“Pokémon Arceus” Review

By Ryan Bright

“Pokémon” has never released such a revolutionary installment in their history. “Pokémon Legends: Arceus” was released Jan. 28, 2022 with high expectations. The game promised improvement on the long outdated battle systems and a fix to the poor progression that plagued modern “Pokémon” entries.

Photo of “Pokémon Legends Arceus” by Trusted Reviews

A Step To The Future

“Arceus” introduced a new style of gameplay for the “Pokémon” series—an action oriented experience, rather than a top down one. With a more free moving playstyle and a semi-open world, players were able to bypass a lot of the annoying encounters of previous generations. Additionally, it introduced new methods for catching pokémon.

Stealth, crafting, and strategic positioning are all keys to succeeding. These new features are a large step away from the comforting, but rather dull game formula that Gamefreak, creators of “Pokémon,” have been using. This risk has proved to be a massive success as players find the retirement of those features to be well needed.

Closer To a Living World

Worldbuilding was not left to the side when working on the game. The creators took great care into establishing the grounds and connections between “Arceus'' and other “Pokémon” titles. They did this by adding locations that appear to be the bases of popular towns and narrative events that have occurred. “Arceus” also added Alpha Pokémon/Pokémon variation, allowing for more uniqueness in size, ability and overall level. Although this could present itself as a problem, say if the player encounters a pokémon with stats that greatly outmatch their current game progression. Luckily, an escape feature was added so that if a player finds themself in a bit of a pinch they are able to escape without too much loss.

Game Flaws

Although there are many advancements in this game, there are also a lot of flaws. The graphics have been consistently called out as poor and underdeveloped. A lot of people hate not being able to complete the pokedex, due to its lack of pokémon in it. On top of that, many claim that, although “Pokémon Arceus” is an open world game, it fails to fill that world with anything world exploring.

In the end, “Pokémon Arceus” is a 7/10.