Pokemon Legends: Arceus’ Graphics Have Fans Yelling At Each Other
Are Pokemon Legends: Arceus' graphics good or bad? No one can decide!
This article is more than 2 years old
It just wouldn’t be a new Pokemon game if there weren’t some Pokemon fans yelling at each other about whether it’s good or not. The latest game in the Pokemon franchise, Pokemon Legends: Arceus does not break this trend. What fans are especially divided on this time around is if the graphics suck.
Ever since the Nintendo Switch was released, people have been clamoring for a Pokemon game that makes the most of the console’s hardware. We got Pokemon: Let’s Go Pickachu, Pokemon: Let’s Go Eevee, and Pokemon: Sword and Shield but those were all games that used the same tried-and-true Pokemon JRPG formula. The graphics were fine for what the games were, but nothing special. So, when Pokemon Legends: Arceus was announced as a (kind of) open-world Pokemon experience, fans were expecting a beautiful world to traipse around in and interact with their favorite pocket monsters.
What fans got is Nintendo and Game Freak kind of meeting us halfway. While everyone has been praising the gameplay loop and people are having more fun with Pokemon Legends: Arceus than any Pokemon game in years, the graphics leave…let’s say a little to be desired. So, fans can agree the gameplay is solid, but the discussion over the graphics is a far different story.
When you look at screenshots and gameplay for Pokemon Legends: Arceus, saying it looks like ‘Breath of the Wild but worse’ would be a fair observation. The art style certainly calls to mind the immensely popular and well-received Zelda game, but it doesn’t bring the same level of fidelity to the table. Fans have noted how pop-in and textures in Arceus can be pretty egregious. Looking into the distance just doesn’t bring the same sense of visual wonder that The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild conjures. This is despite the fact that Pokemon Legends: Arceus was released in 2022 and Breath of the Wild was released way back in 2017.
However, it’s not all bad. There are certain things in the graphics department that are serviceable. The main draws of the series, the Pokemon, are well-animated and feel more lifelike than ever. Also, when the draw distance isn’t too far, the game can look fairly nice at times. Still, just looking at Pokemon Legends: Arceus objectively, it’s hard to say that the graphics are anything special. With that being said, the game is still selling great despite the graphics complaints. This will surely be a sign to Game Freak that fans want them to break the old Pokemon formula more often.
One thing that nearly everyone can agree on with Pokemon Legends: Arceus is that it’s a huge step in the right direction for the franchise. The fact that it is selling well and getting good critical and fan reception overall bodes well for a sequel. Maybe, when the next Pokemon game like Pokemon: Legends Arecus comes around we’ll get the best of both worlds. A fun Pokemon game and an immersive, beautiful world to play it in. One can hope.
