Japanese media outlets have gotten their hands on advance copies of Pokémon Legends: Arceus and it seems like the game is a rollercoaster of difficulties, according to early reviews.
There’s just over a week to go before the game launches and early impressions indicate that it’s a Pokémon game like no other. In an article published by Famitsu and translated by Video Games Chronicle, reviewers said the biggest immediate impact was the ability to move about the world freely.
“The first thing that impressed me when I started playing was the exhilarating feeling of moving around freely in the vast field,” the review said.
Because the game is open-world and Pokémon can now see and attack players, this creates a new sense of tension within the Pokémon universe that players aren’t quite used to. In main-series games, players would feel pressure from other trainers who are looking to battle. But now, there’s a direct threat from roaming Pokémon. If players come across a particularly difficult Pokémon, they may be intimidated by it, especially since they might not be able to avoid an interaction by simply walking around it like in main-series games.
On the other side of things, the reviewer commented on how fun it was to ride on Pokémon, especially Flying-types.
“It feels great just to be able to fly freely in the sky, but it’s especially fun to look for Pokémon that look small below you,” the article reads.
Each area has its own species, which can be affected by weather or time of day. This, according to the review, made traversing the world more exciting and it gave areas a breath of fresh air when returning during a different time of day, knowing that different species of Pokémon could appear.
More about the game is slowly being revealed now that reviewers are starting to release early impressions, in addition to the leaked versions of the games that have made their way into Twitch streams. For those anxious for the game to officially release, the wait isn’t too much longer. Pokémon Legends: Arceus is set to be released on Jan. 28.
