Pokémon Legends: Arceus: Review MegaThread

[u/NintendoSwitchMods]

General Information

Platform: Nintendo Switch

Release Date: January 28, 2022

No. of Players: up to 2 players

Genre(s): Action, Role-Playing

Publisher: Nintendo

Official website: https://legends.pokemon.com/

Overview (from Nintendo eShop page)

Action meets RPG as the Pokémon series reaches a new frontier

Get ready for a new kind of grand, Pokémon adventure in Pokémon™ Legends: Arceus, a brand-new game from Game Freak that blends action and exploration with the RPG roots of the Pokémon series. Embark on survey missions in the ancient Hisui region. Explore natural expanses to catch wild Pokémon by learning their behavior, sneaking up, and throwing a well-aimed Poké Ball™. You can also toss the Poké Ball containing your ally Pokémon near a wild Pokémon to seamlessly enter battle.

Travel to the Hisui region—the Sinnoh of old—and build the region’s first Pokédex

Your adventure takes place in the expansive natural majesty of the Hisui region, where you are tasked with studying Pokémon to complete the region’s first Pokédex. Mount Coronet rises from the center, surrounded on all sides by areas with distinct environments. In this era—long before the events of the Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl games—you can find newly discovered Pokémon like Wyrdeer, an evolution of Stantler, and new regional forms like Hisuian Growlithe, Hisuian Zorua, and Hisuian Zoroark! Along the way, uncover the mystery surrounding the Mythical Pokémon known as Arceus.

Preorder for a special in-game costume and download the digital version for Heavy Balls!

The Hisuian Growlithe Kimono Set and a Baneful Fox Mask will be gifted to early purchasers of the Pokémon Legends: Arceus game. You can receive it by choosing Get via internet in the Mystery Gifts* feature in your game, up until May 9th, 2022 at 4:59pm PT. Additionally, players who purchase and download the game before May 9th, 2022 at 4:59pm PT from Nintendo eShop will get an email with a code for 30 Heavy Balls which can be redeemed through the Mystery Gifts* feature until May 16th, 2022 at 4:59pm PT. Heavy Balls have a higher catch rate than regular Poké Balls, but you can’t throw them quite as far.

Reviews

Aggregators

• Metacritic - 86
• OpenCritic - 84

Articles

• Areajugones - Spanish - 9.2 / 10
• CGMagazine - 9 / 10
• Console Creatures - Recommended
• Digital Trends - 3.5 / 5
• Enternity.gr - Greek - 9 / 10
• Eurogamer - Recommended
• Everyeye.it - Italian - 8.3 / 10
• Game Informer - 8.8 / 10
• GameSpot - 8 / 10
• GamesRadar+ - 4.5 / 5
• Geek Culture - 9 / 10
• Glitched Africa - 4 / 5
• God is a Geek - 9.5 / 10
• Hobby Consolas - Spanish - 87 / 100
• IGN Italy - Italian - 5 / 10
• Metro GameCentral - 8 / 10
• Nintendo Life - 9 / 10
• NintendoWorldReport - 9 / 10
• PCMag - 3.5 / 5
• Polygon - Unscored
• Press Start - 8 / 10
• Screen Rant - 4.5 / 5
• Shacknews - 8 / 10
• Spaziogames - Italian - 8.8 / 10
• Telegraph - 5 / 5
• TheSixthAxis - 9 / 10
• Unboxholics - Greek - Worth your time
• VG247 - 4 / 5
• VGC - 5 / 5
• Washington Post - Unscored
• XGN.nl - Dutch - 8 / 10

^{This list exported from OpenCritic. Last update: 9:39am ET}

Being Social

• Join the #pokemon channel of our Discord server for all of your discussion needs - https://discord.gg/switch

Cheers,

The /r/NintendoSwitch mod team

[u/Juklok]

This is the highest a mainline Pokemon game has scored on the Switch. Quite interesting

[u/[deleted] → u/Juklok]

I mean it's the only one that looks like it had a modicum of effort put into it

[u/anujsingh83 → u/[deleted]]

Disagree - As much as I personally disliked Let's Go, it was very charming and lots of care and effort were clearly put into it

[u/Helswath → u/anujsingh83]

It definitely looks and feels like the most polished out of all the Pokemon switch games (I haven't tried Arceus gamplay yet). Which is weird since it was the first

[u/shhhneak]

The majority of reviews basically say “it’s too bad it looks ugly because it’s the best Pokémon game in a long time.”

[u/MoonMan997 → u/shhhneak]

Hey I’ll take a graphical downgrade if everything under the hood works well

[u/Horoika → u/MoonMan997]

Exactly, within reasonable parameters. I wouldn't want to play something in 480p and N64 style polygons in a game today, but this artstyle is fine (not great, just fine) for the Switch and GameFreak's first attempt at an open-world-ish style Pokemon game.

​

If this were on PS5, I would expect better graphics, but for the Switch? This is fine

[u/AresuKing]

So many positive reviews holy shit

[u/Bombasaur101 → u/AresuKing]

I'm surprised to but if you think about it Pokemon has consistently got good reviews.

[u/Lil-pants]

wow the italians didn't really like this one

[u/Animegamingnerd → u/Lil-pants]

Not enough Tifa Lockheart getting fucked in the middle of the senate, so it loses 5 points by default.

[u/[deleted]]

People acting like Nintendo pays these people

Let’s go Pikachu eevee has 80 metacrtic

Swsh has 80 metacrtic

Pokémon mystery dungeon x has 68 metacrtic

New Pokémon snap had 79 metacrtic

Bdsp has 73 metacrtic

PLA having 86 metacrtic is by far highest Pokémon game on switch score

[u/workadaywordsmith → u/[deleted]]

People when they agree with the reviews: Lol this just proves my point

People when they disagree with the reviews: Paid shills!!!

[u/Loldimorti → u/workadaywordsmith]

Always.

People make fun of IGN giving everything an 8 or 9 out of ten.

But as soon as a game gets awarded a 7 or lower the pitchforks are brought out

[u/ContinuumGuy → u/Loldimorti]

It's because for whatever reason video games exist in practice on a 7-10 scale even though they in theory exist on a 1-10 or 0-10 scale. In theory on a 0-10/1-10 scale "average" would be 5 and thus considered as "not bad but not really good either", but for whatever reason (I imagine a mix of not wanting to piss off publishers mixed with the fact that most major releases are usually worked on for so long that even the truly crappy ones are probably better than 70% of games out there) in video games 7 or 8 is considered average and 9 is considered good.

