of reviews here are extremly unfair towards the game. Calling Gamefreak lazy or terrible in this case is not true.
    Pokemon Legends Arceus was clearly a passion project for Gamefreak. You can see it in a lot of details they put in the game. Especially Jubilife Village. That is probably the best Pokemon village or town we had since the games went 3D. There are so many small details put into Jubilife Village, it is insane.
    For spoiler reasons I will not mention any. I will just say, this game was clearly a passion project for Gamefreak and even with flaws like the terrible TV mode, you can clearly see that they tried this time with the game.

    I honestly want this to be the main take-away from anyone who reads this review:
    The game is awesome if you play it as a handheld game.
    But if you play it as a homeconsole game, it is mediocre at best.

    I honestly would wish that Gamefreak just disabled the TV mode for this game and made it handheld only. Yes, people would still be angry about that but I think we would have way less people complaining about the graphics, if Gamefreak was just honest with their terrible TV mode.

    It also sadly just shows me how the Switch in itself makes it hard to judge games.
    Like I said, I give this game a 10/10 because morrons put negative reviews out which are WAY to negative for such an wellpolished handheld game.
    On the other hand, I can understand those reviews if they only played in TV mode.
    Like I said, I would personally give this game an 8/10 as a handheld game.
    But as a homeconsole game, it's in the 3-5/10 area.

    It also shows the duality of the Switch itself. The console itself is great but there are always set-backs which drag it down. We can clearly see it with other Switch games too.
    For example: Breath of the Wild can sometimes have a bad performance if you play it in TV mode. But in handheld mode, it's completly fine.

    Now, I didn't really talk about gameplay or story or anything like that because...I think it is quite clear that I enjoyed the gameplay in itself if I would give this game an 8 or 10/10.
    About the story...I really liked some of the characters. They are not great, but entertaining enough.
    The story in itself is good, but not great. It more or less is just an excuse to send you running through the world.
    In general, this game is extremly gameplay focused and I really don't want to say anything about that because there are a lot of surprises here. It is not comparable to previous Pokemon games, that much is clear.
    But in my opinion, Gamefreak should continue going in the "Legends" direction.
    If the next Legends game is not on the Switch or on an more powerful Switch, we might even get a game with a working handheld AND TV-mode!

    Gonna add one thing here:
    People who give this game 0 or 3/10 are objectivly wrong. Even if the graphics were as terrible as everyone said (which they are only for TV mode and even than, it could be way worse), this game is objectivly not a Zero.
    Morrons like that should honestly stop playing Pokemon in general. Why? Because disencouraging Gamefreak now with bad review scores is REALLY not the thing we need now.
    I don't say just blindly applaud them but if people continue to hate on this game, we will just get the same old terrible Pokemon formula again.    … Expand
  7. Alexholyfool
    Jan 29, 2022
    10
    De aquí debe partir la franquicia para las siguientes entregas, comentar lo de los graficos esta de más, si gustas de disfrutar un juego adelante.
  8. nezeeqko
    Feb 7, 2022
    0
    Gameplay is more repetitive than previous games, NPC don't even have voice acting making cutscenes and conversations boring (NPC grunts etc), wild Pokemons are just walking mindlessly with no simple routines making the game feels more lifeless (for example in Monster Hunter Stories 1 and 2 you can see monsters sleeping, eating and in Stories 1 some monsters like Velocipreys are going outGameplay is more repetitive than previous games, NPC don't even have voice acting making cutscenes and conversations boring (NPC grunts etc), wild Pokemons are just walking mindlessly with no simple routines making the game feels more lifeless (for example in Monster Hunter Stories 1 and 2 you can see monsters sleeping, eating and in Stories 1 some monsters like Velocipreys are going out hunting preys, and it was a 3DS game).

    Graphics are horrendous. In a game where 90% of the time you were walking out in the world, at least make the world looks decent (it was worse than a 3DS game). Character models are a total downgrade from Sword and Shield, like HOW? Imagine visual artists working in another game trying to make their game looks as pleasing as possible only for Pokemon re-tarts to say they work doesn't matter because "GrApIcHs ArEn'T eVeRyThInG". I don't say that Pokemon need 4K ultra-realistic visuals, all im saying is at least make it looking better than fecking Wii games.

