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. Silfing
    Feb 5, 2022
    10
    Amazing game, this is the way gamefreak should follow for the next pokemon games, just improving and polishing graphics.
  2. XabiXroSS
    Feb 5, 2022
    10
    Game is awesome, first 2-3 hours might feel a bit slow but after that it's really fun, also the history is the best of the Pokemon series, even better than B/W on my opinion.

    The music is fantastic too, and the graphics might feel a bit sharp at the beginning, but as you progress on the game it feels much more smooth (especially on handheld mode).
  3. cobes
    Feb 5, 2022
    9
    What a breath of fresh air for a franchise that felt like it was drowning. I hope GameFreak goes forward with a full head of steam with this new gameplay. The story itself is also a lot more competent and enjoyable than Sword & Shield’s. I really hope Gen 9 is similar to this with more emphasis on graphical fidelity and interacting with your Pokémon.
  4. 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
  5. Jorgeranio
    Feb 6, 2022
    8
    Un juego de 10, con muchas cosas buenas que debe de seguir la saga en futuros juegos... el gameplay, aún siendo repetitivo es muy adictivo, aunque tiene fallos grandes como los gráficos o mecánicas simples. Va haciendo falta doblaje en los juegos de pokémon para dar más inmersión en su historia, sobre todo en escenas importantes o cinemáticas que se puedan hacer pesadas.
    Si bien es cierto    Un juego de 10, con muchas cosas buenas que debe de seguir la saga en futuros juegos... el gameplay, aún siendo repetitivo es muy adictivo, aunque tiene fallos grandes como los gráficos o mecánicas simples. Va haciendo falta doblaje en los juegos de pokémon para dar más inmersión en su historia, sobre todo en escenas importantes o cinemáticas que se puedan hacer pesadas.
    Si bien es cierto que los modelos y animaciones están más trabajados, creo que el poco tiempo ha hecho que otras cosas queden sin pulir y generen problemas visuales bastantes importantes... En la historia no me voy a meter, no hace falta que sea buena o mala cuando queda en segundo plano, aunque en términos generales tienen diálogos más profundos, que como he dicho antes, mejorarían bastante con un doblaje acorde.
    En conclusión, el juego no tiene a Arctozolt así que le quito puntuación, vean Gintama    … Expand
  6. Bacon95
    Feb 6, 2022
    9
    I have been playing Pokemon since the gold and silver days. Even though I have always been a hardcore fan, i was slowly losing interest in the series due to the never changing nature of the games in the past 20 years. And behold, Gamefreak finally decides to step into unknown territories. I agree, the graphics are something that definitely look like they still belong to the previousI have been playing Pokemon since the gold and silver days. Even though I have always been a hardcore fan, i was slowly losing interest in the series due to the never changing nature of the games in the past 20 years. And behold, Gamefreak finally decides to step into unknown territories. I agree, the graphics are something that definitely look like they still belong to the previous decade, but i feel that they have more than made up for it with the gameplay. I hope this sets the milestone for all future pokemon games to come.… Expand
  7. nalragyo
    Feb 6, 2022
    10
    My best Pokemon game ever. Great interaction with Pokemon, nice game-play and decent story and sub-quests. I hope that Game freak keeps this direction to develop a new Pokemon game. I really enjoy it!
  8. 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.
  9. 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
  10. 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
  11. 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
  12. 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
  13. 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
  14. 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
  15. 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.
  16. Kast2
    Feb 7, 2022
    8
    In summary it is a classic game of Pokèmon, I would have preferred open world than open map and graphics maybe better (here we are at the level of Unity crap). However, the leveling system is strange, throughout the story you can also go to equal level but towards the end, you are required to have a team leveled well, this I call it unbalancing and not good at all.

    I sincerely hope that    In summary it is a classic game of Pokèmon, I would have preferred open world than open map and graphics maybe better (here we are at the level of Unity crap). However, the leveling system is strange, throughout the story you can also go to equal level but towards the end, you are required to have a team leveled well, this I call it unbalancing and not good at all.

    I sincerely hope that for other games in the series, they improve starting from their negative points but knowing Gamefreak......    … Expand
  17. Lluisgol15
    Feb 21, 2022
    6
    Este juego de Pokémon me a dejado con sabor agridulce sin duda es el juego más innovador de la franquicia pero el juego técnicamente deja mucho que desear además se nota que el juego le faltaba medio año de desarrollo ami en un juego nunca me An importado en un videojuego peroaqueaimportante
  18. Dangusse
    Nov 14, 2022
    2
    completely rushed. it has some cool aspects to it, especially if you want to use it for shiny hunting, but the boss battles are all terrible, the ride pokemon function worse than 20+ year old games, and the graphics are become laughably bad, down to 1fps 2d sprites at like 30 yards away. the game is extremely imbalanced and has extremely clunky mechanics and slow/boring quests that againcompletely rushed. it has some cool aspects to it, especially if you want to use it for shiny hunting, but the boss battles are all terrible, the ride pokemon function worse than 20+ year old games, and the graphics are become laughably bad, down to 1fps 2d sprites at like 30 yards away. the game is extremely imbalanced and has extremely clunky mechanics and slow/boring quests that again are worse than games from when i was a sperm cell. this is not pokemon botw, it's a cash grab. it's shameful how small and empty the settlements are, as well as general move speed while walking being weird and uncomfortable - i have to click the left stick at all times in order to move faster than a snail? i have to constantly switch ride pokemon every 2 seconds, and if you use the braviary you are more than likely to instantly die on your first try because of how unacceptably bad the controls and it's movement are.

