TESTED GAMES

Switch / stuff.tv/Arceus

To move forward, sometimes you have to go back… which sums up the approach in what is arguably the biggest shake-up of the Pokemon series in its 25-year history

W hile they’re loved by players of all ages, there’s always been a tension between the Pokemon games – made to be enjoyed by kids – and the people who want the series to grow up along with them. So Arceus ditches many of the traditional elements of the ‘my first RPG’ formula, yet at the same time goes back to basics in fully embracing its original mantra to catch ’em all.

You’re not going against gym leaders, trying to thwart Team Rocket, or even striving to become a champion – your main mission is to help complete the first ever Pokedex by cataloguing all 242 Pokemon in the Hisui region.

As with catching Pokemon, the action all takes place in the same space rather than transitioning to a battle arena, which helps to keep you immersed. You can even come under peril from hostile Pokemon; the dodge-roll mechanic comes in handy with this.

When it comes to battling, however, the game reverts to turn-based mechanics as you use the rock/paper/scissors formula for the most effective results – such as using a Pokemon with water attacks against a fire variant, or having a rock Pokemon withstand the effects of lightning attacks. Provided you’ve got the right team at a decent level, landing a super-effective attack means battles against a single Pokemon can be over in a turn or two.

Fans may be disappointed at that, not least as this is a decidedly single-player affair, but then that’s Arceus’s peaceful ethos… which goes some way to explaining why the boss fights are basically you calming frenzied Pokemon by pelting them with snacks.

As a Pokemon game, it’s the most fresh and exciting the series has been for a long time thanks to an emphasis on exploring and discovering all the critters out in the Hisui region, giving you more than one way to catch ’em all. This legend is just getting started.

Alan Wen

STUFF SAYS Blending old and new, this is the most refreshing Pokemon game in ages ★★★★✩

This Pokemon is called Bumbaclart, and its chief ability is acerbic sarcasm.

Munchlax, so called because it sometimes forgets to eat breakfast.

Don’t expect the breadth of the wild

The hundreds of Pokemon in this game are full of character, but the world they inhabit often leaves a lot to be desired. Arceus can’t help but draw comparisons with Nintendo’s masterpiece Breath of the Wild and its vast environments, but a game-changing open-world sandbox this is not – even if it inherits some of the repetitive checklist-type side-quests of the genre.

The Hisui region isn’t quite open-world – it’s split into five zones of varying biomes (annoyingly, you always have to return to the central village hub before you can venture to another zone). But they do feel vast, loading times are pretty quick, and it runs at a stable framerate.

That, however, comes at the price of graphical fidelity. It’s hard not to notice the sketchy textures on characters’ clothes that haven’t been made to be inspected from too close, or the poor draw distance that results in trees popping up.

Anyway, this game is hardly light on content, with plenty to keep you hooked even after completing the main story. If Arceus is a first flawed attempt at a new spin-off series like Metroid Prime, then at the very least it’s got its core element right: the Pokemon themselves.