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. EastGwilly
    Jan 29, 2022
    8
    Started playing today and so far so good. This is my first pokemon game since red. It's a huge map with hundreds of critters w/ different behaviors. Fight or capture. This will keep me satisfied for a few hours for sure.
  2. Speedyalta
    Jan 31, 2022
    8
    This is the first time since 2006 that I've really enjoyed a Pokémon game. Of course it has its negative points, the worst being the graphics and loading errors. But apart from that, the game does a lot of things right and new, and if Pokémon keeps going like this, it's on the right track for the future.
  3. Grungus
    Jan 30, 2022
    8
    If you love pokemon but wanted a fresh take on the series, this will make you happy and give you a lot of meat to chew on. The music, when it's there, is very nice in my opinion. I'd describe a lot of it as "mystical" or "dreamlike". The battle themes, however, seem less varied compared to past titles, as I can't recall more than 1 or 2 different themes throughout the main storyline. TheIf you love pokemon but wanted a fresh take on the series, this will make you happy and give you a lot of meat to chew on. The music, when it's there, is very nice in my opinion. I'd describe a lot of it as "mystical" or "dreamlike". The battle themes, however, seem less varied compared to past titles, as I can't recall more than 1 or 2 different themes throughout the main storyline. The main story is more or less typical pokemon filler, meaning it's the bare minimum you would need to call it a story and exists mostly to get you from point A to B. Some of the characters have nice designs, and there are ideas and concepts peppered throughout that caught my interest, but all in all the story is in itself quite bland and lifeless. Unfortunate, but not surprising. The game does not always look great, or even good, in terms of graphics. If you expected something that's consistently beautiful and polished, you'll be let down. The bulk of my reasoning for an 8/10 review score is the gameplay, which, depending on what you enjoy doing in open world style games, will either make or break the game for you. The alpha pokemon, the new battle/ catching system, and the exploration and gathering/crafting all scratch an itch for me. It feels fluid, fun, and satisfying to wander around doing these things in tandem. While the world itself is on the empty side and leaves much to be desired, there's enough out there to keep me wanting to explore. The pokedex research will put off some people who are more into the series for the competitive aspects, there is a lot of it and it is required up to a certain point. For people like myself who like to relax and wander without worrying too much about building a top tier smogon team and plowing through the battle tower, it's not going to deter me from enjoying the more laid back aspects of the game. Arceus Legends is a very important and positive step forward in the series. If they choose to keep going this way and learn from their mistakes, they could very easily create not only the best pokemon game ever one day, but one of the best open world games ever one day. They're far from that point with Legends, but I've enjoyed it immensely as a pokemon fan of more than 20 years.… Expand
  4. JaidenReviews
    Feb 1, 2022
    8
    Simultaneously the best and most embarassing thing Gamefreak has ever released. A fantastic 10/10 game bundled in a very obviously underdeveloped package. The Pokémon models and animations look great, but the world itself looks like an early progress shot I would see an indie game dev share on twitter. It's laughable how bad the game looks in some areas, especially most caves and in darkSimultaneously the best and most embarassing thing Gamefreak has ever released. A fantastic 10/10 game bundled in a very obviously underdeveloped package. The Pokémon models and animations look great, but the world itself looks like an early progress shot I would see an indie game dev share on twitter. It's laughable how bad the game looks in some areas, especially most caves and in dark areas (where the background will literally warp around your character like you're poorly greenscreened in). I have many other gripes, such as the story pacing (a lot of dialogue scenes either need to be cut shorter or be more interesting. Voice acting would've helped). But otherwise the game is honestly fantastic. My favourite Pokémon experience to date. I just wish it came out like a year later so it would have all the development time it needed. I would love this style of game to continue and be iterated on, it's a major improvement over the old formula; having a game like this with more settlememts to explore and more complex side quests, etc would be a dream. Also thank god that they only released one version.… Expand
  5. Black_Mullet
    Jan 3, 2023
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Negatives:
    1. Generally bad graphics for a 2022 game, especially the water texture.
    2. Only 1 city and load screens and talking to ppl to get in and out of areas instead of open world
    3. No online battling
    4. No breeding, no abilities, no held items
    5. Trainer battles were rare, somewhere around 20-30 I think.
    6. Non existent post game.
    7. Battling at training grounds is underwhelming and why am I fighting 1 vs 3?
    8. New combat system is 1 step forward 2 steps backwards, and we don't even know exactly how it works. I was able to attack at least 9 TIMES in a row with Staraptor and Quick Attack against a slower opponent at my own level.
    9. Not many Pokemon, no national dex.
    10. Your Pokemon don't follow you, that's a big disappointment.
    11. You can feed any other Pokemon except your own lol.
    12. The Effort Levels mechanics, plain and unintuitive.
    13. A bit too many cutscenes, although no voice acting. At least cutscenes don't look disgusting. (cough cough SW/SH)
    14. No minimap.
    15. Button layout is straight up bad, 100+ hours on and every time I need to get used to them.
    16. In Noble fights game turned into Dark Souls for no reason.
    Positives:
    The most innovative game in the series so far, is also the best Pokemon game ever in terms of mechanics and sheer gameplay. It's an action RPG Pokemon game, you can throw stuff, get hit, ROLL!!, straight up catch anything you want by throwing pokeballs. Way better gameplay than S/V, the fluidity is just incomparable. Pokemon look amazing when you take them out of their balls, I'd like them to follow you around , interact with items you throw or automatically get into fights etc, but still, they really look awesome just standing there when you take them out (and you can actually take great pics unlike SV where they are constantly moving). UI looks clean moreso than SV, the story is great, the side quests are cool, new forms are dope too, alphas as well, they nailed them. Shiny hunting is the best and easiest it's ever been. Overall a very intuitive approach to Pokemon games