    i can't stress enough that this game has potential, but it barely feels like pokemon. i dont even look at what pokemon im using because the battles are all 1hkos that last 2 seconds, and this plus the extremely broken jet balls made it far too easy to get to max level very fast. critics are lying, fans who say it's good are either highly impressionable or have not made it far enough into the game to see how much of a leaky bucket the mid to late game experience is. also, almost all of the new pokemon variants appear to be trash in combat and many of them have very underwhelming design and backstory.    … Expand
  19. Zetav
    Apr 6, 2022
    0
    This game is so ugly words aren't enough to describe. The fact you have to get specific lord pokemon through story to help you and can only use them to fly and swim is annoying. Climbing is completely out if left field, it feels like a cheap version of breath of the wild, i want to play pokemon why is this feature there? It makes no sense and it just forces me look at the ugly graphicsThis game is so ugly words aren't enough to describe. The fact you have to get specific lord pokemon through story to help you and can only use them to fly and swim is annoying. Climbing is completely out if left field, it feels like a cheap version of breath of the wild, i want to play pokemon why is this feature there? It makes no sense and it just forces me look at the ugly graphics even more. I have very few good things to say, the alphas are the only enjoyable thing, like hunting for them and catching them is satisfying. The most important downside for me is the world is so visually ugly, i didn't expect that because previous games like let's go eevee were so beautiful visually, it was definitely a downgrade in that regard, a very glaringly obvious downgrade.… Expand
  20. Estifanos
    May 18, 2022
    0
    It's unnecessary for the heavy (pointless) dialogue and the throw away story. Barely able to play the game without offer of side missions or unskippable cutscenes.
  21. gamgam
    Jul 29, 2022
    0
    Can Scarlet and Violet please be a game where I don't have to run all over the map 50 times to finds little purple lights and die 50 times trying to chase down a pokemon that shoots confusion inducing tornadoes at me before I get a shot at the primary legendary in the game? It's just not fun. It's not.
  22. teafan011
    Feb 4, 2022
    10
    So, so good. Gamefreak really outdid themselves this time, and it's about time they did. I can't recommend this game enough if you've gotten tired of burned out on the usual Pokemon formula.
  23. Top27-
    Feb 9, 2022
    0
    Uno scandaloso gioco tecnicamente di inizio 2000, gameplay semplice ma non noioso, trovo scandaloso però che un azienda che fattura miliardi e con questi numeri di vendite un prodotto del genere lo trovo inaccetabile.
  24. Premier991
    Feb 12, 2022
    0
    This game has inexcusable graphics. It looks like they pulled the blocky graphics from the original Roller Coaster Tycoon game. I have seen better graphics on GameCube. It looks soooooo bad! I have concluded the devolpers have no graphical talent.
  25. Dirtycasual10
    Feb 2, 2022
    5
    While many of the latest Pokemon games will introduce a few new features or tweaks, but retain the same gameplay and story, this takes it in a whole new direction. The gameplay is wildly different and makes it feel not like a game you play but a world you are part of. Less of a step in the right direction and more of a sprint, I highly recommend this to anyone interested in the series andWhile many of the latest Pokemon games will introduce a few new features or tweaks, but retain the same gameplay and story, this takes it in a whole new direction. The gameplay is wildly different and makes it feel not like a game you play but a world you are part of. Less of a step in the right direction and more of a sprint, I highly recommend this to anyone interested in the series and look forward to any future installments.… Expand
  26. aot93
    Feb 4, 2022
    9
    This game is not a 10, maybe not even a 9 but I feel the need to overrate it because all the hate I'm seeing. It's a great game and most important, it's a great Pokemon game which honestly I haven't seen in a long while. It's definitely worth my time and I'm enjoying every second of it. I'm even completing the Pokedex without following the main story because I don't want it to end.

    100%    This game is not a 10, maybe not even a 9 but I feel the need to overrate it because all the hate I'm seeing. It's a great game and most important, it's a great Pokemon game which honestly I haven't seen in a long while. It's definitely worth my time and I'm enjoying every second of it. I'm even completing the Pokedex without following the main story because I don't want it to end.

    100% recommend    … Expand
  27. Lukej142
    Feb 8, 2022
    5
    I quite like the game! It's fun, I sunk 24 hours into it in a few weeks! It just seems under baked. I know I'm going to complete the game because I enjoy it but it's flawed. The environment is stale, AI is poor, pop in is horrible for a game about exploring. My biggest complaint is the map. There's no map in the corner and so I find myself constantly opening the map up and on top of that,I quite like the game! It's fun, I sunk 24 hours into it in a few weeks! It just seems under baked. I know I'm going to complete the game because I enjoy it but it's flawed. The environment is stale, AI is poor, pop in is horrible for a game about exploring. My biggest complaint is the map. There's no map in the corner and so I find myself constantly opening the map up and on top of that, you can only place one guided marker at a time. It's a refreshing game! It's not hard at all if that's what you want, but I would recommend it. 5 just because it's good but it could have been so much more. I just see a decent base idea with a flawed execution.… Expand
  28. luchieh
    Feb 13, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Final boss is too cheap, that is not fail at all. It’s not beyond type, it insulting.… Expand
  29. iliaszopfi
    Feb 25, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Schwaches Spiel... (Meiner Meinung nach)
    Grafik
    Gameplay
    Modelle in Dörfern
    Unabwechslungsreiche modelle    … Expand
  30. Clleavage
    Feb 8, 2022
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Things start off fun and exciting but quickly become redundant and monotone. Completing the pokedex is overkill and after completing the game you wonder why you actually even bothered trying to complete any of the side quests giving you nothing but a few additional resources.

