Pokémon Legends: Arceus review (2023)

Pokémon Legends: Arceus is unlike any other Pokémon release so far. With an expansive world and plenty of Pokémon to discover, befriend, and battle, there's plenty to keep the little kid in you coming back to this game, time after time. But the graphics just don't match other Nintendo releases on the Switch, and the game's occasionally unfair battles can frustrate players.

Read on for our full Pokémon Legends: Arceus review.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus review: Story

Pokémon Legends: Arceus begins with one character — you — falling through space-time, your smartphone drifting into the ether as you approach a hole below you. When you drop in, you find yourself in the vast lands of Hisui, where wild Pokémon roam and where humans are unaccustomed to the strange creatures.

If you've played Pokémon before, you know that players usually take on the role of a Pokémon trainer. In Arceus, you must quell the frenzied nobles who have been attacking the Hisuians ever since you fell through the time rift in the sky. You are very far back in time, at least 100 years before people respect and live with Pokémon.

As the game progresses, it is clear that you are working to create the world of previous franchise games such as(especially considering that part of your goal in Arceus is to work with Diamond and Pearl clan leaders).

While you might get bored with the absurd amount of cutscenes and dialogue in the first few hours of the game (and every time you reach a plot point, really), the story is pretty compelling if you read all the dialogue. It is well written and comments on our own world today, touching on issues of religious differences, logic and reason, and anthropocentrism.

Without giving away the entire plot, the story generally follows you as you defeat five frantic Pokémon bosses. To do this, you'll need to collect stars on your research badge, which you earn by completing research tasks such as catching new Pokémon and using certain moves in battle. In a twist on the typical RPG plot - and the typical Pokémon plot - you'll actually get a few minutes of excitement and celebration before a commander accuses you of sabotaging Hisui.

As you try to prove him wrong, you'll get closer and closer to the ultimate endgame: Completing the Pokédex and catching Arceus, the godlike Pokémon who reigns over Hisui. Luckily for Pokémon fans, there's plenty to do once you've completed all the main quests. Completing the Pokédex, which is Hisui's first written record of all 242 Pokémon that live there, unlocks a new set of requests (side quests).

Pokémon Legends: Arceus review: Visuals and graphics

Unfortunately, the visuals and graphics in Pokémon Legends: Arceus rarely live up to Nintendo's ridiculously high standards from other open-world games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

First, let's cover what's great. Their characters and outfits look exactly as you'd hope, with vaguely chibi facial expressions that blend in perfectly with the Pokémon themselves. The Pokémon are animated just like in other recent Pokémon releases, such asNew Pokémon Snap. It's a joy to watch them walk while hiding in a bush nearby.

However, that's where the good graphics end. The scenery is beautiful when viewed from afar, but up close the trees are painfully simple and appear over and over again. Frames drop constantly, especially when a Pokémon is moving in the background of a scene. I have yet to see a Pokémon fly in a smooth circle. There's also an extremely frustrating lag, especially during the final frenzied noble battle.

The dark areas of the game also highlight some painfully simple design elements. For example, in a dark room, characters and walls appear with faint white outlines that flicker as you move through the space.

Aside from the occasional lag, most of these issues don't affect gameplay. While playing, I didn't care too much that the graphics weren't that interesting. I was very focused on the Pokémon themselves - and it's clear that most of the developers' time and effort went into bringing these creatures to life rather than making sure the scenery looked perfect.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus review: Gameplay

The gameplay in Pokémon Legends: Arceus is probably the most exciting part of the game, especially for players who have been in Pokémon for decades. As in the other Pokémon games, you can travel with up to six Pokémon, which faint when out of HP. You can revive them by resting in town or at a base camp, or with potions or heals. No Pokémon ever dies.

You're free to roam around Hisui's world as you see fit, and you'll gain access to more areas as you defeat more nobles. Soon, you'll be able to sprint, dig, swim, climb, and fly all over the area — and it's awesome. The game uses all of these mechanics as you travel across different terrains so you can go from riding a huge Pokémon in the water straight to sprinting on land.

The game also uses many typical RPG mechanics, such as crouching and running. As you approach a Pokémon, you can choose to throw a Pokeball or a fruit from your bag (which is punishingly small, even after buying lots of new slots), or throw a Pokémon into battle. This is where the gameplay gets a little frustrating.

As with most Pokémon games, battles are turn-based. In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, you can choose from Strong Style and Agile Style attacks, as well as normal attacks. While Strong Style increases your impact, it also increases the chance that your opponent will take two turns in a row. Agile Style works the other way around. Messing with turn order sometimes doesn't work and can feel extremely unfair.

Another shocking aspect of battles is what happens when multiple Pokémon want to fight you at once (or when a human opponent sends out two Pokémon at once). Instead of allowing you to send out another Pokémon or take a turn each of their turns, opponents take a turn, then you take a turn, and so on. This can result in your Pokémon passing out before you even get to take a turn, which is bad, especially when you're trying to advance the plot.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus review: Requests and Wisps

Pokémon Legends: Arceus is packed with extra things to do, especially with the added challenges of requests and wisps.

Requests are the game's version of side quests and feature interesting requests from people around Hisui. Whether they want to see the Pokédex entry for a specific Pokémon or need a Pokémon to help their farm, the requests are largely focused on the spiritual purpose of the game: To help Hisui and his people live in harmony with Pokémon.

Wisps are glowing purple creatures scattered across the land, similar to Breath of the Wild's Koroks. You'll often be rewarded for peeking around a dark corner or hiding behind a building with a tissue, and you'll get new rewards from a cute kid in town if you tell him how many pips you've found.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus review: Verdict

Pokémon Legends: Arceus is a great game, despite its visual shortcomings. While some of the mechanics based on the series may seem unfair, the game's expansive world is simply joyous, filled with adorable creatures and exciting surprises to discover. While Pokémon Legends: Arceus isn't perfect, its pitfalls make me excited for future Pokémon Legends titles, especially if they continue to explore the interesting relationship between humans and Pokémon.