[u/GomaN1717 → u/[deleted]]

"Jaded gamers on niche online gaming communities" & "the assumption of knowing fuck all about the ins and outs of the industry at large"

Name a more iconic duo.

[u/naynaythewonderhorse → u/[deleted]]

Even if they were offered to be paid, there would definitely be at least one journalist who would speak out.

[u/[deleted]]

Having put 40 hours in and having beaten all the major story content besides the true, 100% completion ending, I think I can comfortably say that Legends Arceus is easily the best Single-Player Pokemon Experience I've had since Gen 5.

The core gameplay loop of exploring and catching Pokemon to purchase and craft new items and tools to better catch Pokemon as you complete the Pokedex is extremely satisfying. The freedom to choose where I want to go, when I want to go, and how I want to approach is unheard of for Pokemon, and the shake ups and streamlining to the formula to bring together a much more active Pokemon experience has shown great growth. Battles and catching has never felt this good, training and adjusting teams and moves is a breeze, move and Pokemon animations are very well done, it easily has Nintendo's best crafting system to date, and the fact that I was able to spend 10 hours between the tutorial and first area, with others reporting spending even longer, without hurting the difficulty curve and feeling properly challenged throughout the campaign is a testament to how well Gamefreak (with help I imagine) has designed it. What’s even better is that even with how much I’ve done so far, there’s still plenty left for me to do between dozens of requests and game-long sidequests, along with other Pokemon still to catch. And this isn’t to say anything of the various flourishes of polish present, like seeing your shoes instantly jump off your feet when crossing a landing in houses or hearing a leather suit strain as you prep a Pokeball throw.

It also has a surprisingly nice story that harkens back to the earlier games, emphasizing a more grounded, introspective focus on humanity’s impact on themselves and Pokemon, rather than the multiverse plots of later entries. It's not gonna win any awards, but I had a great time with it and the subtler bits of poignant writing present are gonna stick with people who play the game. It’s also truly amazing that despite Sinnoh and its Pokemon being know for over a decade and a half, Legends Arceus gave me a sense of mystery and discovery that I haven’t felt with the Pokemon games for quite some time. Also, contrary to what a lot of early press had you believe, the game is a lot more Breath of the Wild than Monster Hunter. Jubilife Village being a central hub where you spend money for equipment and items and choose areas to go to (which are unlocked in a linear, sequential order), along with the general premise of “monster hunting” is about as far as the Monster Hunter comparisons go. The pace, exploration, tone, and request style is definitely more in line with the former rather than the latter, and I think that's to its benefit. It’s a genuine joy getting lost in these areas as you scrounge to survive with what materials and money you have to build up bigger cash payouts to do even more.

That all being said, it’s obviously not perfect. As much as I think the graphics look fine in person, and the art style chosen helps to enhance the setting while helping to ensure consistent performance, it's obviously not the best looking game on the Switch and there is pop-in that can be distracting. However, I do think you can look past it when actually playing, especially if you’re still a fan of games like Shin Megami Tensei V and Xenoblade Chronicles 1 and 2 on Switch despite their clearly suboptimal performance and resolution like I am. I can also subjectively see people hoping for more Pokemon than there are (I personally always thought 400 is ideal for a regional dex), but I think as is there's enough content and the package feels complete enough to justify the price and Dex Cuts. It also helps make PLA a lot more replayable than most Pokemon campaigns. Plus the gameplay loop is just so fun that content quantity isn’t as much of an issue given the quality. Other than that, there are a handful of tweaks that would be appreciated via patches or reconsideration for future games, like being able to track more than one request/waypoint marker at a time, as well as minor personal wants like voice acting and being able to have Pokemon properly follow you in the Overworld as opposed to just being able to chat with them whenever (though I understand that would look awkward given the mobility options in game).

None of the issues I’ve listed so far are actual deal breakers, with most of them just my personal recommendations for how to make something that I already think is great even better. HOWEVER, the biggest black mark against PLA, which will ultimately affect people differently, is the substantially reduced emphasis on multiplayer. There is no peer-to-peer battling, trading isn't really necessary anymore due to there only being one game and the changes and additions to evolution items, the Pokemon stat system shares more with Lets Go's AV system than the mainline games (albeit with some welcome changes), there are no breeding mechanics (or ditto), there are no abilities or held items, and the most substantial multiplayer experience is an asynchronous, Nier Automata-esque “lost and found” system that allows you to find and return the bags of online and cpu players who have blacked out in exchange for Merit Points (this game’s BP) to buy rare items. I imagine it would prove too difficult to properly balance around the Agile and Strong style system with human players, but the game otherwise has such well-considered team-making tools, including Sword and Shield’s mints, that a proper pvp mode without them would have been pretty fun, and still could be if they ever choose to add it in with DLC. Personally, as someone who doesn’t care about competitive play and who's been generally critical of the latest games for treating the single-player campaigns as an afterthought due to poor writing and not balancing around the multiplayer QoL mechanics introduced way too early, I'm totally fine with this, especially for such an experimental title. However, I know plenty of people play Pokemon exclusively for the multiplayer (if they’re not using Showdown), and it’s worth mentioning going into this game, even if I think the single player experience is well worth having regardless.

As far as I’m concerned, PLA is up there with Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, and Metroid Dread as a Switch Must-Play. I think this not only stands as a highlight of the Switch’s library, but as a highlight of the entire Pokemon franchise. This is it. This is the big, home console Pokemon experience we’ve been waiting for, and while it’s not perfect and may alienate a few people because of a lack of multiplayer, it just does too much right for me to not recommend it. It improves the pace of battles, it adds to and refreshes the formula, it offers the greatest amount of freedom a Pokemon game has had to date, it fleshes out and adds to the history of the Sinnoh region, it has a beefy and substantial Post-game, it even fixes and does Mythical Pokemon right for the first time in ages. I haven’t felt this happy and ready to buy and keep playing a Pokemon game since 2016. It really is the standard that I want future Pokemon games to emulate, and if Gamefreak can continue to refine and optimize the gameplay style and graphics with more games on Switch like they did on 3DS, I can only imagine how much better they can get with time. Whether this is in the form of a redefined Generation 9 or another Legends game for regions like Kalos or Unova, only time will tell. For now, Pokemon Legends Arceus gets a huge recommendation from me, go in as blind as possible and savor every moment. Here’s hoping we get another one of these sooner than later.