    The store is a joke, you'll never actually have to buy a pokeball or potion for the entirety of the game

    The lack of other villages or towns in the game is pretty horrendous. Only another village and yet nothing worthwhile to the storyline to do there.

    As other critics have mentioned, the NPCs are also blatantly empty.

    To me the only worthwhile point to this game is the storyline and even there they could've cut to the chase at the end instead of adding double and triple plot twists!

    Completed the game and tossed it in my completed game section. May or may not take it out for DLCs if any in the future but it really feels like DLCs should have been part of the game in the first place.

    Overall verdict:
    Borrow it from a friend, complete the story and don't bother complete the pokedex, buying stuff or doing side quests. They give little to no addition to the game    … Expand
  31. Rich45682
    Jan 31, 2022
    10
    Es posiblemente el mejor juego de pokemon, es un gran paso en la dirección correcta por parte de game freak, Recomendadisimo.
  32. Jorgenzjdo
    Feb 2, 2022
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I think this is the BEST Pokémon Game, is a reinvention, the graphics could be better but there are no vas, i love the new Pokémon, the music is incredible, the BEST point is all the posibilities that you can do, capture, history, pokedex. A 10. (Enamorus tótem is horrible xd)… Expand
  33. maticio03
    Feb 5, 2022
    10
    Im so addicted! New mechanics and ideas are really fantastic! Can’t stop playing it! Over 40 hrs and still can’t put down the console! The world is really beautifull, exploration is truly amazing. The only grip is the performance and graphics but the game has it own graphical moments. Must play for sure!
  34. 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!!!
  35. Plkll
    Feb 2, 2022
    10
    This is everything I imagined Pokemon to be as a kid, while there are some things I think need an adjustment, the entire game is absolutely refreshing. I love being able to find shiny Pokemon in the wild just sitting there. If this is the future of all Pokemon games I am absolutely on board, definitely my favorite game yet!
  36. AskMeToReview
    Feb 2, 2022
    10
    The most fun I’ve had playing a Pokémon game since FireRed. Refreshing and highly addicting gameplay. I hope Pokémon continues in this trend going forward.
  37. Ughduty
    Feb 24, 2022
    0
    Boss battles are trash and unfair. The main difficulty here is to jump around fast enough. I don‘t like such sh.. in a strategy RPG.
  38. DanHlrzr
    Feb 7, 2022
    10
    Love it, this new direction is great and I hope Game Freak expand on it. The gameplay is unique and only Pokemon is capable of making this work.
  39. Dreamscanner
    Feb 5, 2022
    10
    El juego es increíble. Es hasta ahora el primer juego de Pokémon que trasciende la fórmula tradicional, está enfocado en la exploración por lo que como era de esperarse la dificultad es bastante alta, en especial con el tema de los Pokémon Alfa. Tiene todo lo que le faltaba a la saga.
  40. AmazingBanana
    Feb 6, 2022
    10
    Probably the best Pokémon switch game yet, definitely the most fun! Anyone who is complaining about graphics or lack of Pokémon need to see this as the best jump forward for the video game franchise. Brilliant
  41. Dysilik
    Feb 4, 2022
    9
    It is a little liberation that this game offers us. Fluidity of play and freedom of movement are as good as graphic performances are in agony.
    It will be impossible for me to return to an episode that would take up the gameplay and the speed of the old games.
    The scenario is good if we are "Role-Play", we are more a researcher than a trainer and it is logical with agoal to completing a    It is a little liberation that this game offers us. Fluidity of play and freedom of movement are as good as graphic performances are in agony.
    It will be impossible for me to return to an episode that would take up the gameplay and the speed of the old games.
    The scenario is good if we are "Role-Play", we are more a researcher than a trainer and it is logical with agoal to completing a pokédex.
    The rating is quite high because I have fun on it and I appreciate the initiative of change.

    It's a good old whiskey served in a good old bidet.

    I hope for a legends 2 that would push all of this higher and finally use the processor of this Switch.    … Expand
  42. dasistzuschwer
    Feb 2, 2022
    9
    The most fun I had with a pokemon game since the first gen. Instead of just doing the quests Im out there grinding the pokedex for hours without being bored. The game would be a 10 but the graphics are on playstation 2 level, some pokemon in the background have like 1 fps and you can see pokemon only if you are right in front of them...but this game shows gameplay >>> graphic
  43. 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
  44. cchenders40
    Feb 4, 2022
    10
    I am addicted to this game. Pokémon has not been this good since like Gen 3. I fully recommend getting this game it is amazing! So much fun, the new mechanics are great, it’s just so much fun.