    This game could be 9/10 if it was fully open world and had a tad better graphics, and a 10/10 had they included the things I mentioned, which I don't think it's too difficult to do for the next Legends title. I want Legends to be the new mainline and get all the mechanics it's missing. Buy this game people, it really is different in an awesome way.    … Expand
  6. Zski
    Jan 29, 2022
    8
    This was a necessary experiment for the Pokémon franchise, and it was executed fairly well. Most importantly, I think it laid a solid foundation for future sequels that will build on the formula. The game focuses entirely on the single player experience, which is where it differs the most from other games in the series. So there is no battling other human players, and minimal interactionThis was a necessary experiment for the Pokémon franchise, and it was executed fairly well. Most importantly, I think it laid a solid foundation for future sequels that will build on the formula. The game focuses entirely on the single player experience, which is where it differs the most from other games in the series. So there is no battling other human players, and minimal interaction with others, and this is entirely by design. The game serves as a prequel to the Pokémon franchise, so the areas you explore are very empty due to them being underdeveloped. This definitely gives the series a long desired sense of exploration and adventure. I’m not a huge fan of Pokémon games, I played several of them, but skipped out on others if I just wasn’t in the mood. That formula has not changed in 25 years, so this a very welcome change of pace, while still keeping the core spirit of the Pokémon universe. The gameplay loop feels much like (early) Pokémon Go, where the main objective is just to explore and catch all of the Pokémon. It’s a pleasant game to explore, however the gameplay loop does get a little repetitive so I found myself taking a lot of breaks, but I would I regularly return to it. It has that Breath of the Wild atmosphere which is very relaxing - minimal music in the wild, only ambient nature noises, the music is all very soft piano, and vast open spaces. I also appreciate that they added some substance to the story, granted it’s nothing to go crazy about, but it provides a welcome change of pace to “beat all the gym leaders and get their badges to become the best” that we have been provided for the past 25 years. The graphics aren’t as bad as people make them out to be, but they definitely aren’t impressive. I almost feel like if they weren’t able to do high quality graphics, whether it’s cartoon or realistic, the game would have looked better with some degree of artistic design - maybe watercolor impressions, or anything really, because the graphics do damper the sense of exploration a little bit. Overall it’s a fun game I can see myself taking my time to play through because it’s just a relaxing experience. Everything is solid, the effort is exceptional, but it laid that groundwork for future sequels which can truly be fantastic games. I can definitely tell you this is far more exciting than any possible new generation of Pokémon they could introduce, and probably one of the most memorable Pokémon experiences in the last 15 years.… Expand
  7. Pexy99
    Feb 18, 2022
    8
    La via verso un nuovo pokemon è giusta ma serve più tempo per produrre un gioco appagante graficamente, a mio parere servirebbero più anni di sviluppo ma siamo sulla buona strada
  8. EasyGamerBoi
    Feb 1, 2022
    8
    I had rock bottom expectations for this game up until the leaks if we’re being honest here. If you ever plan on playing/buying this game, do NOT watch anything Nintendo or Pokémon put out before the release date because the marketing did such a terrible job selling this game. But given Game Freak’s track record of the last decade, I’m shocked they were able to pull this off. Being aI had rock bottom expectations for this game up until the leaks if we’re being honest here. If you ever plan on playing/buying this game, do NOT watch anything Nintendo or Pokémon put out before the release date because the marketing did such a terrible job selling this game. But given Game Freak’s track record of the last decade, I’m shocked they were able to pull this off. Being a Pokémon fan in the last decade has been rough, ORAS was awesome & Sun/Moon were good too despite repeated playthroughs making me sour on them a lot, but everything else has been just short of a trainwreck. Gen 6 was the definition of lazy repetition aside from bringing everything to 3D, US/UM was the laziest rerelease I think of all time, the Let’s Go games were yet another unnecessary remake of the awful & boring Gen 1, we all know how bad Sword & Shield were despite their DLCs