    My biggest offender in this game is the animations. Monster Hunter Stories 2 and SMT V are proof that a monster collecting game can have good animations. Unsurprisingly, Pokemon continue it trends to make sub-par animations that feel robotic and unnatural. Just try compare MHST 2 animations to PLA.

    TLDR: In my offensive opinion, **** game made by **** developers played by nostalgia blinded fans who never play any other game than Pokemon.    … Expand
  9. Requiem666
    Feb 7, 2022
    9
    Best Pokemon game ever made. Game does a lot of things well, however there are a few small problems, The graphics and not enough sex.
  10. navi14
    Feb 7, 2022
    0
    Es una vergüenza para los videojuegos que esta cosa tenga mas de un 2, es un juego simple, fácil y si me dicen que es un juego de ps1 me lo creo.
  11. Gethin
    Feb 7, 2022
    9
    Honest Review - Ok i thought this game was going ti be terrible, i held back from buying it but recently bought it after watching gameplay and fans loving it.

    I played it and i was very surprised. Its the pokemon game we all wanted 10years ago but never too late i guess. Very addictive game, ive thoroughly enjoyed it, so much to do, could easily sink 100 hours in to it. Negatives for me    Honest Review - Ok i thought this game was going ti be terrible, i held back from buying it but recently bought it after watching gameplay and fans loving it.

    I played it and i was very surprised. Its the pokemon game we all wanted 10years ago but never too late i guess. Very addictive game, ive thoroughly enjoyed it, so much to do, could easily sink 100 hours in to it.

    Negatives for me is the lack of online and the graphics, no voice acting and music. Also i think the battle system needs to move from turn based to more of a free moving system. But regardless of all these faults it has to be one of the best pokemon games since gold silver for me personally. Its a step in the right direction but has much to improve on.

    Honestly a great game and anything i sink 100hours in to is a high rating game.    … Expand
  12. Merro
    Feb 6, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game have bad graphics, bad design, boring grind fest loop. This is embarrassing for the most popular franchise in the world. What's the point in growing Pokémon if there aren't any trainers. It's a grind fest in an ugly environment. No music, voice acting or story.
    The best lava and water graphics ever, almost better than sea of THIEVES. GAMEFREAK MADE A MONEY GRAB.    … Expand
  13. Stockdalius
    Feb 6, 2022
    9
    Only thing keeping it from a 10 is graphics. Still do not understand how some things made into final cut (Pokemon just going up a tree randomly, the outline of your character during some backgrounds, distance renderings, etc). HOWEVER this is the most fun I have had with a pokemon game in years. BDSP shouldve been this. Great story and characters. I do not see how we go bacto tradutionalOnly thing keeping it from a 10 is graphics. Still do not understand how some things made into final cut (Pokemon just going up a tree randomly, the outline of your character during some backgrounds, distance renderings, etc). HOWEVER this is the most fun I have had with a pokemon game in years. BDSP shouldve been this. Great story and characters. I do not see how we go bacto tradutional pokemon games after this. Gen 9 and BW remakes have a high bar to pass. I do hope GF gets outside help with graphics.… Expand
  14. WHaines
    Feb 6, 2022
    9
    Pokémon Legends: Arceus is about 8/10 of the way to being a perfect Pokémon game. It's certainly not the most amazing game to look at. But the gameplay is fun enough to make up for the lack of graphical fidelity.
    It's a great addition to the franchise and I hope they continue to build on this concept.
  15. Ben3033
    Feb 6, 2022
    7
    At first sight, Pokemon Legends: Arceus seems to be the game fans have been pleading about for all these years: an open world game where you can freely explore the lands and fight Pokemon. In a way, that is true, but the execution was very flawed. The game is restricted to zones, otherwise known as an "open-zone" game. This was a disappointment, especially when the earlier trailers made itAt first sight, Pokemon Legends: Arceus seems to be the game fans have been pleading about for all these years: an open world game where you can freely explore the lands and fight Pokemon. In a way, that is true, but the execution was very flawed. The game is restricted to zones, otherwise known as an "open-zone" game. This was a disappointment, especially when the earlier trailers made it out to be a game similar to BOTW. Not only that, but the game restricts you from entering certain areas of zones if you haven't filled out enough of the Pokedex. However, this shouldn't be too much of an issue, as long as you are doing more than just following the missions.