    Easily the best Pokémon game. Not perfect but perfectly fun.
  45. IyanVigil
    Feb 2, 2022
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Such a great jump into 3D gameplay. Of course it has noticiable problems related to graphics (popping is such a disaster) but in terms of joy and fun I hope this game sets the guideline for the future of Pokémon.… Expand
  46. DerSeidon
    Feb 2, 2022
    9
    Finally they are making a jump out of their normal formula and it worked perfectly. The only con is the graphics but I really love the game.
  47. TranquillizeMe
    Feb 2, 2022
    9
    Pros:
    Lots of Pokemon, Faster and more fun catching, more to do than just battle, open world, exploring is more engaging than in previous titles, more personalization than other games

    Conts:
    Graphics were obviously impacted by switch hardware or game is designed poorly in terms of efficiency, they removed abilities, story is sub par
  48. BratAx
    Feb 4, 2022
    9
    Une expérience nouvelle, addictive même si les graphismes laissent à désirer
  49. CazzMiei
    Feb 14, 2022
    1
    the actual 8.3 is too much for this, my real rate is 5.9.
    nice game but orrible graphic and my aspettative about the company are higher than this result
  50. AK1994556
    Feb 14, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Boss fights aren’t thought out properly. Too many bugs and sloppy development… Expand
  51. Barny
    Mar 9, 2023
    0
    Absolute trash from beginning to nowhere. If you have the courage to pass the unskippable tutorials and dialogues (I gave up at the 3 hours mark), it is a testament to your wilful desire to endure pain.
  52. 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
  53. Iceberg91
    Feb 4, 2022
    8
    ottimo titolo gamefreak ha intrapreso la strada giusta ha ancora evidenti lacune tecniche ma il gameplay prende molto e diverte speriamo sia un nuovo buon inizio per il brand

    Grafica 6
    Sonoro 8
    Trama 7.5
    Giocabilità 8.5
    Longevità 8.5
  54. Kengo19
    Feb 11, 2022
    8
    This game is great! I had an amazing time playing the game. The mechanics kept me entertained through the whole game. While it's not perfect and needs some polish in parts I still highly recommend this game.
  55. StrickenLoki92
    Feb 8, 2022
    8
    Despite the world not being fully open (Nothing wrong but BOTW is fully open with better drawing distances) and draw distance being terrible, legends arceus is the best pokemon game I've played in a LONG time (Since Gen 5) it has TONS of content (More than we are used to sadly, but nothing compared to other RPGS like skyrim and such), story is fairly long I didn't rush and it took meDespite the world not being fully open (Nothing wrong but BOTW is fully open with better drawing distances) and draw distance being terrible, legends arceus is the best pokemon game I've played in a LONG time (Since Gen 5) it has TONS of content (More than we are used to sadly, but nothing compared to other RPGS like skyrim and such), story is fairly long I didn't rush and it took me around 50 hours I would like to see the same game, but in Jhoto with access to the Kanto region and the FULL national dex! (Not a modern Jhoto nor ancient Jhoto, regular gen 2 Jhoto couple of cities multiple towns with huge routes to catch pokemon), Still playing the game haven't fully captured all legendaries and i'm at 72 hours but already finished main story and post game story only missing secondary missions. P.S The story is meh to decent forgot to talk about that but yeah nothing special compared to a mystery dungeon but its better than some recent pokemon games tho.… Expand
  56. giannis2001
    Feb 8, 2022
    8
    I loved this game. It was very different from the original formula but it's always nice to try new ones if they do it right, and this one does. It's the first Pokémon game chronologically and the story is very nice. I also enjoyed the gameplay a lot. The formula breaks from the typical battle after battle and I personally found that really good for this spin off. I highly recommend it.
  57. DaLawUK
    Feb 2, 2022
    9
    So we finally have a game that Gamefreak have put some effort in, however does it actually work? Minor spoilers if you haven't watched trailers so be warned.

    So my first sitting I sat there for 9 hours straight giving this an honest go so I can put together a fair review. I played it all on stream and said my pros and cons there but here they are in text for others to read and decide on    So we finally have a game that Gamefreak have put some effort in, however does it actually work? Minor spoilers if you haven't watched trailers so be warned.

    So my first sitting I sat there for 9 hours straight giving this an honest go so I can put together a fair review. I played it all on stream and said my pros and cons there but here they are in text for others to read and decide on if they want to purchase. I have now put in 35 hours I can put together a fair review.

    Overall, Yes this game is worth and I am very impressed Gamefreak took this risk and I hope future games use this type of system. There are some things they could have done better which I'll go into first Pokémon at night could have more of a variety, every map has 80% of the same Pokémon at night except a few that are exclusive to that map at night. It's most driffloons you find which is annoying, but during the day there's a variety on each map. It's only at night it's lacking.

    Some side quests need some work, they need to be more descriptive or give you the maps name at least. Some of them give you a quest where you have to go an area but that name isn't on any map at all, someone would have mentioned the name but you'd have to remember.

    The map needs more little towns for immersivness, you have people coming from other existing places to your town. However you never actually find those towns, instead of having random quests on the maps to pick up you could have little towns you go pick them up from and then you could learn a little more of how those places operate at the same time. Except you just hear of all the places and never get to see them which is a shame.

    Pokémon in the wild could have behaviour characteristics, get too close to another Pokémon they could argue with each other or even fight, Have bidoofs collecting wood to make dams, Beatifly landing on trees and sucking the nectar. Just things to give the Pokémon more life, they do go to sleep at night (If they don't despawn and get replaced with night Pokémon which does happen).

    Now on to why it's such a great game.