doing it a slight bit of justice & BDSP finally showed a lot of fans how much passion for this series has been lost by falling flat on their faces trying to “remake” their best games, they’re more of a remaster than a remake. But let’s get into it, Legends Arceus is a fantastic game & it’s THE breath of fresh air that we’ve needed for YEARS now. I might just have recent bias now but I wouldn’t mind if they didn’t make a main series game for a long time if it meant more games like Legends! Negatives first, the elephant in the room since this game got revealed were the god awful graphics & I can say they definitely touched it up quite a bit since then, but it still just looks plain bad. Like I’m playing a PS2 game in 2022, yikes. Immersion breaking graphics in your billion dollar franchise is inexcusable when this console has given us Breath of the Wild & Mario Odyssey, LEARN HOW TO OPTIMIZE YOUR GAMES ALREADY! There’s no reason that every previous Switch Pokémon game looks better than this one. The pop-in is so bad too, sometimes things just spawn right behind you or in front of you as you’re running around & it can get annoying when you want to catch a rare Pokémon that’s been giving you the slip. Also the button layout is really weird in Legends, to the point that almost 40 hours in I’m still hitting the wrong buttons when trying to open the map or open the bag to heal my Pokémon. Why is Y dodge?? Also made my hands cramp up a lot after long play sessions, PLEASE put out a patch where we can change the button layout. The Braviary flying feature needs work too. Why is there no accent button?! Having to take back off again & again after SLOWLY landing in these huge open areas is so… dumb. I think the biggest flaw aside from optimization is the lack of any voice acting. It was awkward in more recent games but never as awkward as in Legends. This game truly needed it, so many of the big story moments DESERVED more than a text box with that annoying ass boom sound effect.
    But there’s also so much this game does right, catching Pokémon & completing the Pokédex has never felt better & will never feel the same in the slow mainline games ever again after this. Despite some Pokémon being annoyances to get, at least I didn’t have to shell out an extra $60 for a 2nd identical version just for 10 Pokémon they didn’t put in my game lol. The new boss battles are incredible too, actually fighting a Pokémon ON FOOT? I swear I had fever dreams about a game like this when I was a kid. I feel like the only person who didn’t black out during the story, Returnal has conditioned my reflexes to dodge effortlessly I guess. The wide open areas are all distinct & a ton of fun to explore, I actually really loved the Wild Areas in Sword & Shield so knowing this is what they had up their sleeve, bravo. Just wishing they looked like a 2022 game. The story, in true Pokémon fashion, is very lowkey up until the end as always, but this time I actually felt something! I was hurt, I was stunned at the stakes the story established, & the whole time I was filled with nostalgia feeling like a kid again. Impeccable line to walk there & that deserves a lot of praise! Just talking & thinking about it fills me with a childlike joy that has been gone for so long with Pokémon. It’s even got a fair bit of challenge in the new pretty good battle system, who woulda thought? Of course a lot of these positives have small quirks I didn’t jive with 100% of the time, but Legends Arceus is an amazing foundation to build sequels off of that will (hopefully) perfect it’s formula. At the end of the day, the damage previous games have done to my love & trust of Game Freak & Pokémon may never go away, but this game has done the impossible of giving me hope for the franchise again, I truly think this is a turning point for the franchise & I hope they go full speed ahead & never look back. 8.5/10    … Expand
  9. FlexosuarousRex
    Mar 3, 2022
    8
    I was very skeptical about legends arceus leading up to its launch. I was nervous that the new formula would be innovative and unique but would ultimately leave a lot to be desired. I was actually pleasantly surprised with what gamefreak delivered. This is the first pokemon game created in a style that is vastly different from previous titles and maintained the pokemon "feel" while makingI was very skeptical about legends arceus leading up to its launch. I was nervous that the new formula would be innovative and unique but would ultimately leave a lot to be desired. I was actually pleasantly surprised with what gamefreak delivered. This is the first pokemon game created in a style that is vastly different from previous titles and maintained the pokemon "feel" while making sweeping changes to the overall gameplay loop.

