Pokémon Legends: Arceus Confirmed Not To Be an Open World Game

Oct 11, 2021 at 03:34am EDT
Pokémon Arceus

When Pokémon Legends: Arceus was first announced, many assumed it would be the first open world in the exceedingly popular franchise. However, the developers have now confirmed in a statement sent to Kotaku that's not actually the case.

In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Jubilife Village will serve as the base for surveying missions. After receiving an assignment or a request and preparing for their next excursion, players will set out from the village to study one of the various open areas of the Hisui region. After they finish the survey work, players will need to return once more to prepare for their next task. We look forward to sharing more information about exploring the Hisui region soon.

The world structure seems more akin to something like Monster Hunter, then. Still, the Nintendo Switch game will no doubt introduce more action and exploration to the franchise when it lands on January 28th, 2022. Read on for a detailed overview of the game's mechanics.

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Action meets RPG as the Pokémon series reaches a new frontier

Get ready for a new kind of grand, Pokémon adventure in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, a brand-new game from Game Freak that blends action and exploration with the RPG roots of the Pokémon series. Embark on survey missions in the ancient Hisui region. Explore natural expanses to catch wild Pokémon by learning their behavior, sneaking up, and throwing a well-aimed Poké Ball. You can also toss the Poké Ball containing your ally Pokémon near a wild Pokémon to seamlessly enter battle.

Travel to the Hisui region—the Sinnoh of old—and build the region’s first Pokédex

Your adventure takes place in the expansive natural majesty of the Hisui region, where you are tasked with studying Pokémon to complete the region’s first Pokédex. Mount Coronet rises from the center, surrounded on all sides by areas with distinct environments. In this era—long before the events of the Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl games—you can find newly discovered Pokémon like Wyrdeer, an evolution of Stantler, and new regional forms like Hisuian Growlithe! Along the way, uncover the mystery surrounding the Mythical Pokémon known as Arceus.

As a reminder, Pokémon Legends: Arceus will be preceded by Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Pokémon Shining Pearl, due for release on November 19th, 2021.

About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.

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