    System.. The open world style really suits this game and it's a huge step forwards for the franchise. Being able to choose to try and catch a Pokémon right away or battle it is great.. what's even better is being able to move while battling. This doesn't do anything but it lets you look around and if you annoy more than one Pokémon you can end up battling as many enemies that are around you.

    Crafting.. Now this actually lets you do something with the open world style. Collect materials which you can find on the ground or get as rewards for catching/fainting pokemon. You might think it's a tedious thing but you don't need to craft you can just smash through the content however crafting does add a little more to do for those that like this type of thing. Collecting recipes and crafting those new recipe's to make fights easier in the future.

    Mounts.. You can run fast, break stuff, swim or fly and you can switch between them whenever you want with the D-Pad and if your currently on your running mount and go into water it will automatically switch to your swimming mount. Great addition Gamefreak, well done. However I wish you could actually fly around and fight flying Pokémon in the sky.

    Danger.. Now you can actually faint from Pokémon attacking you. This could do with being harder though it is very easy to dodge Pokémon attacks or get away from them. However the fear of you actually fainting and loosing items you went out and crafted/bought is a cool addition to the game. Alpha Pokémon are a great addition too. You can litterally throw your Pokémon out anywhere and call them back, so you catch an alpha Pokémon you can compare it's size to a regular one. You have a choice to either fight the wild Pokémon or catch them right off the bat. Even aggressive Pokémon can be approached with the correct items, I've caught about 10 Alpha Pokémon without battling them.

    The side quests are both great and have their flaws at the same time. Most of the side quests have different styles quests, have a little story too them too but then around 1/5th side quests are just 'Fill X Pokemons Dex entry'. Which is too many in my opinion, your planning to finish all Dex entries anyway if you want the reward.

    Overall this game is a hard 9/10 I love that Gamefreak went for a risk and put so much effort into a new game rather than us getting a new 3DS game that's slightly bigger in map size. This is a great direction for new Pokémon games, I see this as the BoTW of the series. This is a test to see if the audience enjoy this style of game and then in future we will get more immersive maps, maps will towns we are going to end up having a truly flawless game if they continue in this direction and don't just use this style of spin off games in the future.    … Expand
  58. CaptainStallion
    Feb 2, 2022
    10
    Best Pokémon game I’ve ever played. It switches up the formula in ways the series desperately needed and lays the groundwork for more innovation in the future.
  59. Andres_FPS92
    Feb 8, 2022
    9
    I hadn't had so much fun with a pokèmon game in such a long time!!! Loved the game a lot, great and fluid gameplay. Loved all the new concepts that were included.

    The graphics need a lot of polish, I hope future games improve on that but keep and improve this gameplay, this is the way to go
  60. 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.
  61. Mikymask
    Feb 1, 2022
    10
    Todo lo que nintendo hace es obra maestra
    Perfecto y pokemon leyendas arceus no es la excepción
  62. 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
  63. 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
  64. aangelis
    Feb 1, 2022
    10
    As a person who played all the Pokémon games, including the spin-offs, i never enjoyed something in this universe like Legends: Arceus. Is addicting, is well made, and kinda impossible for me to stop playing. Its the kinda of game that you play until you fall to sleep. Really hope that the Pokémon Company keep going with that format and understand that this was the best step they took inAs a person who played all the Pokémon games, including the spin-offs, i never enjoyed something in this universe like Legends: Arceus. Is addicting, is well made, and kinda impossible for me to stop playing. Its the kinda of game that you play until you fall to sleep. Really hope that the Pokémon Company keep going with that format and understand that this was the best step they took in all Pokémon franchise.… Expand
  65. Lassr
    Feb 2, 2022
    9
    Nice game with fresh new elements. The graphic could be better but the game play is lot of fun.
  66. Yukowrath
    Feb 2, 2022
    9
    For me, this is the second best entry into the Pokemon series. Although, as a disclaimer, I've only played each of the mainline games and remakes (and Let's go, if that counts as a separate thing). Arceus has been my absolute favourite since I played Blue for the first time in the 90s and this new game was beaten out by nostalgia and fond memories only to be honest.

    The minimalistic art    For me, this is the second best entry into the Pokemon series. Although, as a disclaimer, I've only played each of the mainline games and remakes (and Let's go, if that counts as a separate thing). Arceus has been my absolute favourite since I played Blue for the first time in the 90s and this new game was beaten out by nostalgia and fond memories only to be honest.

    The minimalistic art style is reminiscent of older Japanese artwork; it's a beautiful and moving take on simplistic world that supports the engaging core mechanics. It's true that it's not as beautiful as some more recent games, however for me it is clear that this is not what Arceus sets out to be.

    When we talk about open world games, the narrative often becomes about that world and the interactions with that world by the character and story; Arceus doesn't set out to have you move mountains within the world but instead exist as a part of a theorised greater whole. Much like the thesis of the game's story: how do we exist as humans within this greater world filled with potentially terrifying Pokemon who are by default stronger than we are? The game asks who are we compared to each other and who are we compared to these creatures, rather than who are we compared to the world. For me, the beauty is further than skin deep and the graphical minimalism of the world supports this greatly.

    Arceus gives a stage to often lesser used Pokemon, it asks you to think about your Pokemon journey further than 'Who is the strongest?', and it puts the exploration and mystery back in the genre.