    Pros: Very fresh take on the formula, more action based gameplay, sacrifices very little in terms of staple game mechanics, good pokedex selection, a catching mechanic that stokes envy from the lets go games, varying and noticeable size differences in the pokemon that makes each catch that much more unique, a serviceable plot, much more streamlined "Competitive" building of pokemon that only requires a pokemon to be fed certain items, decent post game content, being able to summon all your pokemon at once in order to chill/ interact with them, interesting options for traversal, new pokemon forms to play with, decent in-game economy encourages catching pokemon and collecting items, and enraged pokemon are huge and fun to capture.

    Cons: Not having multiplayer is a shame given how fun the single player content is, the levels are large but there's not a whole lot to see in them, the appeal of the "open world" wears off towards the end of the game when all traversal mechanics are unlocked, the graphics aren't that great, not enough trainer battles, in my opinion the new pokemon forms are pretty ugly design-wise (decidueye) except for a few (arcanine, typhlosion), and, again in my opinion, the boss pokemon minigame could have been much more fleshed out - it just wasn't that interesting and felt a bit tacked on to me but I feel it is a step in the right direction.

    I had loads of fun playing arceus and was genuinely thankful that gamefreak not only shook up the formula immensely but managed to get so many things right on the first try. None of the cons I listed above stopped me from enjoying the game from start to finish. Its far from a perfect experience, but it is an experience that gets me very excited for future "legends" titles.    … Expand
  10. mepphy
    Jan 29, 2022
    8
    The game is not perfect but as a starting pokèmon game which tries to be more open man does its good work. Catching and exploring without limitation is fun and reading about Hisui's hidden lore has been quite fun. The problem comes when you try to explore for longer times and the graphic holds you off a little, but it is manegable. Overall good but GF should really take more time on games
  11. Narwhale73
    Jan 29, 2022
    8
    Overall PLA is a great game that brings a lot of innovation (a huge understatement) and a more lively atmosphere. Plus it has a good amount of game time for someone to play (25-35 hours and up to 75 to complete everything). Plus it is overall well polished as I haven't seen any reports of major bugs or glitches and the Pokémon/attacks look amazing.

    However, it has a lot of downsides.    Overall PLA is a great game that brings a lot of innovation (a huge understatement) and a more lively atmosphere. Plus it has a good amount of game time for someone to play (25-35 hours and up to 75 to complete everything). Plus it is overall well polished as I haven't seen any reports of major bugs or glitches and the Pokémon/attacks look amazing.

    However, it has a lot of downsides. The newer Pokémon designs in the game should've been thought out longer in general (I say this as someone who likes around 97% of all Pokémon designs). The visuals are bad obviously, but personally I don't care about this as I would've played a PS5 game if I did. The story is...well..what you would expect from a kid's game. Nothing groundbreaking or offensive. My biggest and arguably my only real complaint, is that there isn't that much gameplay variety. You simply just battle and catch a certain amount of Pokémon, use moves a certain amount of times and do the "boss battle" attacking. This is all rather cool, but as explained, it needs a bit more in order to keep me invested. Also the national dex is small and the multi-player is nonexistent. This sounds like a lot of complaining but I am just trying to be as clear as possible about the flaws.

    So should you buy it? It honestly depends on the person which I know sounds like a cop out, but this is the truth. If you want something that breaks free from the Pokémon formula no matter what:Yes buy it. If you're one of those people that complain endlessly about Breath of the Wild being Empty:Don't think about it. If you're one of those people that are strict and will be annoyed about things not being in the game from before:don't think about it. If you're someone who loves playing around with Pokémon and in the surroundings:Yes you will love it. Either way, I wouldn't worry too much whether you made a bad purchase or not as you'll still be able to have some fun.    … Expand
  12. Drakosmick
    Feb 3, 2022
    8
    Good job, Game Freak! This game is what Pokémon deserves to be, the new formula that works and delivers (even with minor gameplay flaws and missed opportunities and with the graphics it has). Good customization options, nice plot, really great gameplay loop (I haven’t been this invested in a Pokémon game for the gameplay only since X/Y). Solid 8,5 for me.
  13. LeMauro
    Feb 2, 2022
    8
    English:
    Pokémon Legends Arceus, is the best Pokémon game since Black 2 and White 2.
    I'm not saying it's "a masterpiece", but it does a lot of what was asked for. This game has the premise of "Gotcha Them All", and it succeeds, you have to search every corner, cross sky and sea, everything to have them all, being the Pokémon game that we always wanted from the beginning. The game    English:
    Pokémon Legends Arceus, is the best Pokémon game since Black 2 and White 2.
    I'm not saying it's "a masterpiece", but it does a lot of what was asked for.

    This game has the premise of "Gotcha Them All", and it succeeds, you have to search every corner, cross sky and sea, everything to have them all, being the Pokémon game that we always wanted from the beginning.

    The game in many moments gives you the feeling of total freedom, being able to go to almost any corner that is shown on the map.

    Even if it complies with everything, it is not perfect, being often mediocre.

    The controls are very good, they respond perfectly, and the vibration gives it the touch.
    But the pokemon Braviary, has a rough control and is very difficult to control at times.

    The music is quite good when exploring, I even had to stop to enjoy it in an instant, but the music of the fights is the same all the time, almost all pokemon games are the same in this regard, but when the coach's music is also repeated without changing no more than 2 times, it ends up tiring.

    The story takes a long time to start, but when it does, it ends up capturing you with the expectation of knowing what is coming, but unfortunately, it ends very suddenly, and the game never gives room for unknowns.

    This as much as I can share, I hope it helps you when deciding whether to buy the game.

    Español:
    Pokémon Legends Arceus, es el mejor juego de Pokémon desde Black 2 y White 2.
    No digo que sea "una obra maestra", pero hace mucho de lo que se pedía.

    Este juego tiene como premisa "Gotcha Them All", y lo consigue, hay que buscar en todos los rincones, cruzar cielo y mar, todo para tenerlos a todos, siendo el juego de Pokémon que siempre quisimos desde un principio.

    El juego en muchos momentos te da la sensación de total libertad, pudiendo ir a casi cualquier rincón que se muestra en el mapa.

    Aunque cumple con todo, no es perfecto, siendo muchas veces mediocre.

    Los controles son muy buenos, responden a la perfección, y la vibración le da el toque.
    Pero el pokemon Braviary, tiene un control tosco y es muy difícil de controlar en ocasiones.