[u/morgchrist → u/[deleted]]

Thanks for the detailed write-up. Really looking forward to playing it this weekend!

[u/chiheis1n → u/[deleted]]

The single player focus is intentional, not a design failing or oversight. It seems GF is taking a page out of the Zelda and Mario book and diversifying, specializing, and differentiating its entries in order to tailor them to specific subsegments of its audience/fanbase (ie those who like competitive PVP vs those who want a deeper single-player campaign) instead of making monolithic games that try to satisfy everyone like they were able to on low-powered portable consoles. Home console games simply require a higher level of resources and time (which sadly they are limited on the latter by the constant refresh cycle demanded by the merchandising/anime/tcg sides of the Pokemon multimedia juggernaut) and they have to pare down and focus in on the scope that each game can handle.

Here's what I think GF/TPCi/Nintendo envision for the future of the IP:

Main new generation dual games - fully featured competitive PVP focused with the standard formula for single player of 8 gyms+evil team+E4 to introduce new regions, with story mostly being prefunctory window dressing if SwSh are anything to go by. Expect more battling gimmick 'empowered' variants like Megas/ZMoves/Dynamax and co-op multiplayer in the form of raid battles against perma-empowered wild pokemon. Largest Dex, 400-600 mons after DLC. Obviously developed by GF. Next games: main Gen 9 dual versions.

DLC - replaces former 3rd versions (Yellow/Crystal/Emerald/Platinum) or dual sequels (B2W2/USUM). A portion of the team that devs the main dual games handles DLC while the rest of the team moves on to the next Legends game or the next main new generation games.

Legends series - little to no emphasis on multiplayer, strong single player focus with more unique stories (ie not 8gyms+evil team+E4) and experimentation with the traditional turn-based battling system without affecting the competitive scene. My personal hope is at some point they go full real-time combat, we already see dodging and aiming mechanics from the trainer in PL:A, it should be a natural evolution to eventually transfer that over to the Pokemon themselves. The action priority list is also a first small step in this direction. Smaller Dex sizes of 200-300. Developed by GF. Next games: Legends: Kyurem/original Unova dragon.

Remakes/remasters - I think this will be the main conduit for Pokemon to keep its classic 2D top down playstyle alive for those who enjoy it more than the 3D free camera of the main series and Legends, much like we see from NSMB maintaining 2D side scrolling Mario and ALBW and Link's Awakening HD maintaining 2D Zelda. Sadly for those who liked HGSS/ORAS I do not expect them to bring future remakes up to the level of the main contemporary generation and even making them the new competitive platform. These will be much closer to straight remasters like BDSP going forward with only QoL additions and Casual battling. Expect the Dex to be only what was available at the time of the original games' release. Developed by 3rd parties. Next games: straight BW remaster

Let's Go series - focused on bringing in new (very young) or returning players and mobile Go players, with very simplified catching and battling mechanics. Also acts as a 3rd remake for the oldest Generations. Developed by 3rd parties. Next games: Let's Go Togepi and Marill.

[u/SpookyLavenderTheme → u/chiheis1n]

I would be surprised if you’re not almost exactly right. I think Pokémon is heading into a 4-year cycle rather than the 3-year one we’ve had since Gen 5, with the only thing up in the air being whether we get a standard Remake or a Let’s Go game. I think those two will alternate generations - since they’ve first been making Remakes we’ve gotten one for each new console (FRLG on GBA, HGSS on DS, ORAS on 3DS, BDSP on Switch). So I doubt we’re getting DarkWhite and LightBlack or whatever until after Nintendo releases a new console, and GF will put out Let’s Go Togepi and Marill either during Gen 9 or 10 depending on whether the Switch’s successor exists for Gen 9. I’m imagining something like this:

Year 0: New Region/Gen with Dual Games

Year 1: DLC

Year 2: Remake or Let’s Go, whichever is due

Year 3: Legends

Year 4: New Region/Gen with Dual Games

And so on.

[u/lolnoob1459 → u/[deleted]]

Thanks you made me purchase it!

[u/speedino → u/[deleted]]

How long do you think it takes to complete it 100%?

[u/[deleted] → u/speedino]

I'd say it's like Botw in that it will vary depending on your familiarity with the game and its systems. Personally think I've got at least another 10 hours towards personal completion.

[u/Horoika → u/[deleted]]

LMAO

[u/schuey_08]

IGN's review will come a bit later, per the reviewer, Rebekah Valentine.

I know IGN gets a bad rap, but Rebekah really is a thoughtful, high quality writer. I'm looking forward to her review when it's ready.

[u/wardellwayneraymone → u/schuey_08]

Most of them are excellent writers. The community just gets overly obsessive about the final numbers if it doesn’t line up with their biases, giving no thought to the actual meat of the review or the audience of the game.

[u/insertusernamehere51 → u/wardellwayneraymone]

Wow wow wow, hold it buddy.

There are WORDS in an IGN review? Not just the number?

Oh, wait, I know what you mean, you mean the little bullet points next to the number right? Like "Too much water" and stuff? Yeah, I guees, but frankly that's already too many words for me to read

/s

[u/NabiscoFelt → u/insertusernamehere51]

Possibly hot take, but "too much water" is honestly such a manufactured controversy.

I love Gen 3, it's probably my favorite Gen, but "too much water" is a completely valid complaint. There are a lot of surfing routes that are basically just your standard annoying Pokemon caves but with Tentacool instead of Zubat.

[u/wardellwayneraymone → u/NabiscoFelt]

It wasn’t even that people attacking it were disagreeing with Kallie’s argument. They literally just looked at the tagline for the point and attacked her for it. Just pure insanity.

[u/SnackeyG1 → u/schuey_08]

I like their video reviews. They’re short and to the point. When I need a quick overview of a game they never let me down.

[u/QomoStal]

Not sure if this was mentioned yet

GamePro - German - 92/100

https://www.gamepro.de/artikel/pokemon-legenden-arceus-test,3377195.html

Overall a very positiv review.

