Pokémon Legends: Arceus — A Dad’s Review

This is where my experience is probably different from the typical review.

My kids weren't interested in whether Arceus properly evolved the franchise. They didn't know what the franchise needed to evolve from.

They just thought catching Pokémon was awesome.

And watching someone discover Pokémon for the first time is surprisingly entertaining.

Every new creature becomes an event. They start developing favorites for reasons that make absolutely no sense. One Pokémon becomes essential to the team because it's powerful. Another becomes essential because it's cute. Another apparently has to stay forever because one of your children has given it a ridiculous nickname.

As a parent, Arceus also works well because much of the game is understandable just from watching. My kids could participate even when they weren't holding the controller.

"Go over there."

"Catch that one!"

"NO, DON'T FIGHT THAT!"

And then, inevitably:

"Dad, give me the controller."

There are plenty of games marketed toward families that I tolerate because my kids enjoy them. Arceus was different because I genuinely wanted to keep playing after they went to bed.

That might be the best endorsement I can give it.

Battling still feels like Pokémon to someone whose reference point is more than two decades old: types matter, moves matter and you're constantly trying to remember whether the thing standing in front of you is going to destroy your Pokémon.

But battles are much faster and more seamlessly integrated into exploration.

There are also Agile Style and Strong Style versions of moves, letting you trade speed against power and potentially manipulate turn order.

It's enough strategy to keep things interesting without making the game inaccessible to younger players.

The larger boss encounters also break up the normal formula and introduce more action-oriented gameplay, something critics highlighted as one of the game's more exciting departures from traditional Pokémon.

For our family, though, the real strategy usually consisted of my kids insisting we use their favorite Pokémon regardless of whether that Pokémon was remotely appropriate for the battle.

Sometimes you just have to respect the coaching staff.

Pokémon Legends: Arceus isn't a technical showcase. The graphics range from perfectly fine to noticeably dated, the environments can feel empty, and completing the Pokédex occasionally crosses the line from satisfying into repetitive.

But the actual experience of exploring, discovering and catching Pokémon is fantastic.

For longtime players, I can understand why reviewers saw Arceus as a refreshing change to a formula that had become extremely familiar. For my kids, none of that history mattered—it was simply a big adventure filled with creatures they wanted to discover.

And for a dad returning to Pokémon after more than 20 years, it landed somewhere in between.

I got to see what Pokémon had become.

More importantly, I got to watch my kids discover why we all cared about these weird little creatures in the first place.

Dad Score: 8.5/10

Kids' Score: "Can we play Pokémon?" / 10