    La música es bastante buena a la hora de explorar, incluso tuve que parar para disfrutarla en un instante, pero la música de las peleas es la misma todo el tiempo, casi todos los juegos de pokemon son iguales en ese sentido, pero cuando la música del entrenador es tambien repetido sin cambiar no mas de 2 veces, termina cansando.

    La historia tarda mucho en comenzar, pero cuando lo hace, termina capturándote con la expectativa de saber lo que viene, pero lamentablemente termina muy repentinamente, y el juego nunca da lugar a incógnitas.

    Esto es todo lo que puedo compartir, espero que te ayude a la hora de decidir si comprar el juego.    … Expand
  14. Fludo64
    Jan 30, 2022
    8
    The game is awesome, not perfect. It could be better for sure, mainly in the grafics departement. But after a 30 minutes of tutorial and some dialogue boxes the gameplay really shinies. I had the same felling of losing the notion of time playing this game as i had when playing breath of the wild and that is a good thing to be achieved.
  15. UltanCombo
    Feb 8, 2022
    8
    This is the best Pokemon game Ive ever experienced. They have defiantly have taken some inspiration from Breath of the Wild and have listened to the fans. Sword and Shield was a joke. After ten minuets of that game I hated it but this is totally different. There isn't enough hours in the day to play this.

    I grew up with Pokemon. I watched the series, some of the movies, played Blue,    This is the best Pokemon game Ive ever experienced. They have defiantly have taken some inspiration from Breath of the Wild and have listened to the fans. Sword and Shield was a joke. After ten minuets of that game I hated it but this is totally different. There isn't enough hours in the day to play this.

    I grew up with Pokemon. I watched the series, some of the movies, played Blue, Gold, Crystal, Ruby and unfortunately Shield. Those games had something new to them in each iteration. Gold had a better progression system. There isn't a huge jump in power levels like there is in Blue. Ruby is probably the tightest Pokemon game I played for a while but when Shield came out I was expecting what Arceus is offering here but we got a rehash of what we've been getting for the last 20 years.

    This game looks like its in early development or its a proof of concept. Its poor and they need to get some high level talent at Nintendo to bring this to the next level. But the pokemon look good and the moves look even better. It leaves me confused how doing up some environmental textures could be so hard. The lighting is fine but its more a texture issue. The environment doesn't really match the style of the pokemon. Its odd. And you dont really have a sense where you are cause its all kinda samey. Unless your near a waterfall or a beach or something you can use as some kind of landmark. This needs improvements but we're close to getting that game we always wanted.

    As for gameplay wise its pretty good. I have little issue with the gameplay. Its still turn based and you share exp but its harder still. The pop in and pop out is ridiculous. You could be chasing down a pokemon and then all of a sudden POP it goes away. This needs fixing. In the early 00's its fine but not anymore. The lack of or more the point, the absence of voice over is jarring. Still stuck in the 90's with the text for speech. Pokemon is one of the biggest franchises in the world, they have enough for a voice over budget.

    Im giving this an EIGHT cause I'm so happy playing this. It has plenty of issues that it really should be a SIX but the nostalgia is strong with this one.    … Expand
  16. HellDiamond
    Jan 30, 2022
    8
    I love this game. This is what i hope for Sword and Shield. Grafics are bad but its Pokemon so what, i mean they made over 200 Pokemon whit new attack animation.
    I love the exploration (could be more Details to explore), and filling my pokedex :D
    I think its the right way Pokemon goes. Hope for other games like this one!
  17. Zakws
    Feb 8, 2022
    8
    Muy buen juego para ser el primero de la saga pokemon en incluir mundo abierto. Aunque si que es verdad que podria mejorarse en muchos aspectos
  18. Doug22
    Jan 30, 2022
    8
    As we all know is that pokemon has be at a complete standstill for the past 20 years, but now that legends arceus has come out I will admit that im pleased with the expirence and disapointed at the same time, with 20 hours under my belt i have to say, that this game is a good game. Iits not great but its not terrible but its just good. I highly reccomend not looking at the reviews becauseAs we all know is that pokemon has be at a complete standstill for the past 20 years, but now that legends arceus has come out I will admit that im pleased with the expirence and disapointed at the same time, with 20 hours under my belt i have to say, that this game is a good game. Iits not great but its not terrible but its just good. I highly reccomend not looking at the reviews because its filled with people giving the game 10s but also giving the game 2s or 0s so i reccomend just playing the game for yourself, i promise you will enjoy it.… Expand
  19. Elive7
    Feb 20, 2022
    8
    Soy fan de los juegos de pokemon y este juego me encanto, hermoso en todos sus aspectos, un nuevo diseño de niveles y de explorarcion que le da un nuevo aire a esta saga. Con algunos problemas gráficos pero la experiencia que tuve con él fue muy gratificante
  20. sugarnite
    Feb 4, 2022
    8
    As an turn-based rpg, you can do better on the Switch (almost the entire look and UI is lifted from Breath of the Wild.) As a Pokémon game, it completely blows the other games out of the water. The improvements to the core gameplay are so vast, it will be extremely hard to replay any of the previous entries.