    The main gameplay loop is very fun. Being able to explore freely(in the zones of course) and catch, fight, or run away from Pokemon doesn't get old... well at least for most of the game. It starts to tedious after a while, especially because it's REQUIRED to access certain areas.

    The Pokemon don't do anything interesting; they are completely lifeless. They either walk around, sleep, or occasionally teleport depending on the Pokemon. Why not have some Pokemon fight with each other occasionally, or have two Pikachu's touching their tails as a greeting(which is quite literally in their Pokedex entry), stuff like that which would make the world feel more active. The zones themselves are bare-boned, with only the most basic terrain. Not to mention, the graphics are awful for a 2022 Nintendo Switch game. The terrain looks worse than games on the GameCube.

    When you aren't following the main story or exploring the world for fun, you're probably doing Requests, otherwise known as sidequests. These sidequests are the most basic, boring, and tedious tasks you can think of. They're all the same; catch a specific Pokemon, fill out a specific Pokemon's Pokedex entry, or collect a certain amount of an item to bring back to the requester. It felt like doing homework going through these. However, there are a couple of fun ones. One of them, you get to catch a shiny Ponyta. But like I said, there are only a COUPLE of these. It feels like the developers were asked to make a sidequest system last minute, so they had to rush like 100 of them and made them all practically the same thing.

    There IS a story, but it's pretty awful. Every cutscene is just two or more characters staring at eachother with 0 sound effects or voice acting, and these cutscenes happen ALL. THE. F****ING. TIME. The tutorial of the game is like an hour long and you are CONSTANTLY being interrupted whenever you get a chance to actually do something. These interruptions are not as frequent as the tutorial throughout the rest of the game, but that isn't saying much.

    TL;DR: Pokemon Legends: Arceus has a great concept, but it's incredibly obvious Game Freak half-assed many things. It's not truly open-world, and the restrictions placed upon you really take away a lot of the fun you could have. However, despite all of this, the gameplay loop is still incredibly addicting and fun to the point where this game deserves a 7. I hope we get more games like this in the future in which all the issues are ironed out, because this game really had potential.    … Expand
  16. JScott07
    Feb 6, 2022
    9
    Great game! Was really into pokemon during the Gameboy and GB advanced but grew out of the franchise until sword and shield which was ok ish but left me thinking I was done with these games. Decided to take a chance on this new one anyways and I'm having a blast and it's complete rejuvenated my interestes in the series going forward
  17. AyZix6
    Feb 6, 2022
    9
    FINALLY A FUN POKÉMON GAME! After years of stale games, Pokémon finally changed their formula, and for the better. The concept may not sound too interesting at first, but building your own team has never been this fun. I’d even go as far as saying that the game gets better and better as you progress. Zones get bigger, Pokémon get smarter, and you can finally assemble the team with theFINALLY A FUN POKÉMON GAME! After years of stale games, Pokémon finally changed their formula, and for the better. The concept may not sound too interesting at first, but building your own team has never been this fun. I’d even go as far as saying that the game gets better and better as you progress. Zones get bigger, Pokémon get smarter, and you can finally assemble the team with the Pokémon you want. I’ve always wanted an alakazam in my team and was limited by the outdated trade mechanic, but now I can finally use one! How refreshing. This game would be a 10/10 if it wasn’t for the graphics. I am especially disspointed by a certain aquatic zone that looks completely hideous and that I rushed through to get to the next zone. Luckily, the zone following was way better looking and fun. I also don’t like the water mechanic very much. I think it’s way less fun to go catch Pokémon in the water than on land. The story is ok, nothing special but it’s not necessarily bad. No voice acting also kinda makes you cringe along the weird animations during the cutscenes. Some lag here and there but nothing that will alter the gameplay. The difficulty of the game is quite easy, (if sword and shield were a 1 and dark souls were a 10 this would be a 2 or 3) but you can also choose to fight Pokémon that are much stronger than your team and try to catch them, which adds optional difficulty. Overall, amazing game, mediocre graphics considering BOTW had a similar style and looked miles better despite coming out 5 years prior. This is a game where gameplay is everything and the rest is pretty much just there to be functional.… Expand
  18. SamirMrtnz
    Feb 6, 2022
    0
    Un juego decepcionante, apartado gráfico de risa, jugabilidad la misma por turnos pero al menos ahora es un "mundo abierto", tiene excesivos diálogos que las primeras horas de juego te la pasas más hablando que explorando ese mundo abierto, y aunque la historia nunca a sido el fuerte de pokemón es increíble que hagan algo tan malo; creo que todos tenemos en mente el pokemón perfecto, yUn juego decepcionante, apartado gráfico de risa, jugabilidad la misma por turnos pero al menos ahora es un "mundo abierto", tiene excesivos diálogos que las primeras horas de juego te la pasas más hablando que explorando ese mundo abierto, y aunque la historia nunca a sido el fuerte de pokemón es increíble que hagan algo tan malo; creo que todos tenemos en mente el pokemón perfecto, y este juego quiso hacer eso, pero el resultado a quedado horroroso, por favor Gamefreak ponle ganas… Expand
  19. AudioRemedy
    Feb 6, 2022
    6
    PROS:
    - decent story
    - fun gameplay restructure - pokedex log tasks that are intuitive and entertaining - crafting mechanics that tie into open-world gathering - you get to ride a menagerie of impressive pokemon and the platforming is decent - new evolutions for old favorites - slick battle animations - item management/"survival" aspects with punishing consequences - "stealth" mechanics    PROS:
    - decent story
    - fun gameplay restructure
    - pokedex log tasks that are intuitive and entertaining
    - crafting mechanics that tie into open-world gathering
    - you get to ride a menagerie of impressive pokemon and the platforming is decent
    - new evolutions for old favorites
    - slick battle animations
    - item management/"survival" aspects with punishing consequences
    - "stealth" mechanics that add another layer of skill to catching and/or battling wild Pokemon