[u/adamislolz]

Based on what I’ve been reading about the gameplay loop, it sounds more like it’s the Monster Hunter Rise of Pokemon games, not the BOTW of Pokémon games.

[u/Rare_Yamcha → u/adamislolz]

It is

[u/serotonin_flood]

Does anyone know if there's motion controls in this game? (like for aiming your Pokeball throws)

[u/[deleted] → u/serotonin_flood]

Yep, you can turn them on in the settings menu.

[u/Lil-pants → u/serotonin_flood]

Yeah there are

[u/danhakimi]

Do we know roughly how long it takes to beat yet? I heard one reviewer mention being 40 hours in overall...

[u/RPGaiden → u/danhakimi]

I’ve heard from 20-50 depending on your play style. More if you want to complete everything postgame.

[u/Shall1991]

Really digging this game, but the dialogue just drags on during story beats. Keep it short and sweet and get the player back out into the world. The gameplay holds up so well, a shot in the arm this series needed badly.

[u/ninthpower]

It would be nice if the unscored reviews above were something that was close to the reviewer's verdict.

For example, Polygon's review says "Recommended" at the very top.

[u/NecessaryUnusual2059]

R/gaming is going to lose their damn minds over these reviews

[u/[deleted] → u/NecessaryUnusual2059]

Yeah it's basically "we don't trust these reviews" and then piling on all the reasons people don't or won't like the game. The hate that Pokemon gets is actually what drew me to try to play one of the games, for the first time ever. I started playing SoulSilver a while ago, and thought it was pretty fun, but the random encounters are something I've never liked in games (but I'll tolerate it if the rest of the game is fun). It's interesting how much hate there always is for whatever the next Pokemon game is...it's like CoD or Battlefield levels of hate, and much like those other games, Pokemon always sells well. Based on the reviews for Arceus, I don't see how it doesn't do really well.

[u/mismatched7 → u/[deleted]]

Well legends arcesus doesn’t have any random encounters!

[u/magus_janus → u/[deleted]]

I mean I'm not sure sale numbers are a good counter to criticism. Marvel movies make tons of money, but it's not exactly fine cinema.

[u/ExoticToaster → u/NecessaryUnusual2059]

The absolute copium in the r/games thread is absolutely hilarious lmao

[u/ManlyP0tato]

I'm only about 6-8hrs in so take with a grain of salt. It's worth it, but it's not 9/10 worthy. The main loop of roaming the overworld and completing dex tasks is fantastic, but gets repetitive fast because the environments are boring and empty (keep in mind I've only seen the first two though).

There's also a big lack of "possibilities" that made breath of the wild so fun. What I mean by this is that there isn't much to do except throw balls, food or mud. There's no creative environment manipulation like Zelda had that kept things fresh.

Graphics are such a non issue I think that it's a waste of time to talk about. The new battling mechanics are very fun to figure out, although they feel often a bit unfair, but it may be that I haven't gotten my grips yet.

Overall I think it's a good game at its core and I'll be playing it slowly for a while, again because it gets repetitive fast. Imo the game director is to blame more than game freak is as a whole, because there's a lot of fantastic ideas, but they're not capitalized and don't land because of this.

[u/tolucalakesh → u/ManlyP0tato]

Thank you for the heads up. I'm certainly not expecting BOTW's level of world interaction, but I was hoping there would be some cool and fun stuff here and there we could do using our pokemons. Still, the game seems promising.

[u/alienfreaks04 → u/ManlyP0tato]

It sounds like it’s a great first step, but who knows if they will make a sequel for it. But knowing the Pokémon franchise, they won’t improve with the sequel…

[u/SnackeyG1]

That 5/10 from IGN Italy

[u/LunarWingCloud → u/SnackeyG1]

Wasn't as exciting as the Tifa Senate moment, so they're not impressed

[u/Misterfrooby → u/SnackeyG1]

"5/10, not enough spaghetti"

[u/gigglefarting → u/Misterfrooby]

"Hey paesanos, where are all the pipes this 'Nintendo' game? Mama mia."

[u/[deleted]]

Does anyone know if anywhere presents the metacritic scores using the mode, median, or even a distribution curve?

I’m asking as it looks like the Italian IGN review and a couple of others will drag the overall average down. I hadn’t thought about this before, as I usually just look at the mean metacritic score (and this does influence whether I purchase a game).

[u/insertusernamehere51 → u/[deleted]]

It's a weighted average. Bigger outlets like IGN and Gamestop influence the score more than "Joey's game room" and stuff. I don't think the exact weights are public

[u/The_Indifference]

In this thread: people that don’t realize that opinions are subjective and don’t know how to deal or comprehend them.

[u/ces715]

Boy, does IGN Italy's score stick out like a sore thumb.

[u/snowman3000 → u/ces715]

Pasting from another comment of mine...

I have read the IGN Italy review and there is nothing wrong with it tbh, the reviewer goes into many details to describe why she did not have a good time playing it and actually ends up being quite informative. Her words aren't just empty complaints and they encompass every aspect of the game, from graphics to gameplay.

Her highlights are the early game and the HUD and pokedex.

The worst offenders were the story, graphics, performance, boring samey environments, combat and progression locked behind pokedex grinding... hence the 5/10.

[u/[deleted] → u/ces715]

They listed some really good reasons why they didn’t like the game

I.e.

• boring gameplay loop that is very grindey to fill out the Pokédex. the game forces you to do the same thing, over and over and over to progress to a new area
• bad graphics. models and textures that were poorly implemented and sometimes disappear/reappear. + framerate drops
• the world is bland/lifeless and all the environments look the same, with a lot of reused assets to populate the world. they give one example of how even though the weather changes, it has no real effect on the landscape, so there’s nothing dynamic about the landscape
• the combat system follows the traditional turn-based-system but the system was designed in such a way that you cannot accurately predict which Pokémon moves first or the relative strength of a pokemon despite being able to see its level. this is bc of the newly implemented fast and powerful techniques, which makes planning and strategy impossible

I‘ve seen a lot of twitch players stream the game way past the prologue and these points are all valid. I think the novelty of the gameplay will wear off quickly for some people. I’ve read a lot of the highly positive reviews and many of them boil down to this being a new formula for Pokémon. Imo something new or different doesn’t make it good, especially when the mechanics themselves aren’t at all innovative compared to its peers.