    Unfortunately for Game Freak, this amount of innovation is setting a high bar.    As an turn-based rpg, you can do better on the Switch (almost the entire look and UI is lifted from Breath of the Wild.) As a Pokémon game, it completely blows the other games out of the water. The improvements to the core gameplay are so vast, it will be extremely hard to replay any of the previous entries.

    Unfortunately for Game Freak, this amount of innovation is setting a high bar. Things like voice acting and dialogue trees are going to be a must for sequels. You can’t get away with copy/pasting the entire game any more.    … Expand
  21. Reddytal
    Feb 2, 2022
    8
    He quedado bastante satisfecho con este juego. Yo llevo sin comprar juegos de esta franquicia desde los lest go, le di una oportunidad a este y de verdad que me a encantado pero... es totalmente mejorable por obvias razones, le faltó tiempo para pulirlo en casi todos sus aspectos pero la base de lo que ya hay en el juego es muy buena. No sé si volveré en alguna próxima entrega de la líneaHe quedado bastante satisfecho con este juego. Yo llevo sin comprar juegos de esta franquicia desde los lest go, le di una oportunidad a este y de verdad que me a encantado pero... es totalmente mejorable por obvias razones, le faltó tiempo para pulirlo en casi todos sus aspectos pero la base de lo que ya hay en el juego es muy buena. No sé si volveré en alguna próxima entrega de la línea principal pero por ahora un Pokemon Leyendas 2 tendrá bastante mi atención.… Expand
  22. Lil_Caucasian
    Feb 3, 2022
    8
    Considering Game Freak's track record recently this is a really fun (if a bit janky) game.
  23. Engagewrld11
    Jan 31, 2022
    8
    After almost 20 hours of gameplay, I can sincerely say I am enchanted by this game and just can't put it down. I played it continuously since I bought it. My free time is just filled with it. After seeing what happened with S&S, I had really low expectations: I was saying:"this is going to flop, I am sure of it!" I am glad that didn't happened. I am not giving it a 10 because I feel thereAfter almost 20 hours of gameplay, I can sincerely say I am enchanted by this game and just can't put it down. I played it continuously since I bought it. My free time is just filled with it. After seeing what happened with S&S, I had really low expectations: I was saying:"this is going to flop, I am sure of it!" I am glad that didn't happened. I am not giving it a 10 because I feel there were alot of things they could do with the graphics, goddammit it just needs a bit of polishing, maybe some more cool minigames, different mysteries and wuests that You can randomly find in the wild, that would be amazing. I feel this formula has an amazing potențial to become almost a perfect rpg. Anyway I'm glad it is this good and that I bought it. Maybe we'll see DLC to it and even cooler pokemon games in the future.… Expand
  24. daniloperes23
    Jan 29, 2022
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The new missions associated with every pokemón , the freedom to explore not just the open areas around you, but doing with the intention to find a specific type of Pokémon, distinguished not just by his species, but by other specifications , and not just that but how you catch that pokemón, witch is important to and is a factor that contributes to your research. This is very fun! You have to be careful not just with the one you are aprouching to but with the environment around you and the other creatures that are on it. The art style of the menus, the one where you select the pokemón you witch to be the first choice on your party, to be always at your disposal, the new físicas pokedéx with all his missions by pokemón already mentioned, the overal layouts and the art choices are very good and create that feeling of being on the medieval era in a very good way.
    The low points are the graphic questions and the lack of other cities or locations with more elements, but it doesn’t decreases the enchantment that is this game!!    … Expand
  25. GregoFMP
    Jan 29, 2022
    8
    Los graficos son un desastre, y el tutorial es largo y tedioso. Y hasta ahi van los puntos malos, es el mejor pokémon en muchisimos años, el nuevo gameplay es muy divertido, el mundo abierto es basicamente lo que tendría que haber sido el wild area en Espada/Escudo. Explorar las diferentes areas resulta muy divertido y el juego te recompensa por ello.
    Yo entiendo que no te pueda gustar,    Los graficos son un desastre, y el tutorial es largo y tedioso. Y hasta ahi van los puntos malos, es el mejor pokémon en muchisimos años, el nuevo gameplay es muy divertido, el mundo abierto es basicamente lo que tendría que haber sido el wild area en Espada/Escudo. Explorar las diferentes areas resulta muy divertido y el juego te recompensa por ello.
    Yo entiendo que no te pueda gustar, pero el nivel de hate que esta recibiendo por algunos personajes es completamente injustificado, gente que le da un 1 porque un juego que no pensaban jugar tiene malos gráficos. Esa misma gente que esta bajando el puntaje del usuario de Metacritic, que le molesta que los demas disfruten un juego.    … Expand
  26. awimax
    Jan 31, 2022
    8
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is a huge leap for its franchise and just a fun and good Pokémon game.