    CONS:
    - short of establishing a new camp or farming plot, all side quest rewards are virtually useless and a few of them will require an unpleasant amount of your time to accomplish (sloppy/lazy gameplay padding)
    - the game has very little content compared to other entries in the series (~40 hours)
    - postgame has little purpose, it's just a dex-grind
    - no multiplayer/PvP
    - there is only a handful of trainer battles, 98% of battles will be wild pokemon encounters
    - "boss fights" are essentially janky, unmemorable minigames
    - mediocre graphics that have no excuse for running the system so hot while looking so bad

    VERDICT:
    It's clear that the game (albeit somewhat successful) is a market test. Wait until they release multiple DLCs, or just buy Sword or Shield if you haven't already.    … Expand
  20. Mossus
    Feb 6, 2022
    10
    The game is a masterpiece in terms of evolving the now-previous Pokemon formula, the first in chance and Game Freak has nailed it in every manner.

    The Game-play is immersive, fun and addictive, fully-fledged into an open-world format that feels very refined and fresh, and can be taken as very close to what fans have always wanted. The Soundtrack is one of the best OSTs Pokemon has ever    The game is a masterpiece in terms of evolving the now-previous Pokemon formula, the first in chance and Game Freak has nailed it in every manner.

    The Game-play is immersive, fun and addictive, fully-fledged into an open-world format that feels very refined and fresh, and can be taken as very close to what fans have always wanted.
    The Soundtrack is one of the best OSTs Pokemon has ever received. The Graphics lack, but by no means bad, even grand in many places.

    The game nails in every manner put forth and I've been completely blown away by the quality. It may very well so be the Pokemon fan's Dream Game, as well as the best Pokemon videogame to date.    … Expand
  21. DbMixolydian
    Feb 6, 2022
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Pokemon Legends was an extreme disappointment for me. I was super hyped for this game as a lifelong Pokemon fan, but also as an RPG fan. This game fell short of my expectations in several different categories.