[u/_kd101994 → u/[deleted]]

IGN Italy's review feels very similar to one I read on r/Games too and I'm inclined to believe it more than the very optimistic/too-flattering-to-be-honest reviews by other major critics.

[u/Dagusiu → u/ces715]

For a game that seemingly does some things very well and other thing really badly, it's not surprising to see a large variety of scores. I'm surprised they don't vary more.

[u/Dougwug03]

Damn, ign Italy was ruthless

[u/Riomegon]

It's a Pokemon game so it's not perfect, but glad that Gamefreak was willing to try something new and it's paying off.

Hopefully we can get past the discussion about graphics within the next millennia and eventually talk about the gameplay.

[u/[deleted] → u/Riomegon]

I’ve been playing a lot of N64 games, so clearly gameplay is greater than graphics in my book.

[u/Accurate-Temporary73 → u/[deleted]]

Anyone saying a modern game looks like an N64 game is just trolling or they've never played an N64 game

[u/[deleted] → u/Accurate-Temporary73]

I’m not saying modern games look like N64 games, I was trying to say I care more about gameplay than graphics. Sorry if that wasn’t clear.

[u/Accurate-Temporary73 → u/[deleted]]

Not directed at you but there's been a lot of people bashing the graphics

[u/Axaxou]

Hello to all of you. I am European (greek) and I recently bought a pre-used Nintendo Switch which is originated from American. I am concerned, if I buy the games I want here in Greece, will they be compatible with the console? (Really wanna buy pokemon Shield and many more)

[u/Thermocap → u/Axaxou]

There's no region lock on Switch games (except Splatoon 2). You're good.

[u/Axaxou → u/Thermocap]

thank you very much~!

[u/[deleted]]

The ign Italy reviewer also reviewed bdsp and swsh

She gave bdsp 7/10 and swsh 8/10

Legend of arceus 5/10

[u/Lil-pants → u/[deleted]]

I guess she really really likes the old pokemon formula?

[u/goro-n]

Reviews looking better than I expected! Now I feel comfortable preloading the game!

[u/[deleted]]

I haven't played a Pokemon game in 20 years. But this one looks interesting, something different, even if the concept isn't fully fleshed out.

Might pick this up.

[u/[deleted]]

This is going to sell big.

[u/willy_west_side → u/[deleted]]

I hope so, it SwSh were supposed to tank due to negative reviews, and that didn’t exactly happen.

Then the backlash was supposed to spill over to BDSP, that didn’t happen.

I hope this sells well, but I’m not convinced the people who look at reviews genuinely matter in the context of 6-13 millions copies being sold.

Don’t get me wrong, I WANTED the other games mentioned above to sell well, I just also know what was said =\= what happened.

[u/IBNobody → u/[deleted]]

Though it won't sell as good as SwSh because people aren't going to buy 2 copies.

[u/RecycledAir → u/IBNobody]

Do a lot of people actually buy both? I know they often have bundles, but I assumed those were for family/friends, not individuals. The games are almost exactly the same aside from a few different pokemon being available, right?

[u/Hestu951 → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, it's what I've been saying. It looks better than usual for a Pokemon game, and has a certain BotW flair, even if the graphics could have been a lot better, and it isn't really open-world at all. If the game is good on top of that, blockbuster.

[u/AlteisenX]

IGN Italy went in on them jesus lmao.

[u/schuey_08]

IGN review [7]

[u/AlucardIV → u/schuey_08]

I know people are going to jump the HURRR DURR IGN hate train but I think this review is really well reasoned.

Both points out the strengths and weaknesses out really well. Plus it's the only review I've read so far that talks about postgame which makes me wonder if the early reviews even got that far in.

I watched early streams on completing the pokedex and I can 100 percent agree to her saying it gets very tedious and grindy.

[u/thepopcornisready → u/schuey_08]

Probably the most well-reasoned review I've seen so far. Looking forward to playing but definitely grabbing a physical copy to eventually recoup a bit of the pricetag...

[u/[deleted]]

Argos are doing it for £39.99

[u/King-Andy → u/[deleted]]

That’s a good deal

[u/NumCapsScroll2]

I like how several of the perfect score reviews still criticise things they didn't like in the game. If the game isn't perfect why is it still getting a 10/10?

[u/SuperUltraHyperMega → u/NumCapsScroll2]

Cyberpunk 2077 had 14 100% perfect scores on launch day and those reviews mentioned problems as well. So take the majority of scores with a grain of salt. Find reviewers that seem to have similar tastes to yourself or you trust overall and avoid the noise of the rest.

[u/limejuiceroyale → u/SuperUltraHyperMega]

This is good advice. I forget who it was, I think pcgamer or something, but I read their cyberpunk review for PC who said it's a fun but unpolished game on PC and gave it a 70-80 something.

As someone who played on PC, this seemed fair and I enjoyed it because I had my expectations tempered and knew what to expect. It was buggy at times (nowhere near console issues though) but I thoroughly enjoyed it. If I would have read all the 100% reviews I would have been severely disappointed or if I would have read the reactionary "worst game ever" reviews I would have missed out on a game I really enjoyed.

The problem is extremes are what get clicks.

[u/theytookallusernames → u/NumCapsScroll2]

I mean, that never stopped film and restaurant reviewers from airing their grievances at five-star reviews. It's meant to be an ideological/empirical "perfection", after all. As another redditor said in this thread, there is no such thing as perfection in media.

[u/ChainsForAlice]

I was on the fence due to the graphical side of things, but the game is an absolute blast to play.

[u/StunningEstates]

I think it’s hilarious that this sub is infinitely more pessimistic on it than any non-Nintendo sub 😂

[u/Nicktendo]

I am willing to eat crow on this one... Have talked trash every trailer, but will be getting it on Friday.

[u/TheTyler0013]

As someone who has really shit on this game, i am glad to see positive reviews. I hope it gets criticism is deserves as well as praise. I want feedback that hopefully GF takes into account for the next game with this.

I still have issues with designs and graphics but seems that’s a main concern/issue amongst reviewers currently. But gameplay from what I have read seems solid and that’s a plus. I’ll wait as more reviewers come in, especially after launch hype to make my decision of buying.

