Announced on the day of the 25th anniversary of Pokemonthe new game Legends: Pokemon Arceus comes after the unreleased
Pokémon Sword and Shield and the remakes Pokémon Sparkling Diamond and Sparkling Pearl, which saw the franchise landing on the Nintendo Switch, and, let’s face it, maintaining the status quo. Why change a formula that works, the famous “Catch them all?” “. But why not try. A little. Pokemon Arceus thus opens up to new horizons, almost literally as it immerses players for the first time in an open world, in another era.
Fantastic Pokemon
A time when the Sinnoh region was wild and mysterious, known as Hisui, and Pokémon and humans did not yet live in harmony. The player is a resident of Rusti-Cité and a recruit of the Galaxie Group. Your mission ? Catch them all ? Yes and no, because it’s less about fighting and collecting Pokémon, than about observing and studying them to create the very first Pokédex in history. Kind of like the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Themselves guidebook and now movies of Harry Potter.
This new approach invites more exploration and freedom, even in the gameplay. Capturing a Pokémon no longer necessarily means confronting it, but also observing it from a distance, approaching it discreetly, crawling in the grass, baiting it and then throwing a Pokéball at it. An infiltration side that would pass Pokemon Arceus for Metal Gear Solid ? No, the game is rather in the viewfinder The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wildwhich reignited the adventure saga and remains perhaps the best game on the Switch today.
An open but empty world
With his open-world and its graphics cel shading, Pokemon Arceus is intended as a call to adventure, with a reinforced RPG dimension, and if we must not shun this change and its pleasure, it is clear that the world is as open as it is empty. The expanses are beautiful to look at, overlapping on the backs of special Pokémon, but it lacks the interaction, the immersion.
Fortunately, there is the mystery of the story and the title Pokémon, Arceus. It’s time, and on the way, for the franchise Pokemon to do like his creatures, and to evolve to the next level.