    Firstly, the combat feels horrible to me. They revamped the stats and combat system for Pokemon Legends, but it doesn't feel good. Every move hits so hard, and you will often lose several Pokemon battling a wild Pokemon. You will almost always lose a few when fighting an Alpha Pokemon or a Noble Pokemon. A lot of people seem to think this makes the game more challenging, but to me it just made it more frustrating. I still never blacked out or lost my entire party, I just had to craft a boatload of revives and potions after each fight.

    In addition to this, they removed abilities from the game and instead added "Agile" and "Strong" style moves. You can use agile to perform and weaker attack, or strong for the opposite. While this seems cool in theory, battles rarely ever last long enough to reward using agile style. I personally feel like abilities made Pokemon more unique and provided for a more interesting combat experience. Overall, I tried to avoid encounters with wild Pokemon and catch them without entering combat if possible.

    Secondly, the story blows. One of the main appeals to most RPGs is their stories. The Witcher, Skyrim, Horizon Zero Dawn, etc. all have deep stories with plenty of twists and turns that keep you engaged. The story in Pokemon Legends is extremely vague and offers very little conclusion even upon full completion. You're basically a kid who fell through a space-time distortion into ancient Sinnoh where Pokemon are going crazy. Upon completion of the story and the entire Pokedex, you still haven't figured out who you are and why you fell through the space-time rift to begin with.

    Third, calling this an "open-world RPG" is laughable. The game is extremely linear and you are bound to certain areas until you complete the main quest. This isn't like Skyrim, Fallout, or Breath of the Wild where you can freely go where you please and complete the story how you like. There are no meaningful choices involved at all. You can explore the areas you've unlocked to your heart's content, but there aren't really any side stories or anything. The world is bland and lacks depth. There aren't any cool puzzles or hidden areas to discover. Ultimately, this just felt like a different take on the existing Pokemon games. It certainly didn't feel like the revolutionary open-world RPG that it was hyped up to be.

    Lastly, I tried not to judge this game too harshly off of graphics and performance, but unfortunately, it is impossible to overlook that aspect of the game. This game plays and looks worse than Skyrim, a 2011 game. There are FPS drops that make the game laggy and feel bad regardless of whether you play handheld or docked. I know the Switch isn't a very powerful system, but it sure ran Breath of the Wild a heck of a lot better.

    Overalll, I think Pokemon Legends is a cool idea with awful execution. While it was enjoyable at times (especially in the beginning) doing the same thing over and over got old pretty fast. This game feels close to being something awesome but falls short in way too many crucial areas for me to warrant giving it more than a 3 or a 4 at best. Unfortunately, due to the shockingly good reviews this game has gotten so far, I don't think Game Freak or TPC will make efforts to improve on these areas in the future, and Pokemon will continue to go downhill as a franchise.    … Expand
  22. MrXJinGleS
    Feb 6, 2022
    9
    It wouldn't be a fair review if i just gave this game a perfect 10/10 because it does have it's faults but in all honesty even with those faults this is still a pretty amazing game in its own right and I hope for the future of this series they keep this style of gameplay. This is the first game since BW2 where I've actually enjoyed playing it all the way through despite its issues soIt wouldn't be a fair review if i just gave this game a perfect 10/10 because it does have it's faults but in all honesty even with those faults this is still a pretty amazing game in its own right and I hope for the future of this series they keep this style of gameplay. This is the first game since BW2 where I've actually enjoyed playing it all the way through despite its issues so that's why I gave it a 9/10.… Expand
  23. kietteik
    Feb 6, 2022
    9
    Best pokemon experience I've ever had so far, it was everything I.ve always wanted and imagined of the Pokemon world. One point from perfect for the terrible graphic.
  24. Dogman01
    Feb 6, 2022
    9
    Starts off a little slow and the menus are a mess also needs a better story but the game play is amazing i love it
  25. HugeSnorlax
    Feb 6, 2022
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I have not played the entirety of this game, but so far, I've really enjoyed this new Pokémon game. Sure, the graphics could be a little better, but with the open world experience and that you can catch pokemon without having to engage into battle, it's really awesome.… Expand
  26. Dant00ine
    Feb 6, 2022
    5
    Really let down by the gaming community’s inability to give objective reviews.

