Pokemon Legends: Arceus
Games review
As of Jun 23, 2026, Pokemon Legends: Arceus is rated 83/100 on OpenCritic (148 critic reviews), and 83/100 on Metacritic (125 critic reviews). Each source is shown in its own units, never blended into one score.
Is Pokemon Legends: Arceus worth it in 2026?
An 83 from both OpenCritic and Metacritic across a combined 273 critic reviews is a meaningful signal: this is a genuinely good game, not a fluke. The series reinvention praise, cited by 10 of the sampled reviews, carries real weight, as Arceus breaks from the franchise's long-established formula with rewarding catching mechanics and an addictive gameplay loop that kept reviewers hooked for hours. The open world is drab and sparse, the graphics are weak, and trainer battles are scarce, complaints cited by multiple reviewers, meaning the exploration loop the game is built around rests on a hollow visual and structural foundation that will genuinely disappoint buyers expecting a content-rich open world.
Lapsed Pokémon fans or series veterans burned out on the formula who want a fresh catching-and-exploration loop and can tolerate rough visuals and a sparse world.
The open world is drab and empty, graphics are weak even by Switch standards, trainer battles are scarce, and the early game is a slow grind before the loop opens up, if you're coming from a visually polished open-world game or expecting classic Pokémon structure, this will frustrate more than it
ReviewPond's conclusion, drawn only from the verified scores and review themes below. Not a paid or editorial opinion.
Different sources measure different things, so each is shown in its own units and never merged into one number.
Pros
- series reinvention10
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- There's room for improvement in a potential Pokemon Legends: Arceus sequel, but what's here will still keep Pokemon fans busy for hours on end. Pokemon Legends: Arceus's gameplay i...
- Pokémon Legends: Arceus is an ambitious revamp that successfully revolutionizes the defining Pokemon experiences of catching and battling, but is unfortunately set in a drab, empty...
- Inspired as much by Pok'mon Go as it is Breath of the Wild, Pok'mon Legends: Arceus is flimsy and compulsive - and exhilaratingly new.
- rewarding catching mechanics5
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- There's room for improvement in a potential Pokemon Legends: Arceus sequel, but what's here will still keep Pokemon fans busy for hours on end. Pokemon Legends: Arceus's gameplay i...
- Pokemon Legends: Arceus is a refreshing take on the Pokemon formula, stripping back the game to focus on the titular creatures with such great success. It's just let down by the gr...
- Pokémon Legends: Arceus feels like the result of Game Freak learning lessons for 25 years, refining the formula, and finally taking the franchise in a new, incredible, exciting dir...
- best in series5
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- Technical shortcomings and minor frustrations can’t take away what this game achieves elsewhere; it’s the best main-series Pokemon game in a long, long time.
- It wouldn't be difficult to claim that Pokémon Legends: Arcues is the strongest Pokémon title the series has had since the DS era.
- Pokémon Legends: Arceus feels like the result of Game Freak learning lessons for 25 years, refining the formula, and finally taking the franchise in a new, incredible, exciting dir...
- engaging exploration4
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- Pokémon Legends: Arceus struggles with graphics and certain aspects of gameplay, but its expansive world, endless Pokémon to find, and strong storyline make it worth playing.
- Pokémon Legends: Arceus feels like the result of Game Freak learning lessons for 25 years, refining the formula, and finally taking the franchise in a new, incredible, exciting dir...
- "Pokémon Legends: Arceus" is a masterpiece made, not only for fans of the franchise's video games, but for lovers of the Pokémon World in general. That living ecosystem, full of m...
- strong storyline3
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- Pokémon Legends: Arceus struggles with graphics and certain aspects of gameplay, but its expansive world, endless Pokémon to find, and strong storyline make it worth playing.
- Pokémon Legends: Arceus feels like the result of Game Freak learning lessons for 25 years, refining the formula, and finally taking the franchise in a new, incredible, exciting dir...
- "Pokémon Legends: Arceus" is a masterpiece made, not only for fans of the franchise's video games, but for lovers of the Pokémon World in general. That living ecosystem, full of m...
- addictive gameplay loop3
see reviews +-
- There's room for improvement in a potential Pokemon Legends: Arceus sequel, but what's here will still keep Pokemon fans busy for hours on end. Pokemon Legends: Arceus's gameplay i...
- Pokemon Legends: Arceus is a significant reimagining of what makes a Pokemon game, with an exciting level of flexibility that's only slightly hampered by a slow early-game grind.
- For its flaws, Pokemon Legends: Arceus does have a decent gameplay loop, even if it is a bit too tight. I hope that with Nintendo’s next console, we can maybe see a game that doesn...
Cons
- weak graphics5
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- Pokémon Legends: Arceus is an ambitious revamp that successfully revolutionizes the defining Pokemon experiences of catching and battling, but is unfortunately set in a drab, empty...
- But Pokemon Legends: Arceus is proof that Pokemon can evolve. It's taken 25 years but this feels like the first true evolution of the series; a far bigger change than moving from 2...
- Pokemon Legends: Arceus is a refreshing take on the Pokemon formula, stripping back the game to focus on the titular creatures with such great success. It's just let down by the gr...
Themes and quotes are drawn from 20 sampled reviews with text; the scores above reflect all 273 ratings. Counts are how many of the sampled reviews mention each point.