The illusion of freedom
Written by Jacco Peek on
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The marketing trajectory of Pokémon Legends: Arceus was confusing. After the first few trailers, it seemed that the game would consist of one open world, after which The Pokémon Company had to clarify during an interview about the already released remakes that this is not the case. Still, Legends: Arceus appears to offer more freedom than many actual open world games.
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That’s the conclusion after spending about 35 hours in the game for the review on sister site Power Unlimited. Legends: Arceus is in a nutshell a surprisingly fun game that in a pleasant way lets go of many conventions of the series. At least, in my opinion. An official verdict by colleague Wesley will soon be published on Gamer.nl, so keep an eye on the website for a more general picture of the game.
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Somehow it was a disappointment that Game Freak doesn’t release players into one big world. Especially since the promotional material makes no secret of the fact that it is inspired by The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, still one of the most compelling open world games ever made. No, Legends: Arceus instead features five disparate, smaller worlds full of Pokemon to explore. Fans therefore accused developer Game Freak of lying for the umpteenth time and the sentiment was quite negative in the run-up to release – partly due to the technical aspect of the game.
Once you’ve got your hands on Legends: Arceus, however, it becomes apparent how ‘free’ the game’s gameplay cycle feels. Many developers and publishers define ‘freedom’ as the option to go wherever you want, or the ability to play missions in any order you choose. That while in most open world games it often comes down to following an arrow, a dot on the horizon or even a GPS that shows the shortest route to your destination. You can of course disable such tools, but most games are not designed for that at all. Without an icon on the map, searching for the next missions just gets frustrating.
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Of course, no game offers total freedom; after all, it’s about the illusion that you can do anything within the confines of a game. Yet Pokémon Legends: Arceus is a lot more convincing than many comparable titles. In each of the five areas, players are simply unleashed to assemble the first ever Pokédex by catching, defeating, feeding monsters, and completing other similar quests. You then report the findings to the local professor, before returning to the village to prepare for the next trip.
In practice, therefore, there is surprisingly little pressure on your adventure. There are a myriad of different Pokemon roaming the wilderness, varying in size, food preference, and trainer behavior, and are only there for you to discover. It’s up to the player which species they chase, which ones they dodge at the risk of their own life – wild Pokemon now physically attack you – and at what rate they fill the Pokédex. Legends: Arceus is very reminiscent of New Pokémon Snap: just going on safari, without pressing matters.
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Once you’ve got your hands on Legends: Arceus, however, it becomes apparent how ‘free’ the game’s gameplay cycle feels.
Of course, there are main and side missions to propel the story, which as usual escalates to saving the entire world. The side missions are especially interesting in design. Most of them give subtle hints to catch a certain species or collect a number of rare resources, after which you again go on a journey of discovery. This is in contrast to the average side mission, which often sends you off to specific locations and again maps out a route for you.
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That brings with it a bit of wonder that the Pokémon franchise has lost in recent years. Where in the first roughly four generations of games you can hopelessly get lost in caves and visit quite a few optional areas, the most recent titles are the definition of linear.
Legends: Arceus changes that with a fresh concept. It is possible to race through the story and have a good time, but the ultimate goal remains to capture the different moves, shapes and other characteristics of each type of pokémon. The fact that you have to fill the entire Pokédex to see the actual end of the game says it all.
The question is to what extent Game Freak dares to transfer the renewed formula to the ninth generation of RPGs. Legends: Arceus feels like a pilot balloon in that regard, a successful side project, some aspects of which may find their way into the next game for the general public. I’d love to see a larger-scale version of the game in a brand new region full of cities and different landscapes, while retaining the open plan that makes Legends: Arceus so refreshing. Because who would have thought: freedom in a Pokémon game.
Read the review of Pokémon Legends: Arceus soon.
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