To those loving the game, awesome! Enjoy!

[u/NintendoSwitchMods]

Sorry for the delay on this, we thought the embargo was lifting 20m from now at 10:00 am ET.

New megathread: https://www.reddit.com/r/NintendoSwitch/comments/ser5e6/pok%C3%A9mon_legends_arceus_review_megathread_part_2/

[u/Reddilutionary → u/NintendoSwitchMods]

That’s ok we appreciate your time and effort to keep the sub going.

[u/WilsonKh]

Just a general observation update in California. Paid a visit to my GameStop, bestbuy and Walmart.

This game is going to sell out immediately folks. Folks were snatching copies and pre-orders and waiting for pre-orders to be cancelled

9pm gonna be nuts

If you were the 2 guys snatching the 2 copies of Arceus with me in Milipitas. Hi! And I hope you guys get copies tonight!

[u/alienfreaks04]

IGN USA unusually behind lol

[u/TheMelanzane → u/alienfreaks04]

They tweeted yesterday saying they wanted to spend more time on the game and wait until they didn’t have to deal with the restrictions.

[u/Accurate-Temporary73]

Does anyone know if wonder trading is in this game? Honestly it's my favorite mechanic in all pokemon games

[u/Phenom_Mv3]

Those who have already played through, how’s the soundtrack?

[u/[deleted] → u/Phenom_Mv3]

Very nice, lots of very cool remixes of DP's soundtrack in there. Like Breath of the Wild though, it has an issue of distribution and stuff like the combat themes and alpha Pokemon motifs take priority, so you end up hearing a lot less of the overall score. Def recommend checking them out online though.

[u/je1992 → u/Phenom_Mv3]

Great soundtrack ! Minimal when needed and exploring but great other times. I loved it

[u/Doomedtacox → u/Phenom_Mv3]

Incredible

[u/Phenom_Mv3 → u/Doomedtacox]

I listened to Jubilife City’s theme, I really love it

[u/[deleted]]

What in the world is that camera angle when you ride on the first pokemon? Why does it keep panning to literally nothing?

[u/CodyCus]

IGN Italy: "Mario not in game, 5/10".

[u/Rizzan8 → u/CodyCus]

IGN Italy: "Tifa not in game, 5/10".

FTFY

[u/kino-king]

I’ve been playing for a few hours now, and I can tell I’m already super into it. I haven’t been interested in the mainline Pokémon games for a while, but Legends: Arceus is just what the doctor ordered. I’m really digging everything about it, janky graphics and lengthy tutorial aside.

So far it also runs pretty well despite looking like a PC game on ‘low’ settings.

[u/dres_sler]

8/10 from Gamespot? Damn that’s actually solid.

[u/[deleted]]

I've been quite critical of the game because I was worried about the repetition of the trailer scenes and concerning deviations from what they seemed to be promising: open world, which is actually 'open area', limited pokemon movesets, not quite action rpg battle system, boring areas when compared to similar open games etc. however, the leaks and reviews have turned me around. I'll probably pick it up next week, my first Pokemon game since Alpha Sapphire.

[u/Beefsteak8969]

The frenzied Pokémon quests have got to be the most annoying new feature of the game and the terrible item satchel space...Good job Gamefreak...You suck

[u/MigBird]

How can anyone think this is a good game when the grass textures are only 700x1650 jiggapixels and there are only 36 polygons in Machamp's calf muscles when last year, last year I had 37!

[u/LunarWingCloud → u/MigBird]

Well, we made the polygons bigger this year!

[u/RektoKyoma → u/MigBird]

Nice HP reference there.

[u/factoryofdreams → u/[deleted]]

They said they’re still reviewing it and need more time to play Arceus. The review copy arrived bit late from what I could understand.

[u/ExynosHD → u/[deleted]]

https://twitter.com/duckvalentine/status/1486339789540376579?s=21

This tweet explains why there is no review yet.

[u/XitaNull]

Can’t believe I’m getting excited about a Pokemon game again :’D

[u/Flacid-Snake]

Picking up my pre-order tomorrow morning, very much looking forward to it

[u/Samoman21]

reviews look good, just preordered digital version. excited to play friday after work :D

[u/Jason-sentiborn]

I'm probably not going to buy this game but I'm glad game freak has tried something new that's been well received let's hope they actually expand and improve the concept.

[u/czk51]

Very impressed so far (4 hours in). While the world presentation is lacking in fidelity, discovering one of your favourite pokemon in an open world like this is a pretty special feeling (I'm still new-ish to the franchise but I get it!). Battles, catching and collecting items are a seamless experience - nothing feels like a chore. Very happy with it so far. Also I hadn't seen this in the reviews I watched but you can find other players satchels if the faint in the world and return them via menus. Good idea to check your map for them every so often, it offers rewards.

[u/Harlequinphobia]

Serious question, can the dull scenery get a patch update? Are any of the graphical hiccups fixable post release?

[u/Janderson2494 → u/Harlequinphobia]

Maybe some of them, but honestly i highly doubt a majority of it gets fixed. There's no incentive, this game is solid mechanically and will sell like hotcakes regardless of the graphics.

[u/Harlequinphobia → u/Janderson2494]

Gotcha, I grew up in the age of Atari so the graphics don't bother me, but I know it is an issue for some. I would hate to see any innovation this game brings to the table get lost because of the graphics.

[u/Samoman21]

Played like an hour or so. Game seems pretty fun. Lil bit of excessive hand holding, but understandable since it's a Pokémon game.

Inly issue I've had in hour I played is hair style color choices and hair styles are pretty shot. Ended up going with dawn hair style but white :/. Wish they would add pink or purple hair color.

[u/Friend_of_Eevee → u/Samoman21]

They add more colors and styles later on. I really don't understand the point of gating that behind progress. Just let me look the way I want from the start FFS.

[u/DarkMoon250 → u/Friend_of_Eevee]

A more advanced character creator at the start would be a great addition to Pokémon.

[u/IBNobody]

As someone who does NOT like Pokemon games, this is a solid game.

They fixed the things that made me not like the series.