    I loved it and I sincerely hope they produce more in this vein. Highly recommend.    … Expand
  67. NinjaLama99YT
    Feb 2, 2022
    10
    Die Grafik ist nicht sehr gut aber die Story und das gameplay machen süchtig und Mann will nur noch grinden
  68. Klueber95
    Feb 2, 2022
    8
    The graphics are just bad. But that's the only big point. The gameplay feels great and i think this is a really good step for the next Pokemon games. The best Pokemon game i played on Switch. I hope this is the new gameplay for future Pokemon games. The rewarding system is also fine and the side quest are okay. With voice actors for the main questline and better graphics it would be aThe graphics are just bad. But that's the only big point. The gameplay feels great and i think this is a really good step for the next Pokemon games. The best Pokemon game i played on Switch. I hope this is the new gameplay for future Pokemon games. The rewarding system is also fine and the side quest are okay. With voice actors for the main questline and better graphics it would be a 10/10. Still a great experience.… Expand
  69. PoCra
    Feb 2, 2022
    9
    This Game. I love this Game, it's now my favorite Pokémon game. I like, the world building and the chosen Pokémon for the areas they are great and makes sense. Some people don't like that the Pokémon have fixed spots where they can spawn, but I like it. That way, it isn't so difficult to fill the Pokédex. I especially like that you need to do different things to complete the PokédexThis Game. I love this Game, it's now my favorite Pokémon game. I like, the world building and the chosen Pokémon for the areas they are great and makes sense. Some people don't like that the Pokémon have fixed spots where they can spawn, but I like it. That way, it isn't so difficult to fill the Pokédex. I especially like that you need to do different things to complete the Pokédex entree, it's refreshing new. At all, the new concept is something what Pokémon really needed. This is the first important step. But hopefully not the last step. There are many things to improve. Especially the graphics and the distant view. But for people who don't care about graphics, only about the game-play, this is a great game. There aren't very much fights, but there are some, what I like. But this I can totally understand, this game plays in a time when it isn't so common that everyone has Pokémon. The most fights are easy but sometimes there are hard fights especially in the after story. About the Boss Pokémon of the games, I like that concept. Some of them are really easy, especially the first, but not all. Two of them were really hard and by one of them I have died two times. Which don't sound like much, but I play very much dark souls and in this game it is especially important to dodge, and the dodge role of PLA is exactly the same as there. During the role, you are for a short time invincible if you dodge exactly when the enemy is attacking. Overall I like this game, it is great and does very much fun.… Expand
  70. Inditorias
    Feb 2, 2022
    8
    The game play is amazing, it's finally a redesign of the original formula. The boss battles are great fun, my only complaint is the graphics are really weak. Lots of alias artifacts, and the pixels are very clear. That's more of a switch limitation, would be nice to see a pc port for a similar style game.
  71. Swatkamus
    Feb 2, 2022
    9
    Great game. The wild area can be polished, but this game is certainly leading the franchise to a new and exciting direction.
  72. Ploiu
    Feb 2, 2022
    9
    This game is full of really, really good ideas. From the open world with tons of things to do, to the new capture mechanics, to the likable characters - this doesn't feel like a Pokemon game and that's a good thing. This game is a first step in a better direction for pokemon and I really hope gamefreak builds upon these ideas and polishes the game in future pokemon games.
  73. Nerta32
    Feb 8, 2022
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Cos'è leggende Arceus se non un titolo bello perchè piace, ho trascorso ad Hisui ben 55 ore che personalmente rivivrei da capo, comparto audio fenomenale, animazioni e character design godibili in un mondo che, per quanto spoglio, va bene così per quello che si è posto. A non essere apprezzate le sezioni coi geni, le morti a caso causate da Braviary e specialmente l'introduzione che può risultare scomoda e noiosa per chi già ha intuito le meccaniche… Expand
  74. Remysbayou
    Feb 9, 2022
    9
    A fun new adventure with Pokemon. Worth a play. Buttons are easy to remember.
  75. SharkRock191
    Feb 10, 2022
    10
    Es la forma más fresca de aventura que he vivido en un juego de Pokémon, no solo los Pokémon evolucionan, también lo hacen los personajes y tu entorno, te sientes realmente parte de ese mundo, su concepto primitivo te hace redescubrir conceptos básicos de la saga y recrear leyendas que habían en la saga, tal vez no sea todo lo bonito visualmente que quisiéramos pero es un gran paso en laEs la forma más fresca de aventura que he vivido en un juego de Pokémon, no solo los Pokémon evolucionan, también lo hacen los personajes y tu entorno, te sientes realmente parte de ese mundo, su concepto primitivo te hace redescubrir conceptos básicos de la saga y recrear leyendas que habían en la saga, tal vez no sea todo lo bonito visualmente que quisiéramos pero es un gran paso en la dirección correcta ( se disfruta más en el modo portátil ) solo deseo que llegue un DLC para tener más Pokémon que investigar, 242 se hace poco, necesitamos el subsuelo para atrapar muchos muchos más… Expand
  76. ToxikVermin
    Apr 7, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Everybody gather up for the latest cash grab release by everybodies favorite punchbag Pokemon. Not only did the trading card game go to **** but the videogames are diving in a lake of garbage. This game is an insult to the braindead fanbase that is slowly approaching the mental territory of your average Sonic that uses Teitter to share hus weird Sonic sexfanfics. PETA was right all along that Gamefreak and Nintendo are both abusers... abusers of their braindead fanbase. This game is also buttugly like that one show about the martians but with the difference that the show was atleast sorta entertaining. This game on the other hand is pretty embarassing. Thats all I can add to trashtalk Pokemon since Gamefreak is doing an better job at it then I do… Expand
  77. MrNeedlemouse
    Nov 15, 2022
    1
    People seems like they need to lick every Pokemon game. This one is a flop. Story is boring, open zone is copy paste, only one town and bugs and glitch everywhere. It is so slow it made me sell it immediately. Graphic is the worst part.
  78. JulienK06
    Dec 11, 2022
    4
    Sadly the game is very repetitive after the first area, still fun but i miss the battles
  79. xXFedericXx
    Feb 6, 2022
    0
    A low quality graphics for a 2006 game. Seems to play Metin 2. rendering problem, purple spots around the world, etc...
  80. 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
  81. Patrick95
    Feb 2, 2022
    5
    Let's say is a good experiment but... The battles are a mess. Little amount, you can avoid almost any battle you want... Doesn't make any sense. It's Pokémon GO all over again. You catch them all and that's all, you don't need to train them because even bosses can be beaten without even using a single Pokémon. And the joke is that they all are wining experience even if you didn't use them.Let's say is a good experiment but... The battles are a mess. Little amount, you can avoid almost any battle you want... Doesn't make any sense. It's Pokémon GO all over again. You catch them all and that's all, you don't need to train them because even bosses can be beaten without even using a single Pokémon. And the joke is that they all are wining experience even if you didn't use them.

