After weeks of surprise hints about Pokémon Legends Arceus, the much-anticipated Switch title is finally coming out on January 28, 2022. With its release, PLA offers the chance to rediscover the Pokémon world through a new lens, providing open-world-style gameplay. But with all the changes—confirmed and rumored—just how good is Legends Arceus going to be? Will it be a transformative and novel experience, or will it send long-time fans begging for the old mechanics? Pokémon Legends Arceus review scores are out from the critics, and we've compiled the ratings here so you can judge for yourself (largely spoiler-free).
Pokemon Legends Arceus Review Scores: 86 Metascore on Metacritic
To keep this as spoiler-free as possible (we'll mark areas with potential spoilers as well throughout this article), let's just say that PLA stands as one heck of a different game if you've been a long-time Pokémon fan. In case you are looking for leaks and spoilers, though, check out our other Pokémon Legends Arceus articles to find out more about the Hisuian forms and one of multiple new encounter mechanics.
Set in the Hisui region, Legends Arceus brands itself as the origin story of Sinnoh. While Diamond and Pearl had a bustling region with the likes of the Valley Windworks and the technological advancements in Jubilife City, PLA strips all of that back to a more rural community. You'll still get a starter Pokémon, of course, choosing between the Fire-type Cyndaquil from Johto, the Water-type Oshawott from Unova, and the Grass/Flying-type Rowlet from Alola. But in Legends Arceus, the concept of becoming a trainer and regional Champion isn't perceptible at all; instead, we rest on something much more fundamental—exploration.
Venture into the wild and approach Pokémon with eyes of curiosity. Your goal here is to learn about them, hence all the quests about “researching” the creatures. This also means that the completion of the first-ever Sinnoh/Hisui Pokedex is in your hands (Warning: Possible game mechanic spoiler). You're in charge of creating the entires by observing the Pokemon behave or use various moves—making each encounter a unique experience. The vast differences may take a while to get used to. But critics have welcomed these changes with (mostly) open arms, suggesting it might just be the refresh that the Pokémon franchise needs.
Catching and battling get a fresh, thrilling spin
Pokemon Legends Arceus has received generally positive ratings. Starting with the “mainstream” big guns, UK broadsheet The Telegraph and US newspaper The Washington Post (via Launcher) both gave raving reviews for the game, with a Metacritic score of 100 and 90, respectively.
“By tearing up the rule book and breaking new ground, Game Freak has created the best Pokémon title in decades,” writes Jack Rear for The Telegraph. “To describe PLA as a different experience from the classic Pokémon games of yesteryear is an understatement. It is a wholesale revolution, transmuting the series’ essential DNA into something new.”
He talks about the battle system in Legends Arceus (spoiler warning!), doing away with the turn-based mechanics of past Pokémon games. Instead, opponents can attack several times in a row before you can get a move in. This speed-based feature makes the game more action-packed. You've gotta dodge scary claws, a swam of insects, or a bright beam of strong energy ready to take you out.
Joining the 10/10 boat, Video Games Chronicle (VGC) highlights, “For what feels like decades now, fans have been begging Game Freak to change the Pokémon formula and give us a ‘true’ open-world game. Pokémon Legends: Arceus is that game. […] Catching mechanics are revamped and brilliantly satisfying, Pokémon are reinvigorated and full of character, while the whole experience has a fast and fluid feel that’s a breath of fresh air in this series.”
A true adventure-driven experience, with rich lore
Meanwhile, Jhaan Elker from Launcher commends how PLA brought back a sense of “thrill” to run into wild Pokemon. After all, after so many generations of encountering ‘mon after ‘mon, going into the tall grass had become more of a chore than a rush of excitement.
“In PLA, you can see Pokémon spawn in front of you. You can tell right away when it’s a rare Pokémon. You instinctively tense up, knowing your reflexes need to be on point to actually capture it,” Elker shares. “It satisfies the player’s urge to just explore and be excited with what they find. […] It’s an experience unlike any other in the series.”
Dexerto similarly gives PLA a 9/10 rating. Brent Koepp describes the storyline as an “emotionally rich narrative” with thorough attention paid to the lore, expounding, “The narration feels like a meditative reflection on the franchise as a whole and what it actually means to be a Trainer that battles with Pokémon. The decision to set the tale in the ancient past works beautifully as it gives players a fresh perspective.”
“This is the most exciting that the Nintendo RPG has been in years and a blueprint for how the series can move forward in the future,” Dexerto's reviewer concludes.
Slow grind and graphical issues
For a more measured take, many reviews have also highlighted the graphical problems with Legends Arceus. Unfortunately, the game has a low frame rate and some elements of the wild look dreadfully jarring.
Gamespot, which gave an 8/10 score, highlights that the flexibility of the controls may take some time to get used to. “In the heat of the moment, it's easy to waste a Pokeball when you meant to start a battle—or worse, to start a battle when you were trying to be sneaky,” says Steve Watts.
Despite their high praises for other aspects of the game, both Gamespot and Polygon lament PLA's progression system. It depends mostly upon the researching mechanic for filling up the Dex. Only by completing those quests do you get to rank up, allowing you to access more areas.
“That meant that for the first few ranks, I was stuck needing to go over areas I had already explored extensively, grinding to progress enough to proceed,” Watts adds.
Ryan Gilliam from Polygon similarly wasn't the biggest fan of “the grind to capture another version of the same monster,” pointing out that it could get tedious. “It’s filled with excellent ideas aimed at changing a series that has largely grown stale. But some of the execution breeds frustration.”
PCMag also had a more modest 7/10 rating, comparing PLA to Zelda's Breath of the Wild, “Legends Arceus doesn't reach quite as far in its mix-up of the classic formula, and so doesn't succeed nearly as much. […] You won’t find countless little alcoves to explore and puzzles to solve, but you will find loads of Pokemon to catch, train, and research, and that’s a very fun process in itself.”
Conclusion: Is Pokemon Legends Arceus worth getting?
You might be in it for the trademark gotta-catch-'em-all concept. Or perhaps you want to try fighting wild Pokémon and dodging their attacks yourself. Or maybe you just want to appreciate a region filled with wilderness rather than the industrial and modernity we've gotten in the past few generations. Whatever floats your boat, Pokémon Legends Arceus represents one very important thing—creative opportunity.
Even with some of the frustrations, PLA makes itself stand out as an experimental, exploratory new take that at least hasn't completely crashed and burned with the novelties. It brings back the heart that fans will appreciate. Getting to know each Pokémon as a unique creature with a sense of gratification and endearment—something sorely missed with the past attempts to just pump out more ‘mons.
PLA re-injects a fervent wonder that resonates with the nostalgic theme of Hisui. Bridging classic world-building with novel mechanics, Legends Arceus has its own identity, yet it feels very much an integral part of the Pokemon series—and not one to miss out on.
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