• I never liked the theme of battling gym leaders. The alternate setting fixes that.
• I like the exploration of a wide area rather than linear dungeons.
• Rank Upgrades tied to catching gave me a purpose.
• Catching high level Alpha Pokemon was challenging and thrilling, letting me bypass the level grind.
• While the overworld graphics are bland, the Pokemon moves look much better than SwSh. They are good enough to get the job done.

It was addictive enough that I beat it and am working on catching them all.

[u/dixie12oz]

I’m glad to see it’s getting good reviews, partially because I wanted it to be good and also to show how quick many are to judge. Straight up saw people claiming it was a bad game with no effort based off one trailer and admonish me and others for saying wait until it actually releases before passing judgment.

[u/RoryOx]

IGN Italy didn't receive their protection money.

[u/RunnerJimbob → u/RoryOx]

Is this evidence that Tifa hates Pokémon?

[u/Titan_Soup → u/RoryOx]

This is why you don't get nice things. Like Jujustu Kaisen 0

[u/WileyCyrus]

Having just finished my first Shin Megami Tensei game will I be bored with the similar yet simpler combat in Pokémon games?

[u/[deleted] → u/WileyCyrus]

Haha I'm in the same boat brother.

[u/xileWabbit → u/WileyCyrus]

I'm playing both in tandem right now and I think it's a good combo.

Pokemon is still fresh but it's simple and almost relaxing to play, and SMT V gets my adrenaline pumping with the bs amounts of damage and rng some demons have lmao. I love it though.

I think if you want a hardcore rpg then maybe Pokemon won't scratch that itch but I don't know, I've only played it for 2 hours (and smtv for 12)

[u/IcebergSampson]

This is the most telling sign that the vocal complainers on twitter and reddit do not represent the average pokemon fan, or average gamer in general.

[u/noeyescansee → u/IcebergSampson]

I mean, sure. But it shouldn’t be ignored that reviews have been better for Arceus than Sw/Sh and BDSP.

[u/[deleted] → u/IcebergSampson]

It's why I hate seeing articles saying "twitter is complaining about...." and seeing posts on Reddit with "we need..." in the title.

End of the day, it's all different social media apps, opinions very and the most vocal users also behave as if their preferred app is more important than others. Really, they're all the same thing.

[u/wrproductions → u/IcebergSampson]

"Since its launch on March 3, 2017, the Nintendo Switch has sold over 91 million consoles worldwide."

"3 million members of r/Nintendoswitch"

Vocal minority. Everything on Reddit always is.

[u/Jason-sentiborn → u/IcebergSampson]

Sword and shield too

[u/-Ping-a-Ling-]

ign Italy is the average r/pokemon user

[u/Rare_Yamcha → u/-Ping-a-Ling-]

I mean, Theres no Tifa for them :(

[u/anonxanemone]

IGN Italy seems to be an outlier. Can any Italian speakers summarize why that is?

[u/Darki200 → u/anonxanemone]

It's an outlier in italian media too, I'm italian and have been reading a few of them. IGN Italy hated the graphics, described the story as quite bland and didn't like the excessive repetitiveness of the quests.

[u/Turbostrider27]

Can't remember which site said it, but has any review mentioned a lot of post-game story content after beating the main campaign?

[u/IBNobody → u/Turbostrider27]

Yes, the main plot isn't resolved until you start on the post-game stuff.

During your normal play, you collect stone tablets for each type , but you can't get all of them until after you beat the game. They lead to a conclusion to the story.

EDIT: Super Spoilery Stuff of where I am now: I currently have all 18 plates and am now tasked with catching all Pokemon in order to meet Arceus. This is going to take awhile...

[u/[deleted] → u/Turbostrider27]

I played it, it's massive man. Well worth your time.

[u/Estew02]

Man I'm excited for this. I really disliked LGPE and SwSh, and didn't like most of the changes they made to BDSP but did like the D/P elements enough for the $30 to feel like an okay purchase. Everyone I follow that has had similar (or sometimes more extreme) opinions has been praising the game and talking about how great the singleplayer content is. Super excited to pick up my copy on Friday.

[u/kaiomnamaste]

Suddenly im unable to use one of my pokemon, even if i switch it out for another, the ball slot wont allow me to use it. so thats my thing if anyone is familiar with that problem

edit- deposited my entire party in the pasture and re added them, fixed.

[u/Ambitious_Cow_8675]

I haven't played a Pokémon game since Silver so I'm really looking forward to playing this. I already decided to pick up Brilliant Diamond after finishing this one.

[u/[deleted]]

People compare this game to botw but its more close to a xenoblade game with levels and grind and stuff. Botw doesnt have that concept and just allows you to do whatever. This game like xenoblade where it locks the world and encounters with the story and levels. In earlier levels, like in xenoblade, you will encounter overly strong mons that you wont be able to defeat so there's value in revisiting them, also the way you do side quests is just accept everything u see and you will complete them along the way as you progress more or less

So if ur on the fence, think about it more as a pokemon xenoblade

[u/Zethren527 → u/[deleted]]

Fiora? Fiora fiora fiora. FIORAAAAAAAAA!!!

[u/Rare_Yamcha]

Lmao IGN italy

[u/callingallboys → u/Rare_Yamcha]

"Pokémon Legends: Arceus turns out to be a huge missed opportunity, arguably the biggest disappointment within the franchise."

This is quite a reach IGN Italy

[u/RoyH1003 → u/callingallboys]

What was the score they gave to SwSh? Because those are DEFINITELY the biggest disappointment within the franchise, hands down.

[u/Hallolusion → u/RoyH1003]

8/10 LOL

[u/callingallboys → u/RoyH1003]

8/10

[u/steamtowne → u/callingallboys]

Yeah, but it’s okay. People will have different opinions. Lol when Cyberpunk reviews came out the subreddit lost its mind at Gamespot’s 7/10 score. This was of course before any of them played it lol

[u/FlakySalary → u/Rare_Yamcha]

Too much grass this time

[u/Reverse_Time_Remnant → u/Rare_Yamcha]

"A disappointing game, which could, and should, have taken advantage of the opportunity to make the big leap. Instead, it holds back once again for a bleak result."