    You start with a good and deservedly long tutorial.
    If you are a long die-hard fan of the Pokémon franchise, you immediately notice the fundamental changes that were made. You actually get a good introduction into the new movement and the catching system. If you are someone that is in some way unbiased and pick up the game because it looks interesting, it is just as good. Unlike many Pokémon games before this (e.g. Sword & Shield), this game actually has depth and story that I would let adults enjoy. It's a world in which Pokémon are wild, people are afraid of them and don't even dare to touch them. If you do not come prepared or act rashly, you can very well lose your life from an NPC's standpoint. It's not an exaggeration to say that this is the situation people of the Hisui region are facing. The tutorial doesn't start with you yet again saving the professor from a life and death situation, choosing your starter and off you go... I like it!

    Graphically, there is a lot of room for improvement. Textures are somewhat presentable. Playing in handheld mode eases the pain but once you plug it into the dock and hook that thing up to a 4K-TV, you just notice the many rather unattractive aspects this game sadly has to offer.

    Being already on the visual points, the attack animations are crisp and look very good.
    NPC's finally look more like actual people with more added facial expressions, less repetitive movements (look up Sun and Moon as a bad example) and a IMO somewhat better dialogue in general.
    Most character designs are creative, stick out and are memorable. Their personalities are not nearly as one-sided as what we are used to in the latest games so that even e.g. a group of thieves you encounter after a couple hours of gameplay explains, that they just steal in order to survive. There is just more reasoning behind the tasks and conversations you are faced with.

    The "multiplayer" (if you can even call it that), is so minuscule that you would forget there even is such a thing. I would say that it actually adds to immersion that you are mostly alone in these open-world-levels but I would still gladly take an improvement to the current solution of just picking up other players lost items for a slight reward.

    Trainer battles are very scarce. In a way it makes sense, since there shouldn't be many trainers around anyway (speaking logically). It doesn't lack of fighting in general since you do this more than enough with other wild Pokémon but there is a slight lack of the 'ol tiny bit of competitiveness you would get in defeating the Elite four. I would like to see more options to choose and challenge certain NPCs for a battle. There actually is a training ground in the village that story wise is maybe used only a couple times? (by the time I have played, there was only one battle on it). There is no real fighting interaction you can do to challenge someone.

    The Music is good, the sound design has gotten better (i.e. you actually hear an echo of your Pokémons screams when fighting in ruins) and the engaging gameplay with its new fundamentals of stealthily sneaking up to Pokémon in order to catch them, actual trainer vulnerability and the other already mentioned things is just fun!

    And that's what this game is: fun!
    To me it is safe to say that this level of lore, depth, atmosphere and gameplay and design should be the new standard for this franchise!    … Expand
  27. redwintersun
    Jan 29, 2022
    8
    Almost 20 hours in and loving it! The battle mechanics are great and the fact that some wild Pokémon are out for your blood as soon as they see you is both hilarious and terrifying. The only downside for me is the graphics, the water especially. Overall, a breath of fresh air for the franchise.
  28. Calomaro
    Feb 3, 2022
    8
    He visto las críticas negativas de otros usuarios y si bien comparto algunos aspectos criticables, como lo son los gráficos, hay otros que son totalmente disparatados. Si tú, que aún no compras el juego, lees una de esas críticas negativas donde consideran a Pokemon Sword & Shield mejor que este juego, no te puedes tomar para nada en serio esa crítica. Pokemon Sword & Shield es una oda alHe visto las críticas negativas de otros usuarios y si bien comparto algunos aspectos criticables, como lo son los gráficos, hay otros que son totalmente disparatados. Si tú, que aún no compras el juego, lees una de esas críticas negativas donde consideran a Pokemon Sword & Shield mejor que este juego, no te puedes tomar para nada en serio esa crítica. Pokemon Sword & Shield es una oda al facilismo, insultantemente fácil, una de las peores entregas de la saga Pokemon y que hizo que la Nintendo Switch esté en deuda con los fans.

    Habiendo aclarado esto, el Pokemon Arceus empieza lento por un tutorial tan extenso que nos puede tomar hasta 3 horas completar. Superado el tutorial, y conociendo las mecánicas el juego, siento que se vuelve adictivo, no solo por completar la pokedex, sino también para completar las misiones secundarias. Se vuelve repetitivo en un momento? SÍ, pero ¿qué juego de pokemon no es repetitivo? Aquí lo importante es qué tanto te dura la diversión hasta que se torne repetitivo. Personalmente me gusta el farmeo y soy seguidor antiguo de la saga. El juego a veces peca de mucho texto y el hecho que no haya voces aún es algo imperdonable en la época en la que vivimos.

    Nintendo ha dado un paso pequeño, pero un paso al fin. Para mucho este juego puede ser una beta para algo grande. Yo lo estoy disfrutando, y esperaré una futura entrega con todas las mejoras necesarias para que un juego de pokemon aspire a ser lo que realmente los fans queremos.    … Expand
  29. SneedOil
    Jan 29, 2022
    8
    Fun game. Didn't blow my mind, but it definitely laid the groundwork for a future game that could. It doesn't surpass the experience I had playing the gen 1-3 games as a kid, but the shake-ups to the formula were, for me, just enough for the series to feel fun again for the first time in over a decade.