    Battle system is a mess and left so much to be desired like: enemy pokemon is poisoned, I use calm mind to buff myself for the next Pokémon, their pokemon use agile style and attack, their pokemon die to poison and another comes in, new pokemon uses quick attack, new pokemon uses agile style attack, new pokemon attacks again and when my turn is finally here... Calm mind effect expired. A joke. I understand now why there's no held items or abilities. They surely need to improve this in future games.

    Also story is bland, the postgame is epic, but doesn't makes much sense and... The tutorial is the longest this franchise has. Don't get me wrong I liked the game, because catching and exploring are done better than ever and that makes this game really fun to play! It's by far the best part of this game. But the rest is just... Meh.    … Expand
  82. 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
  83. sinetic
    Feb 8, 2022
    0
    the game is made on the idea that has been made by may fans more than 10 years ago. the graphics are worse than 20yo games.
  84. Pill91
    Feb 8, 2022
    0
    Tiene unos Bugs que hace que el juego sea horrible, no sean idiotas, no compren esa porquería o basura. Y los gráficos, parecieran que lo hicieran niños japoneses de 5 años!
  85. Raulvelez
    Feb 1, 2022
    6
    Nice game compared to the last Pokémon Gamesa but the graphics are poor and the game has to improve a lot. This is the way
  86. LunLun
    Feb 1, 2022
    6
    The game is an over all breath of fresh air and i truly like the direction it is going. The story is decent, the controls nice and the pokémon don't seem AS bland as they were in previous Pokémon Titles. It is fun! BUT as a fan of the series for 20+ years i can not ignore the many inconsistencies (NPCs sometimes moving their mouth while talking, and sometimes not for e.g.), the uninspiredThe game is an over all breath of fresh air and i truly like the direction it is going. The story is decent, the controls nice and the pokémon don't seem AS bland as they were in previous Pokémon Titles. It is fun! BUT as a fan of the series for 20+ years i can not ignore the many inconsistencies (NPCs sometimes moving their mouth while talking, and sometimes not for e.g.), the uninspired landscapes (and caves specifically), the horrific graphics (especially light and shadow work and lilac shimmer on the ground for no apparent reason) and framerate, the annoying repetitive dialogue, the pokémon glitching up trees and the jokingly bad render distances of a MULTI BILLION DOLLAR COMPANY in the year 2022. The Gameplay however is really fun, not perfect but fun and i really hope the next legends game will improve the things it clearly lacks as off right now. Great potential… Expand
  87. 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
  88. sandlefoxiv
    Feb 2, 2022
    9
    A break from standard tradition, Pokemon finally gets it's first truly open-world 3D game, with plenty of exploration and an emphasis on catching and researching Pokemon! The only downside is it could use some graphical polish.
  89. rodrigobarg
    Feb 2, 2022
    10
    This is the best Pokémon game I've ever played. To me, it feels like what I thought I was playing when I was a child 20 years ago, but without having to imagine so much.
  90. veedub
    Feb 2, 2022
    9
    This game is incredible. I've been so addicted to it since I got it. I remember as a kid playing outside with my friends like we were Pokemon trainers . . . Pokemon Legends Arceus is exactly what I envisioned playing Pokemon should be like.

    They seem to have actually considered the kind of game that people want when they think of playing Pokemon. Exploring, finding them in their    This game is incredible. I've been so addicted to it since I got it. I remember as a kid playing outside with my friends like we were Pokemon trainers . . . Pokemon Legends Arceus is exactly what I envisioned playing Pokemon should be like.

    They seem to have actually considered the kind of game that people want when they think of playing Pokemon. Exploring, finding them in their natural habitats, and everything is just quick and fluid. The gameplay loop of explore/catch/rework team is super refined and I'm almost sad that we didn't get a Pokemon game like this much, much earlier.