    I was excited about this game from the moment I heard about it a year ago. I really wanted to like it, but as I watched it go through development I saw red flag after red flag. The game seems to suffer from lazy open-world design syndrome; where the illusion of endless opportunity boils down to reveal a game    Really let down by the gaming community’s inability to give objective reviews.

    I was excited about this game from the moment I heard about it a year ago. I really wanted to like it, but as I watched it go through development I saw red flag after red flag.

    The game seems to suffer from lazy open-world design syndrome; where the illusion of endless opportunity boils down to reveal a game void of meaningful content with redundant and scarce gameplay loops.

    Seeing the Pokémon in the overworld, having more control over the trainer and their poke-balls, these are great ideas that get people excited. But think about how much is missing; look at the legendary open world games like TES, GTA, and BotW. These games have their base gameplay loops (slinging swords and sorcery, stealing cars) but they come together to support epic overarching stories: guilds, colorful characters, impactful decisions.

    I had a lot of fun with Pokémon let’s go, and a lot of people complained about that. I think both the games suffer from a lot of the same problems. Hasty development, lazy and uninspired UI, technical issues we didn’t see in their predecessors. But where are the negative reviews for legends? I wanted to like Arceus, but this game clearly didn’t get the budget it would have taken to properly pull off this really great idea. Imagine: guild plotlines like from TES, but you’re working your way up through gyms, saving Pokémon as a ranger, or refining your Pokémon as a breeder. Imagine colorful characters sending you on meaningful adventures and becoming your companions! But no, we get a super boiled down game that feels like one or two years of development work from the B-team.

    Come on gaming community… tell me with a straight face this is Pokémon breath of the wild… that’s just insulting to the team who put together the masterpiece that is botw. It’s like saying a Honda with a spoiler is the Japanese Ferrari… smh

    That being said, I’m optimistic for this franchise going forward. The massively positive response this game has seen (despite its, to me at least, obvious shortcomings) should tip off the game makers that the community is hungry for the types of gameplay that Arceus displayed. I’d maybe pay $30 for this game, but $60? No way.    … Expand
  27. sulaco426
    Feb 6, 2022
    0
    its bland, ugly and boring as hell. the worst pokemon game in history. it feels like a bad fangame
  28. aaronmbarnes03
    Feb 6, 2022
    10
    This was an exciting new leap and formula for Pokemon! I have played every game from since red and blue from the the very beginning. This game took so much fan base complaints and molded this game into something fresh and exhilarating. The graphics are something that can always be improved upon but we are dealing with the 5 year old console switch graphical capabilities. There areThis was an exciting new leap and formula for Pokemon! I have played every game from since red and blue from the the very beginning. This game took so much fan base complaints and molded this game into something fresh and exhilarating. The graphics are something that can always be improved upon but we are dealing with the 5 year old console switch graphical capabilities. There are occasional glitches but they are few far in between and doesn’t affect the playability. Can this series improve of course, but the game is so addicting I’ve spent almost 30+ hours just in the first section exploring catching this game is beautiful and makes me want to complete everything something the other previous games made boring.… Expand
  29. carpelychee
    Feb 6, 2022
    9
    Unique and great approach to an old classic Pokémon. There’s a nice balance between fresh and new game mechanics combined with familiar themes.
    Great to see that there isn’t an strong emphasis on fighting but more on catching and exploring which feels more in tune with the theme of Pokémon.

    A mix between breath of wild, monster hunter and Pokémon.
  30. occ86
    Feb 6, 2022
    8
    For me, Pokemon was on a decline the last few entries.
    A decline not because it actually got worse, but because after all these years you'd think they could improve these games so much more.
    Arceus is ALMOST exactly the big improvement I was always hoping for. Only "almost" because on a technical standpoint this game is - as always - rather disappointing. I think we all know that    For me, Pokemon was on a decline the last few entries.
    A decline not because it actually got worse, but because after all these years you'd think they could improve these games so much more.

    Arceus is ALMOST exactly the big improvement I was always hoping for.
    Only "almost" because on a technical standpoint this game is - as always - rather disappointing.

    I think we all know that gameplay is the most important thing and Arceus does deliver on that front, but I can't lie: I often wonder how much better these games could be if they wouldn't be held back by Nintendo Hardware.    … Expand
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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]
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