    The game's visuals seem to be the most common complaint but I don't really see it.    Fun game. Didn't blow my mind, but it definitely laid the groundwork for a future game that could. It doesn't surpass the experience I had playing the gen 1-3 games as a kid, but the shake-ups to the formula were, for me, just enough for the series to feel fun again for the first time in over a decade.

    The game's visuals seem to be the most common complaint but I don't really see it. Gamefreak have never exactly been masters of aesthetic quality and I'm fine with that. But it looks passable to me, sometimes even pleasant. Roaming around the village the first couple hours reminded me a bit of the Utawarerumono series. The main zones did start to become pretty drab after a while but they didn't make a poor first impression on me. Terrain textures don't matter to me, they could have made them flat colors for all I care. The mesh LOD pop-in is a much bigger problem.

    The big things I liked about the game:
    -The main gameplay loop is fun. Going out of my way to fill out the pokedex and earn new stars never got boring to me.
    -As someone who likes JRPGs but is tired of encounters random or otherwise, this new approach to pokemon battles feels nice. Starting and ending battles feels seamless, and if a battle isn't going my way I can quite literally just turn around and walk away. Love it.
    -The effort level system, while it's not without drawbacks, makes the game more challenging. The EV system from the mainline pokemon games rewards you just for sticking with a pokemon long term by effectively giving them massive stat modifiers. In this game my main never felt invincible until I went out of my way to max out their ELs. Though it does feel kinda gamey compared to EVs, especially the process of levelling them. But it's just nice to actually be able to see the numbers now.
    -Each pokemon has an inventory of moves now, and you can swap them in and out of the four in use whenever you want. I like this a lot better than the way it works in the mainline games.
    -There's an item that lets you evolve pokemon you would otherwise need to trade to evolve. As a guy who never really cared for the trading thing, I appreciated this a lot.
    -Mounts are very cool (but some more than others)

    All my big problems with this game, most of which are quality of life related:
    -You can't switch between zones without returning to the hub area first. And you can't just return to the village at will either, you have to get back to a camp first and talk to the scientist guy with his goofy hat first every single time. And when you need to go somewhere in the village for something, you can't just leave the second your business is complete, you have to walk or fast travel to the gate first. This started to get really annoying after the first few hours. It would be so much better if they let you jump between zones freely from the map.
    -The village is so slow to get around that it's usually faster to open the map and fast travel to the building across the street than it is to just walk there. All the areas where you don't have access to mounts feel annoyingly spacious in general
    -The pokebox (well, this game's equivalent) quickly becomes an eyesore. You have to talk to specific NPCs to access it, and there is no meaningful option to automatically sort or filter it. For this game in particular, this is a big problem. Between the ability to seamlessly throw pokeballs at wandering pokemon without encounters, the new pokedex research system and the new effort level system, you are encouraged to catch every pokemon you lay eyes on. But as for actually sorting through all those pokemon you catch, this game makes that process no less laborious than it would be in one of the 20 year old Pokemon games. That sucks. A lot.
    -There's no option to skip most cutscenes. The 'cinematic' moments you're free to skip, but the boring conversations you have 5 times each throughout the game you have to slowly click through each line of uninteresting dialogue.
    -No option to shorten or disable combat animations
    -The main boss fights for each zone are pretty lame. Not because the bosses themselves are uncool, but because the player's role in the fight is to chuck 100 bean bags at them.
    -The mounts vary in quality. They're more or less this game's answer to the Bicycle and traversal HMs from previous games. The deer is pretty great. The Surf mount is awesome and for sure a highlight of the game. The rest though are just lame. I expected the flying one to completely change how I interacted with the zones I'd been exploring up to that point; because it can fly, right? That should be awesome, like an aircraft in a GTA clone that you can pull out of your pocket. But no, it's just a glider pretty much. I mean gliders aren't so bad, but, cmon man. That was a massive letdown after how cool the fish was.    … Expand
  30. Leeham121
    Jan 29, 2022
    8
    Are graphics good? In terms of landscape, no they are about as basic as it gets nowadays, not necessarily bad just subpar and I have seen the lowered framerate that the Pokémon get have when you get a certain distance from them.

    In terms of actual gameplay itself though, I really enjoyed it, the core loop of finding Pokémon and doing different task in order to get more research point is    Are graphics good? In terms of landscape, no they are about as basic as it gets nowadays, not necessarily bad just subpar and I have seen the lowered framerate that the Pokémon get have when you get a certain distance from them.

    In terms of actual gameplay itself though, I really enjoyed it, the core loop of finding Pokémon and doing different task in order to get more research point is enjoyable. You sort of just get lost in the exploring and finding Pokémon only to find yourself at one of the corners of the area and you probably still missed a few things on the way.

    Despite the graphics this is a fun casual game to play, I could easily see someone playing this on a long train ride or car trip which is the sort of game you'd want on a portable system.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

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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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