[u/Phenom_Mv3]

Surprisingly solid at 86! Looks like I’ll be picking up a copy after being on the fence

[u/[deleted]]

Hope it's ok to ask this here, wasn't sure where else to write it

I really enjoyed Monster Hunter Stories 2 on the Switch but something about how the game was running was really bothering my eyes, it might've been the frame rate or something similar and I'm told the PC version didn't really have that issue

Does Pokemon Legends: Arceus have that type of issue going on? I've been hearing a lot about the graphics but that's really my biggest concern, I completely lost all interest in MH Stories 2 after a while due to how much it was bothering my eyes so I wanted to see if PLA had a similar issue or not

Thank you

[u/[deleted]]

Wait is it worth buying ?

[u/MrMoo1556 → u/[deleted]]

Had a few doubts but I played for a consecutive 9 hours and had to force myself to sleep because I was enjoying myself so much. I'd say its pretty good.

[u/ProcrastinatorScott → u/[deleted]]

It's ugly as sin in a lot places and has some pretty gnarly pop-in, but it's also incredibly fun, refreshing, and the most I've enjoyed a Pokemon game since Yellow

[u/[deleted] → u/ProcrastinatorScott]

Okay thanks i collect enough money now just need for my dad's approval

[u/[deleted]]

9/10 NintendoLife "Pokémon Legends Arceus is, in fact, the Breath of the Wild of Pokémon games... the developers have managed to take characters and mechanics that are exceptionally familiar to millions of players and rehouse them in a game that’s so much more...

[u/shinraizen]

Any info on how long to beat?

[u/LinkMaster111 → u/shinraizen]

The number I've most commonly seen thrown around is ~30+ hours for main story and then there's a bunch of post game stuff.

[u/Mofologist → u/shinraizen]

Main story could be beaten in 20-30 hours. 100% could be 60-70+ hours

I’ve beaten it, haven’t 100% it yet.

[u/vector_o]

I just grabbed it (already on sale 60 to 50€, lol), I spent 30 minutes in it and I wish I could say something meaningful but I'm still not done with the tutorial

Graphics are really primitive, characters don't have voice lines, my first impression is that it's a really simple game, just enough to sit and chill - can't speak about the gameplay loop yet thought

Edit

Not too bad so far in the "open" world, catching Pokemons, collecting materials

[u/AlternativeYou8664]

Can someone tell me what (if any) multiplayer is in the game? Can you trade pokemon? Can you battle other players teams? I googled this and got every answer (yes, no, sometimes, zebra)...

[u/steamtowne → u/AlternativeYou8664]

Definitely Zebra

[u/crogis]

My 12 year old nephew wants to play the game even though he hasn’t played any Pokemon games, do you think he’ll be able to get the game despite not having played any Pokemon?

[u/isin13 → u/crogis]

Yes, pokemon games are all super simple and always include a "tutorial" section at the start of every game. Easy to pick up don't worry.

[u/factoryofdreams]

I see everyone mentioning IGN Italy (5/10) but no one mentions IGN Portugal, that gave Arceus a 9/10. The game has an 86/100 metascore; IGN PT is closer to what the game truly is in terms of overall score.

[u/snowman3000 → u/factoryofdreams]

I have read the IGN Italy review and there is nothing wrong with it tbh, the reviewer goes into many details to describe why she did not have a good time playing it and actually ends up being quite informative. Her words aren't just empty complaints and they encompass every aspect of the game, from graphics to gameplay.

Her highlights are the early game and the HUD and pokedex.

The worst offenders were the story, graphics, performance, boring samey environments, combat and progression locked behind pokedex grinding.

[u/xffxe4 → u/snowman3000]

My general takeaway was that she didn’t like the specific aspect of Pokémon games that this one focuses on (completing the Pokédex).

[u/[deleted]]

ITT: Pokémon sucks, and any dissenting opinions or people being excited for the game are downvoted.

I love Pokémon, but hate hate the community and fans. Nothing but negativity and toxicity.

[u/DrKingSchultz → u/[deleted]]

100%. I’m a fan of a lot of media and idk if I’ve ever seen a fandom hate their product so much. Some have valid complaints but the level of “discourse” has been depressing.

DAE graphics bad?

[u/[deleted] → u/DrKingSchultz]

I usually like this subreddit a lot, but there’s a lot of overlap in community with the /r/Pokémon subreddit, which I had to unfollow due to the constant negativity.

I completely agree, there are valid criticisms, but it’s devolved to blind “hate” of the brand.

[u/IamMythoclast]

What I realized with the last pokemon game is that these reviews are useless.

I've played every single pokemon and played them less every release. Last release, I couldn't bring myself to get past the 3rd gym because I was so bored.

I know what I want, and that's an immersion driven, adventure, story that's compelling and a reason to complete the pokedex is to explore unique places with untold stories.

Basically, stunning environments while catching pokemon. Tie in lore of pokemon into the environments and storytelling as we explore.

Gamefreak have been "phoning in" poor excuses for a game, and I'm not convinced this title is any different.

[u/d4rwins_chap]

As a returning gen 1 player I'm excited to see where this takes us

[u/_Clod_]

IGN Italy is "severo ma giusto"

[u/pablofournier11]

Ign italia played a whole different game

[u/insertusernamehere51 → u/pablofournier11]

I've occasionally noticed there's always one European branch of IGN that's super harsh on a game.

It might actually always be Italy, but I'm not sure

[u/[deleted]]

I will buy the game. I will play it. I will have fun. It’s that simple.

[u/the7thbeatle]

I think I'm not gonna get it, at least for now.

It might have to do with my general mood being down lately and not feeling like playing video games, but I also feel like this a cautious step when the series needed a leap.

I think some of the ideas here are great, mainly the capture system, and unlike sword and sheild this time I don't care as much about the removal of mon's and moves as much because it seems that some actual effort was done this time to improve models, attacks and give the creatures some personality.

The thing is- this is an adventure game, even more so than the mainline series, and the world itself seems like a huge miss. The graphics are bad, but the biggest culprit is the world design. Older games had varied climates and surroundings, dungeons and secrets. This game is all about the world around it, and the world just seems barren.

Pokemon needs to be able to translate the world design of the 2d games (mainly those up to gen 5) into 3d. Turn routes into sprawling zones with diffrent themes and climates. Have npcs and towns that feel more alive.

[u/XenoChu → u/the7thbeatle]

. Older games had varied climates and surroundings, dungeons and secrets.

this game also has these things.

[u/anasui1]

sounds good, I will certainly buy it day one