    It's not all perfect though. GameFreak simply doesn't allocate nearly enough budget for their game development. As a result, this game visually looks like it could have been on the Wii. There was basically no budget for cinematics and so there's so much stuff that is expressed in text that characters are doing but it just goes to a black screen because they didn't actually animate that. (You know, you'd think a franchise that has one of the most popular and long-running TV series to go with it would have the budget to do that? Not to mention voice acting and orchestrated soundtrack -- which obviously they have for the TV series).

    But enough of the bad. This game is easily not only the pinnacle of the series as a whole, but a game that nostalgia put aside deserves the records and accolades it is getting.    … Expand
  91. Kearne
    Feb 2, 2022
    7
    It's good, feels fresh. New catching system is great. It just feels kinda rushed thou and like it wants you to mainly be re-catching the same Pokémon all the time to fill out that Pokédex. And there is even less emphasis placed on story and battles. I don't like how there is almost no trainers battles, as having high level good Pokémon being pointless.
  92. 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.
  93. 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
  94. bulba2020think
    Feb 11, 2022
    6
    PLA is a fun game that is really rough around the edges. There are parts of the game that make me kinda want the game to get on with it and parts where I was actually engaged with the story. With that said the game play felt very bare-bones and repetitive making me wish that there was more to it.

    Story: 7 For a Pokemon game, the story in this one is actually pretty decent even though I    PLA is a fun game that is really rough around the edges. There are parts of the game that make me kinda want the game to get on with it and parts where I was actually engaged with the story. With that said the game play felt very bare-bones and repetitive making me wish that there was more to it.

    Story: 7
    For a Pokemon game, the story in this one is actually pretty decent even though I feel they had to use leaps in logic for why people act or why conflict sometimes happen in order to progress the story forward, which isn't a bad thing, just isn't groundbreaking in its own right. Just happy to have stakes in a Pokemon game again.

    Sound: 6
    There wasn't much music that really stood out to me mostly because I swear i couldn't hear it over
    the Pokemon in the wild, the ending song is really good though.

    Graphics: 5
    I agree with everyone else that the graphics of the game itself isn't really that good and for the largest media franchise in the world, they could have stepped them up. But at the end of the day, it could have been a lot worse than we actually got.

    Game play: 6
    The game play is fun at the beginning, but the main issue with it is the fact that it's pretty much the same thing throughout the entire game, with the only break in the monotony being the boss fights which were genuinely fun to fight against because it wasn't just a regular Pokemon battle.

    Final Score: 6/10
    PLA is a step in the right direction for the Pokemon franchise, and I really want to see what they do next with this type of game play style. Even if this instalment feels extremely bare currently.    … Expand
  95. Cutsupreme1
    Feb 8, 2022
    9
    Excellent game just needs voice acting i coukd bever get into the older pokemon ganes because i need a game i can walk around in like this. Deffinatly reccomemded to anyone who loves to play a adventure game with rog elements and anyone who loves pokemon this is a must buy
  96. CrisSonic_Drago
    Feb 2, 2022
    10
    Los gráficos están mal, pero no eso no quita que sea un buen juego.

    Tras pasármelo y ya en el postgame actualmente . Me ha encantado. Destaco la nueva mecánica de captura, que es bastante adictiva y entretenida, y lo vivos que están los Pokémon. Atacandote y protegiéndose en manadas cada ves que vas a por un poke. Otra cosa que destaco es la dificultad del juego. Me lleve una sorpresa.    Los gráficos están mal, pero no eso no quita que sea un buen juego.

    Tras pasármelo y ya en el postgame actualmente . Me ha encantado. Destaco la nueva mecánica de captura, que es bastante adictiva y entretenida, y lo vivos que están los Pokémon. Atacandote y protegiéndose en manadas cada ves que vas a por un poke. Otra cosa que destaco es la dificultad del juego. Me lleve una sorpresa. Llegue al final del juego con 10 niveles.

    El juego me ha encantado y lo recomiendo sin duda.    … Expand
  97. Alexmaster
    Feb 2, 2022
    8
    It’s a good game, is nice to see the story behind the Pokémon mythology, famous characters and a explication about some events in other games, but is not perfect, have bugs and the graphics sometimes is not so cool
  98. Shinyscyther
    Feb 2, 2022
    9
    Everything that i was expecting from this game was delivered and even more, is true that it still sins with questionable graphics and performance, but the gameplay is SO GOOD. the models of the monsters and the new animations are really amazing, And the story is actually really good, the last part specially.

    Overall an spectacular experience and the best pokemon game since fifth gen.    Everything that i was expecting from this game was delivered and even more, is true that it still sins with questionable graphics and performance, but the gameplay is SO GOOD. the models of the monsters and the new animations are really amazing, And the story is actually really good, the last part specially.

    Overall an spectacular experience and the best pokemon game since fifth gen. Looking foward to see what this brings to the table of the mainline games, gen 9 could be something incredible.    … Expand
  99. Jal7027
    Feb 2, 2022
    10
    Quickly becoming one of my Top 5 Switch games. I hadn’t played a Pokémon game since Diamond, but this one is making me a super fan.
  100. NickDark
    Feb 21, 2022
    2
    The game might be great but these graphics make me puke. Mario 64 looks more pleasing in my eyes. It's like a beta fan made game made by 1 person.
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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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